St. Patrick’s Day Material

Here are some St. Patrick’s Day printables for elementary age students that I’ve made over the years. There is nothing new here, but I’m posting it for new readers.  To download, click on the link below the picture, not the picture itself.

St. Patrick’s Day Card for your students

I used these last year and my student’s loved them! The are little shamrock cards that fold up. I add a gold foil covered chocolate coin inside! If you don’t have green paper, use some stickers or decorate with green markers.

Shamrock composing activity

Let’s Go Marching is a pre-reading activity that even beginners can do. Use either finger numbers or note names.

Let’s All Go Marching, a composing activity on-the-staff

This is the same composing activity as above, but designed for students who have learned a five-finger hand-position and can draw notes.

Shamrock Keyboard Game

This is one of the best games for learning piano keys. it is even good for older students. I’ve made this game with designs for all the seasons, and this one works well for St. Patrick’s Day.

Shamrock Notes for St. Patrick’s Day

This is good way for beginning students to practice writing all the notes on the grand staff. I’ve learned that if students discover that notes on the staff just move up the alphabet, they are less fearful about learning them.

Shamrock Rhythms Game

Last year I re-made the graphic of this game because my original used a ton of ink. But you only have to print out one copy.  Students draw cards to find missing rhythm values in a measure. There are some circle shaped cards to cut out. It is game for older elementary students who are comfortable with note values. It also can be used as a theory class game or file folder game. Print on cardstock and laminate for durability.

Clover Full of Notes Rhythm Worksheet

This is a worksheet, so you can print one copy of this and either laminate it or place it inside a sheet protector and use dry erase pens. I made this as a review for students who have already learned rhythm values. This also looks fine printed in black in with no color. Does anyone want an outline only copy they can color in group lessons or music class?  Let me know and I’ll try to make one.

Jingle Bells with Rhythm Instruments at a Group Lesson

Jingle Bells with instruments

I bought the electronic version of the new book by Philip Johnston called The Dynamic Studio: How to keep students, dazzle parents, and build the music studio everyone wants to get into. (Disclosure: I am an Amazon Affiliate because I get questions about where to buy the things I write about. Amazon sends me a few cents if a reader buys something from clicking  the book link.) Philip Johnston writes inspiring books that get me enthused to teach in different ways. One of his main ideas is to be different; don’t always do the same thing. Maybe that was on my mind when I decided to use rhythm instruments in my group lessons.

After an unsuccessful search for an easy piano/rhythm band ensemble I could use in a group lesson without a lot of preparation, I wrote my own.  I arranged this specifically to be easy enough that they could be successful without having to practice, so please keep that in mind.

I  wrote the second piano part for an electric bass, which some students can play. This part can also be played on the piano, so I call it Piano 2 in the score. You can also use bells or any other tuned instrument, and it sounds fine to omit it.

The first group was my youngest students. They absolutely loved the instruments. But if you have ever used rhythm instruments with young children, you know what a challenge they are.  I didn’t mind that some of them could not play the written part and just played the steady beat.  I was surprised that a few of them actually followed the score. I let the little beginner on the bells shake them through the entire song rather than the way I wrote it in the score. No one in that group reads well enough for the piano part. I had to play by ear because I could not find the piano score! That seemed to amuse the young group.

The second group of 9 and 10-year-old students was absolutely the right age for this activity. Without any practice, (except for the Piano 1 part, which I gave to a 5th grader the week before) they were able to read the score and play the correct rhythm. We traded instruments and repeated it a few times. I am only sorry that I didn’t record it, because they did really well. The student playing the piano part was thrilled to be part of an ensemble.

After that, we changed directions and performed on the piano for each other using good performance skills. Everyone had learned a Christmas song or a favorite piece. That did not take too long and we went on to the next activity.

They had all been looking at the electric bass and wondering why it was there. We discussed the history of the electric bass and how it was like the double bass. I also got in some theory with the older groups, as we discussed the root of chords and how that is an easy way to play the bass. This is where taking our state theory exam really helped. I demonstrated with my meager guitar skills (Me on the electric bass, how funny was that!) and then let them all try it.

