Note Spelling Bee from Cecilly



Music Alphabet Words

Cecilly sent me a new activity she is using with her students and I made some cards to go with it. I like the way Cecilly has included identifying intervals in this activity because that is very important in my studio.  

There are 8 pages of words in this printable PDF, ranging from 3 to 7 letter words. When I made these cards, I carefully designed them for the smallest amount of cutting necessary. If you don’t have a large staff, there are many to choose from on my website and some more here (scroll down).  The following was written by Cecilly.

Spelling/Interval Bee

Materials: A Grand staff board with up to 7 plastic transparent discs (bingo
chips) and file cards with as many spelling words that you can think of written
on the cards (BAG, CAGE, DEAF, FEED, ACE, CABBAGE, EDGE, etc.).

Set Up: I have laminated my staff board and placed a little blob of poster putty
on the back of each bingo chip so they can be positioned on the staff and not
slide off, but this isn’t necessary to do the activity. Using a table or the floor, sit across from the student. The staff board and
chips are for the student and the spelling word cards are for the teacher.

To Play: Shuffle the spelling cards and place face down on the table. Draw the
first card and call out the word, showing the word to the student. He in turn is
to spell the word using the bingo chips and placing them on whatever line or
space corresponds to the letters in the word. However, use only one clef at a
time. The chips should be placed in order of each letter in the word and in a “melodic” fashion on the staff. Repeated letters should be represented by different note locations. Allow a few moments for the student to spell the word. Once spelled accurately on the staff, ask the student to dictate the interval path of the melody created by the chips to you out loud (F down a 2nd E, up an 8va E, down a 2nd D: FEED). Then have him play the interval path on the piano if desired. Remove the chips and cont. with another word to spell. Make sure to play on each clef. Play as long as you wish.

Objective: There are really 3 objectives to this activity: 1) Identifying basic notes on the staff, 2) Melodic interval recognition and tracking, and 3) Playing the notes where they live intervallically on the piano.

Variations: Play with multiple students just like a spelling bee.

Enjoy!

Cecilly

Note Swap Race

Cecilly has come up with another fly swatter game called Note Swat Race. She sent me the directions and I set up the picture above using my own cards.

 

Of course you don’t have to use my Fly Flash Cards, but  students like them. The cards pictured above  might have notes too small for beginning students,  so you can use these Large Fly Flash Cards for your younger students. Or just use any flash cards you have on hand. 

 I have a beginning student, and Cecilly has given me an idea to play this game using my Keyboard Fly Flash Cards. When I made these I was very tired of my old fly, so I drew another one. The purple hair was just for fun!

 

Please note that Cecilly only used 5 cards with her student when she played this, so use as many cards as you think are right for your student. You might want to start with 2 or 3 depending on the ability of your student. The great thing about Cecilly’s games is that the teacher can modify them in many ways.

Here are the directions in Cecilly’s own words. Thanks, Cecilly for sending this!

Note Swat Race

 Materials: 2 fly swatters, note flashcards (with notes on the staff) representing whichever notes you want to reinforce, and letter cards (2 per letter) for each note card. Timer if desired.

 Set up: Lay out the note cards in a semi-circle from lowest note to highest note on the floor. Give student the flyswatters (1 for each hand) and have him sit on his knees in the center of the semi-circle facing the middle point. You, the teacher sit opposite student on the outside of the semi-circle with the deck of letter cards (shuffled and face down).

 To Play: At “Go” take the first letter card from the deck and hold it up to show the student. The student then, as quickly as possible, swats the corresponding note. It can be in either clef, but the student can swat the bass clef notes with the LH flyswatter, and the treble with the RH swatter. After each correct swat, immediately show the next card. (I just tossed the letter cards on the floor in front of me once the note was slapped). The idea is to go as fast as possible till all cards have been swatted. Repeat if desired. Add more challenge by limiting the time with a timer.

 Objective: For my student, I wanted her to have to continually return to each note, thinking its name from the letter card. What was interesting is that in the first round, there were several sequences forcing her to go back and forth between the same few notes. She was able to associate the letters and notes more quickly after this sequence. Also, a few letters were repeated back to back, again allowing for immediate reinforcement of the note associations. For my student, we only had 5 notes on the floor, but as new notes are introduced in her book, we’ll repeat the game incorporating the new notes.

Sign and Symbol Hunt — from Cecilly

 

 

This is a picture I took along the coastal highway in California where I was visiting for a few weeks. The clouds are descending down from the mountains, but you can still see a little bit of the Pacific Ocean in the right corner. What a beautiful state, and the people are so friendly! I look forward to visiting again some day.

While I was there Cecily sent me a new activity. I’ve already thought of different ways I can vary this activity, and I’m sure it will spark your imagination, too. Cecilly is really creative when it comes to thinking up new ways to make piano lessons more interesting.  She designed this as a refresher activity when students return from their summer break, as well as prepare new repertoire. I’m going to try this with all my festival pieces and see if it will help students put in expression from the very beginning. If you have a student who never notices what is on the page, try this out. I will be making some flash cards with signs and symbols, so check back for that.  

