New Chord Cards

I created some Chord Cards to go with just about any game that use note names.  Students identify can identify the chord's root and say the quality of the chord: Major or Minor.  The cards include all major and minor chords on the white keys.  There are some blank cards if you would like to make your own version.

Google Docs: Chord Cards

Chord Cards

Valentine Letter Game

In this Valentine Game, students pretend to mail letters or valentines out while matching staff cards to their letter name.

Take some envelopes and write a letter on it from A to G.  Pass out the Staff cards so that each student has an equal amount of cards.  Place the envelopes face down.  Turn over the first enevelope and whatever letter is on the envelope, is the one the student must place in the envelope to mail.  If they do not have a card that matches the letter, then they don't get to play.  The first student(s) to get rid of all their cards win. 

A fun idea I had was to put the notes on foam Valentine's.  I got these last year at a great discount after Valentine's Day.  Be on the look out and you may find a good deal on these as well.  I used my labels and stuck the notes on them.
As we played this game this week, we tried to think of exciting places that the letter was going to.  A for "Atlanta" or D for "Dallas."  You could even add these places to the envelope if you wanted.

You could also play this with keyboard cards, chord cards and key cards.

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY

 

Wiggly Worm Game

Wiggly Worm Game: Students take turns 

Identifying the apple card.  If they identify it correctly

they get to keep the card.  When they draw a wiggly

worm card, they get to take a card from the another

player, but they must identify the card first.  If they 

cannot identify the card they must give it back.  

Play continues until all the card are gone.  Whoever

has the most cards at the end of the game wins.

Apple Keyboard Flashcards

Apple Staff Flashcards

Apple Keys Flashcards

Eight is Enough Game

I have come up with a new game called "Eight is Enough"

To play you need staff playing cards with a set of A- G.  I recommend two sets of A-G for each player.  Staff playing cards don't have the answer of what note it is on the back.  I have some flash cards I made. I suggest printing or copying them on card stock and then cutting them out.

Staff Playing Cards

Flash Cards

Each player gets four cards and the rest of the cards go into a pile.  Four cards are set around the pile, face up.

The youngest player goes first.

Each player takes turns building on the card that is face up.  You can build up or down regardless of clef.  So if the starting card is a Middle C you can put a Treble D above it or a Bass Clef B below it.

When you play a card you draw another card from the pile.  If you have no card to play you forfeit your turn.  You can trade in two cards in your hand for two cards in the pile, placing your two cards at the bottom.  If you trade in two cards, your still forfeit your turn and may not play a card until the next turn.

The person who plays the eighth card wins the pile.  The person who gets four piles is the winner of the game.

Variations: You could make the piles move up and down by intervals: 3rd, 4th, 5th, etc. . You could also do chords.

  

Place Race

     Over the summer I invested in new flash cards to supplement my own.  So now I have many, many flash card to play with, which is super!


      To start off the new fall semester I chose to play a new game called "Place Race" to review the notes, chords and keys.  This is a great review game at the beginning of the year because you can limit what you test the student on.  To play you need alphabet cards, staff cards and a stop watch.  For Level One, I set out two rows of alphabet cards C D E F G.  I make the first row Treble Clef and the bottom row Bass Clef.  I give the student flash cards for C position in both clefs.  I have the student place the correct staff card on the letter and time them to see how fast they can match them up.  Then we play again and I see if they can beat their first time.   Here are some suggested levels, but I had one student who had a piece with ABCDE ledger lines in between the clefs, so I pulled out those flash cards and had her match them up.


Level One: C position (Top row Treble Clef, Bottom row Bass Clef)
Level Two: Lines and Spaces of the Treble Clef (Top row lines, bottom row spaces)
Lines and Space of the Bass Clef (Top row lines, bottom row spaces)
Level Three: Ledger Lines (Top row Treble Clef, Bottom row Bass Clef)
Level Four: Chords (Top row major, bottom row minor)
Level Five: Keys (Top row Sharps, Bottom row Flats)
 Keys (Top row major, Bottom row relative minor)


I could see modifying this to include intervals as well, rhythm values, just by changing the alphabet cards to number cards.