Our last activity was playing a Thanksgiving board game, with different level cards for each age group. I was relieved my students enjoyed the game because I had not tried it out with a group. Even my older students had fun and reviewed some theory at the same time. Finally, we just had enough time to pass out cookies and candy canes, and they all left happy.

Later I asked what was their favorite activity. Can you guess what it was? The rhythm instruments! So with that in mind, I am sharing my simple score with you. Feel free to change the instruments to whatever you have on hand, even homemade instruments.

Obviously you don’t need a score for this simple rhythm section, but my students found it interesting, and it helped me focus. If one of your students has a family member who can play the Piano 2 part on the electric bass or any other instrument, that would be really fun, especially for a Christmas recital! Please alert me if you find any mistakes in my score, as I don’t have an editor. Have fun and if you have a successful performance, let me know!

Funny Thanksgiving Food for Printing/iPad, and Some Sad “Skitch” News

Funny Thanksgiving Food for iPad and/or print

Some time ago I made a worksheet called Funny Thanksgiving Food, and recently I drew a version  to use on the iPad or Android, and it is also a printable. This  worksheet is a review of the notes around middle C. Click on the link above for this colorful version that looks good on a mobile device. However, since it is a PDF so it can be printed, laminated, and used with dry erase markers.

I also significantly updated the print-friendly version below, which has keys instead of notes on the staff.  Funny Thanksgiving Food has been a very popular coloring printable over the years, but I think I draw better now. The coloring version is good to use with younger children at a group lesson while waiting for everyone to show up. What child can resist coloring food all the wrong colors! (I also have a version where the pilgrim has to be colored, which might be useful for parents or a group class. Email me and I’ll send it to you.)

Funny Thanksgiving Food

The mention of the iPad brings up the subject of Skitch, my (used-to-be) favorite app to use with worksheets. Imagine my disappointment a few weeks ago when I discovered the company that bought Skitch, Evernote, has totally revamped the app in version Skitch 2.0, so that it is no longer useful with my students!  As a matter of fact, it has created a lot of resentment and angst among long time Skitch users. You can do a search on the web to read about it. If you have the first version of Skitch, I advise you to keep using it and DO NOT update it! Once you update it, you cannot get the old version back.

I am looking for a replacement app for Skitch that will work in my piano lessons, and when I find one that is as easy as the first version of Skitch, I’ll let you know.  So far I have tried many apps, and none are simple and easy enough for my needs.

All I want is an app to import and open PDF’s from the web, with some easy tools to draw lines and circles on  the PDF.  It should have an eraser without erasing the PDF, and/or an un-do button. There should be a way to clear the screen to start over. It needs to be so easy that even *I* can quickly figure out how to use it. Please leave a comment or email me if you know of one! I’ve tried various PDF reader apps that can be marked with annotations, but none are simple enough for what I am looking for.  I’ve also tried various whiteboard apps and drawing apps. I’m still looking!

I wrote Evernote very politely asking if they could put the first version back in the app store for those of us who use it for education, but they never bothered to reply.

A Fast and Simple Way to Use the iPad in Lessons with Skitch

If you are new to the iPad, I want to share the fastest no-fail way I’ve found to download and use graphic activities in piano lessons. Not all worksheets and activities are suitable for use with an iPad, but many are and not only is it more fun, but it saves paper and ink. The picture above shows a students doing rhythmic dictation on the iPad. For the purpose of this tutorial, I will use the Ladybug Board Game graphic that I posted on my website last week.

Download the Free App Skitch

To set this up, you will need to download Skitch., a free app from the iTunes store.   Skitch is not a super complicated app that will do a million things, but it fast and easy to use. Once you have Skitch on your iPad, you can use any graphic from the web in your lessons.

I have tried out many apps to use with my graphics since I was given my iPad, some that I bought and some that are free. In my experience, Skitch is the fastest and easiest to use. In a piano lesson I don’t have a lot of time to fool around with trying to remember how an app works. It has to be as easy as picking up a pencil and paper.