Here is the game in her own words. Thanks, Cecilly, for sending it to me.

Sign & Symbol Hunt

Materials needed: a specific piece of music you plan to prepare with a student
as part of their assignment, flashcards of all the signs & symbols present in
the score of that piece plus a few extra ones that aren’t in the score.

Set up: Place all the flash cards face up on the floor or table top in random
fashion.

To play: Open the student’s book to the given piece you’ll be preparing and
introduce it by title, etc. Ask the student to take about 10 seconds to
carefully look over the music making mental notes of any signs and symbols he sees that
will help him learn the piece and play it musically. After this time, have the
student bring his book to the floor or table of flashcards and find as many of
the signs/symbols he can in the music on the flashcards. He can gather the cards
into a pile. There should be some left over because you placed extra ones.
Return to the piano with the book and cards. Then take the first card. Have
the student find this sign/symbol in the score, and then depending on the card,
help the student apply the sign/symbol at the piano. For example, if the card
is the time signature symbol for the meter of the piece, have him point along
the melodic line and count metrically. If the card is a slur sign, select a
phrase and challenge the student to play that phrase smoothly. If it’s a
dynamic sign, find where that dynamic marking is in the music and challenge the
student to play that phrase or section at that dynamic level. If it’s an 8va
higher sign, find it in the score and help the student practice making the 8va
move. So whatever the sign/symbol is, the student can “prepare” for this
element on the spot.

This will help draw the student’s attention to all the signs/symbols in the
score, refresh them in his mind AND fingers, and prepare the piece for his
assignment all in one fell swoop.

Enjoy.

Cecilly

New Game from Cecilly

Cecilly sent me a new game that she has made up. I haven’t been able to play it because I’m on vacation right now. I’ll have to wait a while to put it in my game rotation. Thanks for sharing, Cecilly.

Hi All!

I tried out a new twist on a note spelling game that REALLY helped to
reinforce note identification…

Materials: 2 sets of approx. 7 note flashcards (1 set of treble notes, 1 set of
bass notes). I did not include any landmarks or guidenotes btw. 5 bingo chips
or markers, a set of spelling word cards, a 1 min. egg timer or stop watch.

Objective: to spell as many words within the 1 min. time limit. 3 letter
words=1 composer buck, 4 letter words=2, 5 letter words=3.

Set up: on the closed keyboard lid or table top, lay out one set of cards. Give
the student the chips. You manage the timer and spelling word cards.

To play: Show the first spelling word card. At “GO”, start the timer. the
student is to spell the word by placing a chip on the corresponding notes IN
ORDER to spell the word. If any chip is placed incorrectly, I simply make a
“bzz” sound and the student tries again. When a word is spelled correctly, I
stop the timer and allow the student to pick up the chips and get ready for the
next spelling word. The timer is started with the next word. Cont. play until
time is up. Add up the value of the words, and go on to round 2 using the 2nd
set of notes.

What was really helpful with this activity is that the students began to quickly
identify notes/letters that were repeated in the spelling words. This helped to
cement these notes into their memory.

I haven’t played the game yet mixing up treble and bass notes, but I’ll reserve
that variation for later.

The text in blue is from Cecilly, I’m sure if you have any questions about this game, leave a comment and she will answer it. In the meantime,

Triangulars

Cecilly has a new game called Triangulars. It is a floor activity and since I am not good at following written instructions, I drew the above diagram to show how the set up will look on the floor.  Don’t try to print it!

 Remember, you can use this activity for any kind of a challenge: notes, rhythm, keys, even vocabulary and symbols.  When we played it in my studio I didn’t have a prize to give them, so we  played for fun.  They liked it because it was something different. When I play with my preschool  students I think I’ll give them a sticker. Use this idea and adapt it  for your own situation. Here are Cecilly’s directions, in her own words.

Materials: 9 5″X7″ cards (in one color) numbered 1-9. 11 flashcards (I used
note name cards) to some degree smaller than the numbered cards. 11 discs or
playing pawns of some kind. Floor or table space.

Set up: Place the numbered cards in order clockwise in pairs around the #9 card
which is placed in the middle. For example, place 1 next to 2 in the 12 O’clock
spot, 3 above 4 in the 3 O’clock spot, 5 to the right of 6 in the 6 O’clock
spot, and 7 below 8 in the 9 O’clock spot. Remember, 9 is in the middle. This
should look a bit like an octagon. Allow a bit of space between sets of
numbers. Place the flashcards underneath the cards, 1 to a card except for 9
which will have 3 flashcards under it. Place the discs to the side.

Objective: To correctly identify any 3 triangular arrangements of cards that
include 1 of the pairings plus #9, creating a triangle. For example, 1,2 and 9;
3,4 and 9; 5,6 and 9, or 7,8 and 9.