High Score Hoops

This week is "High Score Hoops."  We are naming notes and shooting baskets in an attempt to have the highest score of the week.  The game needs the following items:
• Basketball hoop or trash can

• Ball
• Staff cards or Chord Cards
• Keyboard

1. First I have the students take a staff card and find the note on the piano and play it.  The must find the note in the correct place in order to move to the next step.
2. After identifying the correct note, they take a shot with the basketball.
3. I record the number of baskets made and notes named on a board.

Students are motivated to shoot baskets and gain a high score.  You can have a set number of cards to name or use a timer.  Chord cards are used for more advanced students.

I have also used this to drill any concept.  If they identify the symbol, clap the correct rhythm, etc . . they get to attempt a shot.  My boys beg for this game!

Thanks to Susan Paradis for this idea

One Minute Club

One Minute Club

This idea came from Susan Paradis' website.  Every month I test my students and see how many notes they can name in one minute.  I use flash cards that are in a preset order, so that the cards get harder as the student moves through them.  I put stickers on the back of my flash cards so I can easily sort them into the levels I want.  Then I have them numbered so they can be in the correct order for each student.  


I only test the student on the notes they have been introduced to, so for example High and Low C in my studio aren't introduced until level 2B, so any student below that wouldn't have to identify those notes.  They must name 22 notes in one minute to get in the club.  This is all the lines and spaces of the Treble Clef, Bass Clef and then Middle C for Bass (stem down) and Treble (stem up) and D above Middle C and B below Middle C.   After they are in the club and learning more notes, I let them pass if they can't think of the note so they can move on to another flash card.

I keep track how many notes each student has named each time and list them on a tally board.  Students are recognized for a personal high score and they are also distinguished by level.  I give each level a color, that matches the color of the book they are studying.  A student in level one may score a 30 because they have mastered the basic 22 notes, but a student in level two may only score a 25 because they have learned 5 new notes and are still working on them.

I also test students for the One Minute Chord Club and Key Club. The students name chords in root position, identifying the chord's root and it's quality, minor or major.  I start with the white keys and then I add inversions and then black key chords such as F# minor.  For keys we do major first and then I have them identify minor keys as well.

When a student gets in the club for the first time, there is a card on Susan Paradis' website that you can give the children.  One Minute Club Card

I like to also give out a certificate at the end of the year recital with the student's highest score of the year printed on the certificate.

The students are very motivated by this and try to achieve the best score possible each time.  I have had students actually ask me for flash cards to practice at home and links to websites, so they can practice their note naming.  What GREAT MOTIVATION!  I definitely see an improvement in the skills of my students through this program.

Piano Races

Our game this week is Piano Races.  I don't remember where I first heard about this game, but it is a great one to use, especially for keyboard recognition.  I have added on to it over the years.


1. Have the students pick a thing to represent them in the game.  I have a collection of erasers I use, though you could use anything that will fit on the keys.  You need two or more to play this game.
2. Start at the lowest or highest end of the piano and choose an alphabet card.
3. Move to that note and the first one to the end of the piano wins.


I have several variations of this game:
Variation #1: Use intervals, cards with word or staff notation, melodic and harmonic
Variation #2: Identify chord inversions 
Variation #3: Identify Keys
Variation #4: Identify or add up a rhythm


I don't have the students identify a note name on the staff, because the note they move to is not the actual note represented on the staff.


I am not sure where this idea originally came from but many teachers have this game on their websites.

Tic Tac Toe Game for the Keyboard

   

Tic Tac Toe is a great way to review just about any concept!

I have flash cards of notes on the staff, chords, keys and keyboard names. Depending on the student's level I make a grid out of these cards.  3 x 3 like Tic Tac Toe.


Then I have a stack of drawing cards with the alphabet on them or the chord or key names.  The student draws a card and marks their board if they find the matching chord, key or note.  I usually have a game going for me or another student and we see who can get tic tac toe first.


After someone wins, I replace the marked cards with new cards so they can have some different material to work on.  The markers you use can be anything: bingo chips, candy, erasers or my favorite: Magic Notes

Look for my Tic Tac Toe Keyboard Game.