Before Your Student Arrives At the Lesson Set Up Your iPad

1. Using your iPad, open the Skitch app. On the home page there are several icons on the top row. Select “Web.”

2. When next window opens, there will be a place to type in a website or do a Google search. To make it easy for this tutorial, you can click on this link. http://www.susanparadis.com/catalog.php?ID=SP310

3. Select “Download”. This opens my Ladybug Board Game PDF document, just like on your desktop computer.

4. Turn the iPad to Landscape orientation. (You need to do this for any graphic in landscape orientation but not portrait.) Using two fingers, center the graphic exactly like you want to use it. You can make a graphic smaller or larger by zooming in or out. This is one of the reasons I like Skitch.

5. When you have it just like you want it, click the camera icon on the left. Skitch saves the Ladybug picture and puts it on the home page for future use. You cannot change the graphic (other than crop it or zoom in or out), but you can draw or type all over it.

6. Notice now there are a lot of icons on the left side. The Ladybug graphic is saved on the home page of Skitch for you to use in your lessons. It will be there until you delete it.

With Your Student in the Lesson

1. Do not tell your students you are going to play an iPad game. This will confuse them, (especially the younger ones) because iPad games have animation, and all you are going to do is draw on the graphic. I learned this the hard way, with a disappointed little child. (There are plenty of iPad animated games but that is not what this tutorial is about!) I simply tell them we’re going to practice notes or whatever on the iPad. Then they will not expect the ladybugs and bees to fly around and be all let down when they don’t. Sometimes I ask if they want to use paper or iPad. They always choose iPad because it is new and different.

2. Open Skitch and select the previously saved Ladybug graphic from the home page.

3. When it opens, select the colored *dot* on the left and select the size and color. Now select the *pencil* tool. So far it has only taken 20 seconds of lesson time to get ready to use with a student. Practice this before you use it in a lesson and see how long it takes you! That’s all you have to do!

4. To do the activity, use the same directions as the paper board game. Using either keyboard of grand staff flash cards, students select a card and move to the correct letter. Using the pencil tool, the student will cross out the letter he lands on. Use different colors for two or more players. Keep drawing, moving, and crossing out until the student gets to the end.

If you are on the bench, you can play a piano key instead of selecting a card. Be creative! I try to make activities that teachers can use in different ways.

The picture above is a screen shot that I used with my student. He crossed out in green and I used yellow. We find it a lot easier to use a stylus (around $15.00) than drawing with our fingers.

There is no eraser tool in Skitch, but there is an undo tool, and it will go back as much as you need. The garbage can icon will clear the entire board of any writing you have done, but it won’t clear off the Ladybug graphic. The shapes (the circle icon) are difficult for little ones to use, so I prefer the pencil tool. The pointed finger icon is the select tool, and if you select something you draw, you can move it around the board!

What I like about Skitch is that it makes it easy to use any picture on the web that gives you permission to download. You can use a giant staff and draw notes. You can draw a note, select it, and move it around the staff. You can use Skitch’s (typing) keyboard, type in letters, and move the letters around a grand staff. By modifying the rules of your activities, you can think of many ways to use Skitch. On my game, for example, you can draw a little ladybug and move it around the board with your finger. Or you can draw a circle to use as your “token” to move around instead of crossing out letters.

I plan to show you some more graphics that are good for the iPad this summer. In the meantime, check out the beautiful ones by Anne Crosby. (Go to her links section.)  Jennifer Fox has written a lot of ways to use the iPad in piano lessons, so be sure to check out her blog. If you are willing to share your iPad graphics, please let us know!

Leave a comment if you have any questions or if there is something you need help with. Comments are moderated to avoid spam, so it might not show up right away.

Color the Egg Puzzle

Color the Egg Puzzle

Today I am posting a black and white puzzle to identify notes around middle C. I plan to use it as a coloring sheet to send home in their binder because I don’t have time to do this at a lesson. However, I think students might enjoy cutting it out after they color it. With Mom or Dad’s help they can put the pieces back together as they name the notes.