To Play: Have student call out a # that is NOT 9. Take the flashcard from under
that # card for the student to identify. If correct, place the flashcard on top
of the # card along with one of the discs. That card is now earned. Student
should call out the other number in the pairing now, hoping to earn it too. If
earned, place it and the disc on top of the # card like the first one. Now, the
student must try for 1 of the flashcards under #9. If correct, place that
flashcard and 1 disc on the 9. This completes 1 Triangle. The student moves on
to try and complete another triangle that also includes #9. But this time, the
2nd flashcard is shown from under #9. If earned, place that flashcard and
another disc on #9 (so now there are 2 flashcards and 2 discs on #9). Cont. for
a 3rd triangle. If at some point, the student makes a mistake in identifying
the flashcard, that triangle is lost and they can try for the remaining
triangle. The goal remember is to earn 3 triangles including 9 in each one.

I awarded a Composer buck for each triangle earned.

You can use any kind of flashcards you like to review or drill whatever you
need with that student.

Click here to print Triangular cards which are the number cards I have posted here  for your convenience. You can print them if you don’t have time to make a set yourself.  These are in black and white with no graphics to help us save a little printer ink. They will look better printed on colored paper if you happen to have some.  Be sure and set your printer to landscape mode.

If any teacher uses this at a group lesson, please leave a comment on how you used it with a group.

Thanks for the game, Cecilly!

 

Flashcard Basketball

Cecilly has a new game and she gave me permission to post it here. I have used the nerf basket ball in my studio before and the boys really love it! I like Cecilly’s twist on the game. She always comes up with such good ideas. Here is her version in her own words.  I agree that flash cards are a lot more fun when you make a game out of them.

Flashcard Basketball

You’ll need a Nerf basketball hoop (or something to shoot the ball into),
ball, the piano bench or floor space, and the flashcards.

Mount the hoop on the door and position the bench at the spot where the
student will take their shots from (this is their free throw line so to speak).
Place the flash cards face up randomly on the bench. If you’re using numerous
cards, they can be placed in layers. The student stands at the bench and draws
cards one at a time, but only after answering 4 cards correctly can they take a
shot. Whether they make the shot or not, after they shoot, those answered cards
are set aside and 4 more are answered. Any cards answered incorrectly or
unanswered, can be retaught and then placed back into the mix of cards on the
bench. Allow the student to play as long as you wish, 4 cards at a time. Award
whatever you wish (points, bucks, treats, etc.) for each successful shot.

I played this with 4 different students and we got through about 25 cards or so in
just a minute or two. The kids liked it waaaaay better than my just flashing
the cards to them at the piano for them to answer.

Enjoy!

Cecilly

Cecilly’s Incentive Program with Composer Bucks

Cecilly, who made up the games in the category “Cecilly’s Games” plans to implement an incentive program in her studio this fall. She has given me permission to publish her plans here. The reason I am posting it is because I want to show other teachers an example of a well-thought out program. She has thought out who, where when, and why. While it takes time to think of something in this detail, in the long run it will save you time. Parents appreciate knowing all the details, too.

It is always helpful for teachers to see how other teachers are doing something. My incentive program is different from this one, but I hope I can organize it as well. 

Composer Bucks Incentive Program from Cecilly

Participating students: beginner, elementary, and intermediate piano students who are in the Basic and Standard Courses of study.

 Goal: to motivate students to develop more effective practice habits, improve skills, and increase self-discipline related to their piano study.  Also, to recognize and reward consistent efforts made to progress, and to encourage students to move beyond the studio in applying their developing skills at the piano.

 How the program works:

• Students will select a “composer” account from a given list to correspond with a composer statuette that they will be working to “buy”. They will also receive an info sheet with basic facts about their composer.
• Students will receive a pencil pouch for storing their earned composer bucks, their studio bank card, etc. for the program.  This pouch should be kept in the front of their binder for easy access.
• Throughout the teaching year at each lesson, students can earn composer bucks (money) for reaching & exceeding expectations, achieving goals, practicing, etc. (see below for details).
• Also, fees, tickets, and various citations will be given for careless or faulty preparation, execution of skills, etc. for which the student will have to pay a fine from their composer accounts. 
• Monies earned must first be put toward the purchase of their selected composer statuette.  Once this amount has been reached, any remaining monies earned can be used to purchase items from the studio “store” or “chances” for the recital raffle give-away of $20 (real money). Statuettes will be given out at the April recital.

 Monetary rewards: The following is a list of what will be rewarded and for what value:             

             $1 …

• For each practice day beyond the expected 5 days per week (parent’s initials required).
• For each assignment criteria met at a given lesson.
• For each technique skill securely demonstrated as pertains to the student’s level of study.
• For adequately completing any weekly theory assignment.
• For sharing 1 composer fact (limited to 1 per lesson).