Another way to use this printable is to make it a game for a group lesson. Cut out enough puzzles for the students who are playing and put the puzzle pieces in a bowl. Students draw puzzle pieces one at a time and try to be the first one to put the egg back together. If they draw a note they already have, they have to put it back. Students can stick the piece down with double-sided tape. This game requires the teacher to do a lot of fine cutting, which my hands doesn’t seem to like nowadays! But it would reinforce matching skills that would be helpful for beginners. If you want to do this, email me and I’ll send you a color version you can cut out.

I use inexpensive double-sided tape that is a lot less messier than glue, so you might want to pick some up.

Objectives

• To reinforce note names around middle C
• To enjoy a seasonal activity

Ages

• All elementary age children who have learned the notes around middle C

Material

• Worksheet
• Crayons (brown can be substituted for pink)

If cutting out and using as a puzzle, you need these materials:

• Double sided tape or glue
• Scissors
• Colored construction paper as the background to stick down the puzzle

I have received so many nice emails and comments lately. Thank you so much! Sometimes my readers find mistakes and let me know about them. I appreciate that, too, because I am not a very good proof-reader!

Coming up soon are several new Easter bunny songs for primer and elementary students. Subscribe to this blog if you want to be notified when I post new material. Simple click on the subscribe button above. You will remain anonymous.

List of St. Patrick’s Day Material

Some teachers asked for a list of my St. Patrick’s Day material. I’m listing it today in case you need something quick for next week. This material is designed for elementary age children.

To use these printables do not click on the picture. Click on the link below the picture and when a new window opens, click on the download link. Make sure you have the latest (free) version of Adobe Reader.

Shamrock composing activity   I recently put new graphics on this because I like the softer look. Let’s Go Marching is a pre-reading activity that even beginners can do. Use either finger numbers or note names.

Let’s All Go Marching, a composing activity on-the-staff  Young students write notes in the staff for this composing activity. It is suitable for students who have learned a five-finger position.

Shamrock Keyboard Game   This is the one I posted recently. It is teacher vs. student in this fun game on the piano keys!

Shamrock Notes for St. Patrick’s Day    This is good way to review all the notes on the grand staff.

Shamrock Rhythms Game   I recently completely re-made the graphics on this game to save a lot of green ink. Students draw cards to find missing rhythm values in a measure. There are some circle shaped cards to cut out. It is game for older elementary students who are comfortable with note values. It can be used as a theory class game. Print on cardstock and laminate for durability.

Clover Full of Notes Rhythm Worksheet    I posted this a few days ago, but here it is again! You can print one copy of this and either laminate it or place it inside a sheet protector and use dry or wet erase pens. I made this as a review for students who have already learned rhythm values.

St. Patrick’s Day Card for your students   I’ve been passing these out to my elementary students and I they really like them. (I tell them a little leprechaun dropped them off!) I ask them to guess what the card turns into when they open it. They also like the little chocolate coin!

Have Fun!

Hearts and Clubs – Notes

Hearts and Clubs

This is the first in a set of “Hearts and Clubs” activities that do not take up much valuable lesson time. I am posting this note identification printable in time for Valentine fun, but I made it generic enough so that it can be played all year long. The game board is just a starting place for all the different ways it can be used. Have fun coming up with new ideas!

There are 3 pages of flash cards included in this PDF document. If you wish, you can use your own flash cards. To keep from printing the flash cards, set your printer to print page one only.

Objective

• learn to identify notes on a grand staff  by sight
• quickly identify the notes on the grand staff
• use flash cards in a fun way

Ages

• Suitable for elementary and older piano students

Materials Needed

• Printed game board
• Note flash cards included in the download (or use your own), shuffled well
• Bingo chips

Directions

There are several ways to play this learning activity.

1. Individually: Put the flash cards you want the student to review in a stack face down. Using an hourglass sand timer, the student quickly draws a flash card and places a bingo chip on the corresponding note name. The object is to cover all the note names on the  game board before the hourglass runs out.  An alternate version is to use a stopwatch instead of a sand timer.

2. Two players, such as student and teacher or two students:  One player uses the hearts on the game board and the other uses the clubs. Players take turns drawing flash cards and covering the corresponding note names with chips on their game board. The first person who covers all their hearts or clubs wins.

3. In a group: Each player has a game board and bingo chips or you can put two students on each card. Students take turns drawing flash cards and covering the corresponding note names with bingo chips. Place discarded flash cards back in the deck or print extra if you have a large group. If the group has different levels, give the beginners the easier flash cards.

Bat Facts – a Note Story About Bats!

Bat Facts

Some of my students were begging me for another note story so I made one for them.  Actually this is not a story, but 5 sentences with some interesting information about bats that children might not know.

When it comes to note stories, I’ve noticed that some students love them and some don’t care for them at all. Some students try to figure out the words by context instead of reading the notes. You are free to use this with students you think will enjoy it!

If you are having a group lesson this week, your students might enjoy working on it together. I’m going to put it in my student’s binder and let them work on it in their spare time.

Bats are actually very helpful animals, and I’ve always liked them — from a distance, of course!

Musical Memory Game 5B

Musical Memory Game Level 5B

I’ve finally found time to post the second half of the vocabulary words to the 5th level of the Musical Memory Game. The cards for the first half of the words (which I call level 5A) were posted last week and can be found here. Feel free to mix words and symbols from different levels to suit the needs of your students.

It is not necessary to print the back of the cards to play the game. Please go to last week’s post for more information. If you want an easier game, check out levels 1 – 4. To make it a little easier, I have posted the links to the earlier levels here.

Level 4

Level 3

Level 2

Level 1

Rhythm Menagerie™ – a Review

Rhythm Menagerie™ Book 1 by Wendy Stevens

How would you like your music students to be proficient in playing and counting rhythm patterns, and have fun doing it?

Wendy Stevens has written and recently published the resource Rhythm Menagerie™, Reproducible Rhythm Explorations, a book to sequentially learn how to be an independent rhythm reader. Recently she sent me the book to give it a look-over and try out with my students.

I think as music teachers we want our students to be able to work out rhythms on their own and not rely on copying or learning by rote. Not only is this book very attractive with an easy to follow layout, but it is so comprehensive that students who use it diligently will certainly become independent rhythmically.

Rhythm Menagerie is 92 pages long, with 8 chapters. Each chapter features a new rhythm problem, starting with quarter and half notes and going all the way to dotted quarter notes. The book will have students enjoying themselves as they play rhythms in a fun and imaginative way. Students will also like the attractive graphics of unusual animals, with interesting information about each one. The graphics are suitable for all ages of piano students, good news for those of use with older beginners.

Have you ever noticed that some students are so concerned about the notes that their rhythm and steady beat is all over the place, and not in a good way? Wendy says that students will learn to read rhythms easier and be more successful if they are not also trying to play notes at the same time.

Rhythm Menagerie is an excellent resource to use along with a regular lesson book at a private lesson, but it can also be adapted for groups, such as a summer music camp. Home school families who want to introduce some music into their curriculum might also find this book useful.

After downloading the book, Wendy suggests printing out one page a week to use at the lesson and gradually work on rhythm skills throughout the year. I think that if you use the book with an older beginner, you can speed up the pace considerably.

Wendy’s book can be purchased and printed directly from her website. Once you have purchased the book, you can print it on your computer to use with your students again and again, and of course adapt it for your needs.

If you order the book before Sept. 20, you will receive a discount. Take a look at her the inside of her book here, and don’t forget to watch the cute video she made showing some of her students having fun with Rhythm Menagerie.

Note-Go-Find

Note-Go-Find

I designed this game for my youngest age group, because they told me Quarter Note Hunt  was their favorite group lesson game. It is also a quick game at an individual lesson.

This black and white printable looks great printed on different colored cardstock. After printing both sides and cutting them out, score each card in the middle and fold like a tent card. It is better if you do not laminate it, because that makes it hard to fold.  If you’re worried about smearing, spray it with a fixative.  A few of my cards did get a little smeared, but it only slightly.