$2 …

• For any assigned piece receiving a “Gold Star Pass”

$5 …

• For each 5-day practice week recorded with parent initials.
• For each 16 measure piece or section of a piece securely memorized.
• For each piece recorded successfully on the student’s “Studio Recording Club” disk.

$10…

• For presenting a private home performance concert of 3 learned assignment pieces for family/friends.  Student must list each piece played, date & time of concert and audience members present (with initials from each).

$15…

• For any “out of studio/home” performance before a public audience (church, school, community setting).  Student must record date & place of their performance, and the initials of 1 teacher or 2 other adults who heard the performance.
• For attending a local music concert (church, school, or community.) A program, ticket stub, or note initialed by parent or other verifying adult must be provided.

$20…

• For participation in a studio recital or adjudicated event during the year.

$50…

• For attending a professional Classical music concert performance (Symphony, Choir, Chamber ensemble, etc.).  A program/ticket stub must be signed by parent or other verifying adult.

 $75…

• For having your piano tuned/serviced. Tuner’s business card or invoice receipt must be dated and initialed by the tuner.

$100…

• For subscribing to “Piano Explorer” magazine.

 

Fees, Fines, and Violations:

• Late fee: for arriving late to a lesson without notice. $_____
• Borrower’s fee: for not having all needed materials and having to borrow the teacher’s book(s) for the lesson.  $_____
• Speeding ticket: for rushing practice/performance tempos resulting in avoidable errors.  $_____
• Parking ticket: for careless or faulty execution of rhythm in assigned activities or pieces.  $_____
• Failure to yield ticket: for neglecting to observe expressive markings printed in the music.  $_____

             

Available Composer accounts and cost of statuettes: $_____

              Bach, Beethoven, Brahms, Chopin, Debussy, Grieg, Handel, Haydn, Liszt, MacDowell, Mendelssohn, Mozart, Rachmaninoff, Schubert, Schumann, Tchaikovsky.

X and O’s for Tic Tac Toe

 

When I was playing Cecilly’s floor Tic Tac Toe with my students, they suggested very *vocally* (in a nice way… all my students are super nice)   I make X’s and O’s to go with the game. So I got up early this morning and created these 2 pages to cut out. As long as I have them made, I decided to post them here in case you want some, too. If they aren’t aligned quite right, it is because I was trying  to get 9 on a page, but utilize the margins for maximum size. I really wanted to make the X’s in color with some fun borders or something, but my desire to get them finished this morning outweighed my sometimes *over-the top* instincts. They print out in black and white. The green will not print out. Click this link to print them out. x-o-cards_tic_tac_toe1

My students really had fun with this game, even though it only took a few minutes. I’m going to play it all week. Thanks for all the comments on this game. It seems to be popular with a lot of teachers. And thanks to Cecilly for letting me post it here.

If you come up with some rules that make the game extra fun, post a comment or send me an email. Sometimes these games just get more and more fun and teachers add their suggestions.

Tic Tac Toe Note Toss Game

 

My friend Cecilly has been busy creating new Games by Cecilly™.  She generously shares these games with all piano teachers. This is a simple game that is with directions so easy,  even I can figure it out! (Ive never been good at reading directions and I either need a picture or some other way to learn. Teaching is all about learning styles.)  If you have some seasonal  bean bag toys such as chicks or bunnies,  set them out and ask your students to pick their favorite to toss. You can play this game at a lesson, or it could be a fun group lesson game. I took the picture above with one of my bean bag toys I keep in the studio just for fun. 

You might wonder how this is any different from just doing flash cards sitting at the piano. Well, this gets the student off the bench and in a different frame of mind. It breaks up the routine and makes piano lessons more fun.

Here are the directions from Cecilly:

Materials needed: 9 note flash cards, a bean bag to toss.

Set up: Place 9 note flash cards face up or face down on the floor in a tic tac toe grid fashion.

To Play: The student stands at a distance and tosses the bean bag to the grid of cards. Which ever card the bean bag lands on is the one the student must name (or play on the piano). If correct, Turn the card over. If incorrect, remove the card.

 

Continue, having the student toss, trying to win a 3 in a row, or until all cards have been landed on and named/played.     -Cecilly

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sharps and Flats for Keyboard Toss Game

For lack of a better name, I’m calling the cards in today’s post,  Sharps and Flats for the Keyboard Toss Game.

Sometimes older students (or students who have been taking longer) see some of the activities I do with beginning students and want to play, too, so I try to think of ways to modify the game for them. With this in mind, I made some sharp and flat cards to go with Cecilly’s  Keyboard BeanBag Toss . 

Here are the directions.

Print and cut out the cards. Laminate them if you wish, with either clear self adhesive covering or a laminating machine.

Scatter the cards on the floor. Put a large size keyboard (which I posted last week) on the floor. The students tosses a bean bag to a card. Then he takes the card and places it on correct key on the floor keyboard.