Hide the cards around the room. Now you can play several different games:

• Play it like a scavenger hunt. Give students a list of the notes they should look for. I made a list for every student, and each one was  different.  There was a check off box on the sheet. If a student finished, I asked him to help a younger student.
• Give each student one specific note to look for. This way a beginner can look for an easy note he knows, such as middle C.
• Play it at an individual lesson when you introduce a new note. After introducing E, for example, tell the student to find all the E’s you have placed around the room.  Since there are other notes hidden as well, the student quickly learns that E is on the first line. There is nothing like a game to learn notes. It is much more effective than flash cards!
• Use the blank card for you or a special student to draw and hide a challenge card.
• If you have a student who doesn’t know the notes yet or has learning disabilities,  make up an answer sheet or give him some flash cards with the names on the back.  It might be good to have something on hand in case you see a student struggling in a group situation.
• I found that I can’t hide the cards too well. They have to be easy to find! 

Thanks to Cecilly for giving me the tent card idea.

If you use this game in a creative way, consider leaving a comment here so we can share with other teachers.

One Is Write, One Is Rong

One Is Write, One Is Rong

Some of my younger students really liked my worksheet, Lots of Goofs, but it was too hard for them. I didn’t want to leave anyone out, so I made an easy version just for them. I plan to let the students pretend to be the teacher and tell me what is wrong with each one as they cross out the mistakes with a red pen. Maybe I’ll have some easy props I can quickly use to look like a student, like a baseball hat and t-shirt.  Have fun with this one!

Steal a Heart Note Reading Game for Ledger Line Notes

Steal a Heart Game

 The purpose of this game is to reinforce note names with an emphasis on the really difficult ledger line notes like the ones below. Your older students will shudder in mock-dread when they see these little puppies!

I don’t like them, either, but the thing is, composers actually USE these notes so it comes in handy to know them!

I also included the ledger line notes in the middle of the grand staff on both the treble and bass staves, such as these.

However, the you can choose the level to suit your students, because I also made a page with the easy notes! You can print out the cards you want and select cards for different levels.

To play the game, give each student a game board and stack all the little heart cards face down in reach of everyone. Students will draw a heart card (that you are going to have to cut out; oh dear), name the card,  and place it on an empty heart on their game board. The object of the game is to cover all the hearts on the game board. There are only 12 heart spaces, so the game goes fast. If a student draws a Steal a Heart card, he may take a heart from the game board of the person on his right, but he must name the note he is stealing. If he draws a Be Mine card, he puts it over a card he has already named on his game board to “protect” it, and then draws another card.  Another player may not steal a heart that is “protected.” (It is important to draw another card to move the game along and also so he can practice naming the notes.)  If a student draws a Give my Heart card, he gives one of his cards to the player on his right, who  must name the card before he can take it. You can modify this game however you want, but that’s how we played it and everyone thought it was fun, since I gave them time to figure out the note names.

Steal a Heart Cards

You will need to print out enough little cards so that there are at least 12 to 16 note cards for each student. You will need about 1 page of the written conversation cards  for every 2 students so there will be a good balance between note cards and conversation cards. Look at the 4 page PDF before you print so that you can print out what  you need. Use card stock and laminate everything, or spray with a clear acrylic spray coating.

To be honest, I had trouble cutting the hearts out, so I added cutting lines.  I took a look at all those hard to cut out hearts and knew my hands would never make it for my large group lesson. When you start to cut a lot of these cards, you will thank me.

Have fun and thanks to all of you who are supporting this blog. I very much appreciate all of you!

Christmas Vocabulary Matchup

Music Vocabulary Matchup

If it’s not too late in the season, here is a worksheet for first year students to draw lines to match up vocabulary words and symbols. Sometimes students arrive at group lessons early and it’s a good idea to have something to keep them busy! Or maybe you would like to do something different at the last lesson of the year.

When I drew this red and green border, I intended on making many levels of vocabulary words for all my students.  But I think I got carried away drawing the border and ran out of time!  I was interested in making something seasonal, but suitable for all ages. Maybe next year I can add to the series.

Ornament Bingo

Ornament Bingo

If you are looking for a simple game for beginners for the holidays, you might be interested in this game.

There are four cards in this PDF.  I suggest laminating them if you want to keep them, because home printer ink will smear. The teacher calls out a letter and the students cover it with a bingo token.  Students can win by covering all of one color or row.  Younger children like to play several short games. Older beginners will want to play “black out” and cover all the ornaments.

If you have a few students in your group who are not beginners, make it more difficult for them. Give them a big staff and let them place a token on the staff note as well as the piano key. I have many big staves on my website you can use. There are always ways to make music games more difficult if you think about it.

I used to have some students who had trouble learning piano keys, no matter what cute little ideas I used at the piano. But once I started playing games like this, they learned the keys very quickly. It is a fact that if something is fun, students learn faster. Maria Montessori showed teachers a long time ago that children learn through play.

You know what’s fun for a Christmas group lesson? Instead of using bingo tokens, use green and red M&M’s.

Ornaments and Lights make your own worksheet

Ornaments and Lights

Are you tired of seeing material that I make for my own students and wish you could make a quick worksheet for Christmas that suits your own needs? Now you can!  You can use this one to match vocabulary words, rhythms, symbols, and even non-music concepts. You can make a lotto or bingo type game and call out words or rhythms for students to cover with  magnetic chips and swoop up with a magnetic wand.  You can have students color various concepts. Print on the back what colors should be used. You make an individual worksheet for each student, if your students are at different levels.  My advice if you want to make one that you will put through a photo copy machine is to use a dark, not-to-thin marker, such as a sharpie. Otherwise it will not show up.

As long as you leave the copyright notice on the page, feel free to use this in your classroom. However, you may not make a worksheet out of PDF and post it on your own website, or publish it yourself, or put it in a collection for others to use.

Once you have made your worksheet, post a comment here to share your ideas with others. You might come up with something I have never thought of. Or take a picture and email it to me. You do not have to register to post a comment here, and your comments are anonymous.  However, I do moderate comments to make sure I don’t get spam, so you might not see your comment right away.

Have fun!

Holiday Worksheets and Activities

I have so much on my website, www.susanparadis.com, that I have trouble keeping up with it. If I posted it and  can’t even remember what I have, it must be really hard for someone new to navigate through all the material I’ve posted over the years. While there is a category on my website for “seasonal” music if you are looking for easy Christmas music to play, there is no seasonal category for my worksheets and games, so you will have to scroll through it all to find things. To help you out, today I am posting a list of worksheets, activities, and games you can use during the Christmas season. Some of this material is really old and needs to be updated, but for now I hope you and your students will forgive some of the wobbly art and odd layouts. All of the links below take you to the original blog post. From there you will have to click on the link to my website and then click on “preview” to download the PDF document.

Ornament notes This is very simple for beginning readers. Students color the ornaments that contain notes around middle C.

 Christmas Worksheet I give these types of sheets to beginning students over and over to help them learn the notes on the staff. It takes a several years for notes to be secure in a student’s long-term memory. Beginning teachers often don’t realize you have to review this constantly.

Ornament Notes mixed up on a staff. Some teachers thought the worksheet above was too easy and asked for one with mixed up notes. Don’t use this with young beginners. It will take the entire lesson!

 

Color the Chanukah Gift We don’t want anyone to be left out when it comes to learning note names. My box is out of perspective, but it gets the job done! This one has hardly been downloaded at all. There is also a Chanukah composing activity on my website.

Peppermint Notes You can use any kind of candy with this one.  I had some peppermints on hand and that’s why I made it. You can play many games with this PDF, however. You can even use magnetic bingo chips and write scales,  chords, and key signatures.  

Musical Christmas Lights This is a game for up to 6 students at the beginning level. Students learn rhythm values and some simple vocabulary words.

Draw the Ornaments This one is a little more challenging than the Ornament Notes above. There are more notes and the entire staff is used.