Now you can get creative and make up the rest of the rules yourself. Most likely the student playing this game is about 9-11 years old. So I try to think of something that will appeal to that age. I like simple rules, so I might tell the student if he can finish all the cards in “x” minutes, he gets to choose the order of his lesson, or he doesn’t have to play one of his pieces, etc. Sometime I tell them that no student has done it any faster than “x” minutes, and they try to break the record, as they do in video games. Children (especially boys)  around the 5th grade and up aren’t that interested in stickers as prizes, at least around here. But they have a great and  quirky sense of humor. It is really up to the teacher to make this kind of activity fun.

If you play this and have an idea that works well,  pass it on to the rest of us. Thank you, Cecilly, for the idea.

Cards for Bean Bag Toss Game

Cecilly sent me a game that she made up for beginning students who are just learning the keys on the piano and she wanted to get them away from the piano with an off the bench activity. Yesterday I posted the floor keyboard, and today I am posting the Cards for the Bean Bag Toss Game. As I read the directions to this game, I decided that there are a lot of ways to use a floor keyboard, so that is why I made one and posted it yesterday. You might notice that she specifically made the game for middle C position, but I included all the music alphabet in order to use the cards for different activities. I have already posted alphabet cards, but they are in all different colors. This set uses two colors, because in her game, one color is the RH and the other color is the LH. So enjoy the game with Cecilly’s directions below, or make up your own.

  I included an H in the cards for the European teachers who like to print out material but use an H in place of the letter B. I also included a sharp and flat because I just hate to leave an empty space!

Over the weekend I am going to post alphabet cards with sharps and flats on them so the game can be played with more advanced students.

Here are Cecilly’s instructions in blue print:

Middle C Position BeanBag Toss Game

 Something I did today with my beginner to help
reinforce both the names of the white keys and the letter names of
the middle C position is a little tossing game…

I placed 2 sets of letter cards face down on the floor. Set one was in one color and included the middle C position letters for the RH (CDEFT). The other set was in a different color and included the LH (CBAGF). I also placed my movable paper floor keyboard on the floor.

My student tossed a beanbag to the letters. He took the letter card he
landed on and then placed that letter on its corresponding key on
the floor keyboard. The color determined the correct placement of
course. I had a C in each color since middle C is used in both hands.

My student seemed to enjoy the activity which was followed up immediately with the theory page that will require him to name the keys in the middle C position.

 

 

 I appreciate all your comments on my blog, but I would like to point out that Cecilly is the very creative teacher who has supplied us with a lot of the *off the bench* game ideas I post. I try to make it clear when the game is her idea. All I do is make the graphics to her games. You can find all of the games from Cecilly in the Cecilly’s Game category section on the right.

Stand Up, Sit Down Activity from Cecilly

This is a fun, helpful activity from Cecilly, and you don’t have to print anything out. Here are her directions:

Using a short piece or rhythmic pattern, (8 measures or so) choose what you want to have the student focus on (a specific recurring rhythm value, simple pattern, rest, etc.), and then explain  that every time you get to the item of focus you’ll change your body position.

For example, say the focus will be half notes.  Sing the words or count the rhythm. At the first half note, stand up (and stay up) continuing with the words/counting until the next half note when you’ll sit down (at stay down) until the next half where you’ll stand up again, etc. etc.

This creates a fun up and down movement activity and really gets the student to pay attention to the rhythm.

Cecilly said:

“I sometimes do this activity when I want the student to focus on
rests. We stand/sit on each rest. Sometimes I’ll just put the CD on
and we’ll respond this way simply as we listen to the music. Other
times we’ll chant the words. There are lots of possibilities.”

I have actually done this kind of thing with my students before and it is a lot of fun. The other day a beginning student kept missing (over and over again) a certain note. Since there were only about 5 notes in the song I knew I had to do something different, and quickly. I told him were were going to stand every time that note appeared.  In my version, we stood up and sat down immediately. Up and down we went, laughing and having fun. Amazingly, he didn’t miss that note again. It’s just a matter of narrowing the focus and it really works!

Thanks, Cecilly, for another very helpful activity.

If you do something quick and easy that really worked and you would like to share it, send me an email and I’ll post it here.

Rhythm Match Up Cards in 6/8

Today  I am posting the cards  to play Cecilly’s  Rhythm Match Up Game  in 6/8 meter. The time signature is not hard for students to feel and play, but sometimes they don’t see it on the page. Have you ever had students practice 6/8 meter all week in 4/4 time? Or half the piece in 4/4 and the other in 6/8? Sometimes that happens! Maybe this game will help students not make that mistake.

Here are the rules to the Rhythm Match Up Game from Cecilly. The cards from other meters were posted Feb. 4.

Objective: to correctly match up the rhythm patterns with their
corresponding time signature in 1 min. or less.

To Play: On a table or surface on one side of the playing area, place
the time signature cards face up. At the other end of the playing
area, on the floor, randomly place the rhythm pattern cards face
down. The player stands in the middle. At “go”, start the timer and
the player grabs a rhythm card, runs to the table and places it
beside it’s corresponding time signature card. Player then goes to
get another rhythm card, and so on until time is up or all cards have
been placed. After time is up, check to see that all cards have been
placed correctly. If not, help the student make corrections. Then
take all the cards from one time signature pile and have the student
lay out in a 4 meas. pattern to clap and count. Repeat with the
other pile of cards.

Rhythm Time Match-Up Game

This Game by Cecilly™ called Rhythm Time Match Up will help students recognize meter by looking at rhythm patterns. I look forward to playing it with my students. I made cards for 4/4 and 3/4 meters. The first 2 cards are easier than the last two, so print out what you need. Then laminate if you desire, cut them out, and have fun!

Here are the directions in Cecilly’s words:

RHYTHM TIME MATCH-UP RACE:

Materials: 2 time signature cards (3/4 and 4/4), 8 rhythm pattern
cards with 4 in 4/4 time and 4 in 3/4 time, 1 min. timer.

Objective: to correctly match up the rhythm patterns with their
corresponding time signature in 1 min. or less.

To Play: On a table or surface on one side of the playing area, place
the time signature cards face up. At the other end of the playing
area, on the floor, randomly place the rhythm pattern cards face
down. The player stands in the middle. At “go”, start the timer and
the player grabs a rhythm card, runs to the table and places it
beside it’s corresponding time signature card. Player then goes to
get another rhythm card, and so on until time is up or all cards have
been placed. After time is up, check to see that all cards have been
placed correctly. If not, help the student make corrections. Then
take all the cards from one time signature pile and have the student
lay out in a 4 meas. pattern to clap and count. Repeat with the
other pile of cards.

Feel free to change up the time signatures to include 2/4, 6/8, etc.
Just make sure you have rhythm pattern cards to match those meters.

Quarter Note Hunt

Cecilly has a new game called Quarter Note Hunt and I’m posting the directions today. This is such a simple activity and so easy to prepare, that it will be easy to play at a lesson.  It might be good to have this activity ready when lessons start to drag a little. Boys, especially, need to move around some.

The picture above is a set of cards [ quarter-note-hunt ] to go with her game  in case you would like to print them out.  Be sure to print in landscape format. I hope these cards are  what Cecilly had in mind.  It will also be very easy to just  cut up index cards and draw them yourself.

This game can be played with any rhythm value, but the following directions are for quarter and half notes. I went ahead and put in some other note values on my cards, too,  in case you want to play it when they have learned more notes.   Here is the game in her words:

Quarter Note Hunt

Materials: Timer, a basket, and several small cards folded in half with a quarter note drawn on the outside (vary the stem direction)and 1 short dash drawn on the inside. The card is to sit with the open ended side down and the folded side up (like a triangle). The note is on the side facing toward you and the dash on the inside so when the card is flipped up, the dash is revealed.  Also, make several half notes.

Set up: Place the cards all over the room where they can be easily seen, mixing up quarters and halves. I have mine on the floor, on the shelves, on my desk, in the corner of the piano keyboard, on my table, etc.

Objective: to retrieve all of the quarter notes in the time allotted (30 sec).

To Play: at “go” the student begins to hunt for the quarter notes while I play some exciting music on the piano. For each card that is found, the student should bring it to a central location (on the floor, in a basket, on the table, whatever you’ve chosen). So this becomes a back and forth kind of race against the clock. When time is up, stop playing. The student stops hunting and counts all of the quarter notes he has gathered. Take a moment to have him lift the front flaps up to reveal the dash and thus the number of pulses for each quarter.

Variation: Play again, but have student gather all the half notes. Then after play, allow the student to arrange his notes into rhythm patterns to clap and count/play and count on a given piano key.

As new rhythm values are introduced, I just keep adding new cards and having the student race to gather the newest value first. This helps them visually differentiate between all the different rhythm values.

Have fun.
Cecilly

Thanks again, Cecilly!

 

Don’t forget to draw the dash and dashes on the inside. I might draw hearts above the dash (one heart  for each beat) because I use the Kodaly system method of teaching beat and rhythm.

Cecilly’s “Who Am I? Swat Game” with “fly” flash cards

When Cecilly sent me her “Who Am I? Swat Game” idea,  it gave me an idea to make some fly graphic flash cards to use just with that game. I intended on just making a few but I got carried away and made a full set. There are three pages, but if you use these with beginning students, you don’t have to print the last page. You can use just the cards your student knows.

In addition to Cecilly’s game of spot placing the notes, I have also used the game to  learn the notes and not play it as a timed game.  I put out just some landmark notes to a student who is just in the process of learning them and we used the fly swatter to identify them. Now that you have the fly swatter idea, you can also make up some games of your own that will work with your situation.