Gingerboy Keys I made this one for a student who just started lessons right after Thanksgiving. You might have some pre-school students or beginners who can use it.

Light up the Tree I made another note worksheet with more notes than Ornament Notes shown above.  You can pick and choose which one you want to use. This one works well when printed in black and white.

Pumpkin Notes

Pumpkin Notes 

This summer I made some material to use for holidays and this is one of them. I learned a few new techniques in Photoshop and I wanted to try them out, so I drew a new pumpkin and you can see the results. I hope that you can use this all through October and November. Laminate it and students can write the note names on the pumpkins over and over again.

You can also use M&M’s or any candy to put on the notes. We used autumn colors.  This is really a lot more fun at a group lesson with a large bag of M&M’s. At the end, students can gobble them up.

My students also like to use the magnetic notes and wand that I’ve mentioned in the past.  

Remember to set your printer to landscape mode.

I have some things coming up. Cecilly sent me a new game, and I have some more pre-reading cards I’m going to post,  as well as a new Bingo game. THANK  YOU to everyone who has donated or taken the time to email!

Musical Memory Game Level Two

 

Musical Memory Game Level Two

Today I am posting the second set of my Musical Memory Game series. This level has the symbols of the second level of the Texas State Theory Test, but they are also appropriate for all average age beginning piano students. There are 8 symbols and vocabulary words: dotted half note, sharp, flat, piano, forte, 2nd, 3rd, and half step. I am using this set with second graders, if that gives you an idea of the age. Of course, it is also appropriate for older beginners. You can also mix these up with the level one game cards.  If you want the back to all 4 levels of this series to be the same color, pick the back you like best and use it for the entire series. I have found that a grid to place the cards really helps little ones, and you can print one here.  MusicalMemory_Grid

If you have never tried introducing theory terms before you introduce them in the student’s lesson book, you might want to rethink this. I love the fact that my students have been introduced to symbols and terms before they actually play them.

Take for instance the sharp symbol.  If you wait until the sharp is introduced in their method book, that is a lot more information the student has to assimilate in his brain for one piece, if you really want to teach the concept. You have to teach the physical properties of playing it, the visual, the concept of a half step up, and how to read it in a measure. Then you have to teach how to play the piece, including reading the notes and rhythm!

Alternately, if you do what I do and the student is already familiar with the sharp before they get to it in their book, there is a lot less to introduce at the lesson, and the student has a large measure of confidence, because they already know what a sharp is. 

So I do not wait for method books to chose the time when I introduce musical concepts. Who started that, anyway? I can’t imagine Bach turning a page in Anna’s notebook and saying, “Oh, look, today we’re going to learn an upper mordent.” I’m not anti-method book by any means, but I am trying to spread the word that we don’t have to follow a book like we’re chained to it.

Musical Memory Level One

Musical Memory Game Level One

This summer I finished up the theory memory games I started last spring for all the early levels of piano lessons.  These games are just like my Rhythm Memory Game, except they use vocabulary words and musical signs. Since I think memory games are more fun with  colorful backs,  I made the graphic for the back of the cards that you see above. Also, each level has a different color graphic on the back so I can keep the levels sorted correctly. The levels contains the vocabulary and symbols on the Texas State Theory Test. However, I could not fit all the words on level 4 because I only had 8 spaces. 

If this game looks familiar, it is the same game I posted in April, but I have changed the back sides. This time I promise to add the other 3 levels in my next posts. Last spring I was busy with recital plans and dropped the ball on the other levels.

Even if your students don’t take a special theory test, every piano student needs to learn these terms.  What better way to learn them than by playing a memory game? The student turns over two cards, trying to match the symbol with the definition. It is fun to play it with a partner, and the one who collects the most pairs wins. If there is only one student, I am the other player. The student can also play alone if you have the time.  I’ve noticed students who are good at sight reading are also good at this game, so a good memory helps with that skill.

If you would like to see how I set up and store music memory games, check out this post.  I am going to post a grid for this game to make it easier to play, so check back.