If you have a student who is easily distracted, these cards might just be too much, so use the flash cards I posted the other day.  But for the right student, I hope that someone finds these  fun.

Let’s thank Cecilly for sending us this game idea!

“Who Am I? Swat game”

Place various note flashcards face up on a table or the floor. Give
student a flyswatter and have her stand or sit in front of the cards
so they are in clear view. This is a timed game, so allow 1 min. to
see how many notes the student can correctly identify by slapping.

Ok, at “GO”, you, the teacher do the actual spot-placing out loud but
without naming the note. For example: say you’re looking at F in the
treble clef. You would say “treble G down a 2nd” quickly and wait
for the student to mentally do the spot-placing, find the note, and
then swat it and say it’s name. If correct, you say “Point!” and
immediately go on to another. If incorrect, make a Bzzz sound and
repeat the spot-placing for another note.

At first I thought I’d turn the answered note card over, but then I
thought otherwise because that same note could be spot-placed from a
different direction (Mid C up a 4th for example).

Anyway, this could be a game that’s repeated in subsequent weeks so
the student can see if she can beat her previous record.>

Slap Game from Cecilly

You’re sitting at the piano bench with a student saying “up a second, down a second”, on and on and it’s getting kind of tedious. So just get off the bench and go over and play the Slap game for a few minutes,  just enough to add some vitality to the lesson.

This is another game from Cecilly. It is a game for students who can’t seem to “get” intervals. I think it can also be successfully used for students who are just learning intervals in their primer level book.  If you use my alphabet cards,  you will have to print out more than one page unless you want to stay within an octave.  (Look for the July 27, 2008 posting to see my original posting on the alphabet cards.) I went ahead and laminated mine with clear book covers, so they are going to be slippery. It was suggested by other teacher to used removable putty on the back to help them stay in place. It was also suggested to use a flyswatter and swat the interval rather than slap.  Like all of Cecilly’s games, you can modify it to work for you. If you play it, let us know how it worked out!

Interval path “Slap” Game:

Either on a table or on the floor, lay out 2 sets of ABC cards in a
straight line,  row, or slightly curved (like a rainbow). Have the
student stand or sit facing the cards.

Much of this activity is “silent”. The teacher calls out “Starting
note” followed by a letter (ie “Starting note: C”). The student
places his pointer finger just below one of the C’s. Then the
teacher dictates a simple 5 or so note interval path saying the
direction and interval (ie up a 2nd, up a 2nd, up a 2nd, down a 2nd,
etc.). The student may follow the path with his finger after each
interval. Then the teacher, when the path is completed, calls
out “Slap!” The student then slaps the final note as fast as he can
(ie “Starting note:C, up a 2nd, up a 2nd, up a 2nd, down a 2nd,
SLAP!”) AT THE SAME TIME, you, the teacher, also go to slap the
correct letter card. Whoever slaps first earns a point.

You can make the path as complicated as you wish depending upon the
student’s level. Also, you can play it as a SECRET Interval Path
game where the student CANNOT use his fingers to mark the path as you
dictate but must follow the path with his eyes only in silence. When
you call “SLAP!” you both go for the letter.

You could also require that the final letter name be called out along
with the slap. If the student fails to call the letter, even if he
slaps first, no point is awarded.

Sharp and Flat Race to Middle C

 

Cecilly has  another game that she has said I can post here. This is a great idea to teach sharps and flats and the direction they move. I can’t wait to try it out with my students.

I made some cards to go with this game that I plan to use, and I’m posting them here to share with you. There are 2 pages, one for flats and one for sharps. Cecilly didn’t have a lot of time to proof these cards for me, but she gave me some quick suggestions for the natural cards. I made them rather quickly, so let me know if you see any mistakes. These cards are not on my web site, but you can print them here: alphabet-cards-sharps-and-flats

 

Here are the directions for this great game, in her own words:

 

Sharp/Flat race to middle C:

Materials: 2 pawns and 2 sets of music ABC letter cards, one marked
as A# B#, etc., the other as Ab Bb, etc. Shuffle each set separately
and place the Flats set to the right side of the piano, the Sharps
set to the left. Have the student choose one set with you having the
other. Sit one your respective side of the bench as your set.

To play, hold card sets face down and place pawns on the highest &
lowest C’s on the piano. Players take turns turning over the top
card from their set and moving their pawn to the nearest key
corresponding with the letter ALWAYS in the direction of middle C and
never going back toward the player’s end of the piano. After all
cards are played, the player who ends up closest to mid. C is the
winner. Switch sides.

The idea is to not only become familiar with identifying the keys as
flats/sharps, but to become more aware (with play always directed
toward center) that flats move down and sharps move up. Get it??

You can also mark some of the letters with a natural sign, just to
mix things up a bit and keep ‘em on their toes (to see if they really
understand that naturals are always white keys)!!

I played the game on a flat paper floor keyboard with each pawn on
the last white key at each end. They were both 18 white keys away
from mid. C. I also placed a little piece of colored highlighter tape
on the mid. C key to make it more obvious what we were both moving
toward. So if you use the actual piano, just count 18 keys away from
mid. C. That distance made the game go quickly and we played “best
out of 3″. I won 2 of the games so the kids definitely want a
rematch next week. Fun fun.

Skittles Board Game

 

skittles-game-cards

skittles-game-board

This is a fun game that Cecilly thought up. I only made the cards and the game board. The objective is for students to identify notes on the grand staff. She thought it best to have a black and white staff because the game is colorful enough when the boards are covered with Skittles. Also, a lot of you have black and white printers. Be sure and  laminate the game boards with clear book covers or Contact paper and I highly suggest using card stock for everything. I made the game cards so there would be less cutting on your part but  you may have to adjust it for your printer. Print the game board in landscape and the cards in portrait mode. Print one game board for each student.   These cards are not hard to make, so you might want to make your own, with your own variations. Thanks, Cecilly for another great game.

Here are her directions in her own words.

SKITTLES STAFF GAME:

Prepare a grand staff board on poster board or something similar for each player. Prepare a deck of cards with Clef & letter indicated (Bass F, Treble G, Treble D, Bass C, Middle C, etc.) making multiples of these. Along with these cards, throw in some cards that say: Loose a turn, Take away 2 Reds (make a few of these cards with different colors too), Remove a Treble (or Bass) line (or space) note, Eat all the C’s from the player’s board on your right, Reverse, Skip, Eat a Skittle from each player’s board, Steal a line note (space note) from another player’s board and put it on your’s, etc. etc. (as far as your imagination will go).

 Give each student (or you and the individual student) a king-size individual bag of Skittles. Or you can buy a big bag and place them in a dish for all to draw from.

 To play, players place their boards on the table or floor in front of them with the Skittles & shuffled deck of cards in the center of the playing area (If your staff boards are on copy paper, secure them on a clip board for support. Decide who’s to start with that player drawing the top card and placing a Skittle as directed by the card or following whatever other direction is given. The card is then discarded beside the deck, and play passes to the next player. Reshuffle the discard pile into the deck as needed.

 To win, the first player to have a Skittle on all their lines & spaces wins. Or the player to have the most covered at the end of the playing time wins.

 This is a great way to test their note naming skills.

 Have fun.

Four Corners Christmas Game

Ceclilly has a new game that you can play at a holiday group lesson. This might be a good way to choose who plays  at the group lesson. Sometimes I unimaginatively choose names out of a basket. This sounds like more fun. Thanks, Cecilly.

FOUR CORNERS CHRISTMAS GAME (sit down version)

Materials: a basket or bag with four different seasonal icon pictures (tree,
star, bell, candy-cane) each equal to the number of players, Christmas
music to either play yourself or on the CD player, and a chair.

Set up: Place the chair in the center of the playing area. Mix up
and place the seasonal icon pictures in scattered fashion face up on
the floor around the chair. Players sit around the periphery of the
playing area.

Objective: to avoid elimination.

To play: Choose someone to be “It”. “It” takes a seat in the chair and
hides her eyes during play. When the music starts, players all at
once get up and quickly but quietly pick an icon picture from the
floor and return to a spot around the periphery of the area. When
the music stops, It keeps head down and eyes closed and covered and
calls out one of the icons. Whoever has that icon is “out”, but
first must perform a Christmas selection at the piano. As they come up to
perform, they return their icon face up on the floor and then return
to their spot. After those players have performed, all icons are
placed back on the floor face up. A new “It” is selected from the
group of performers, and another round begins.

For the second round, when the music starts, all except those
performers, get up to select another icon picture. It could be a new
one or the same one, doesn’t matter. And again, when the music
stops, It calls out one of the icons revealing the next group of
performers.

Now, if It calls out an icon and NO one has chosen that picture, then
no one is out, no one performs that round, and ALL previously
eliminated players are back in (this means they better have a 2nd
piece ready to perform)! A new It is selected from someone who was
previously out.

Continue. playing until either everyone has eventually had an opportunity
to perform, or there’s only 1 player left. If that happens, let the
final player perform.

Urge players to select their icon and return to their spots quickly
as they won’t want to be caught in between when the music stops. If
that happens, they’ll be considered out too and will have to
perform.

VARIATIONS: if you don’t want to incorporate the performing of
prepared pieces into the game, simply assign a silly group perfomance
activity for the eliminated group to do on the spot together. For
example, have the group “Laugh heartily like Santa (HO HO HO),”
or “Sing the first verse of Jingle Bells while standing on 1 leg,”
or “Hold hands and walk in a circle as you sing Jolly Old St. Nick.,”
or “March and sing Deck the Halls,” etc. etc. letting your
imagination go.

Just remember that there needs to be 4 different icons and 4 icons for each  player.