Sunny Circle of Fifths UPDATED 5-15-2011

Here is a game to reinforce the Circle of Fifths.  You simple match the sunglasses to the correct key on the sun.  You could simple use the sun part and have students write the key.  As always, for a worksheet that will last and last you can laminate it or put it in a page protector.

This new version adds a back to the cards and sunglasses that only have one key on them.  You could just focus on minor keys or major keys.  The cards could also be used a lone for a matching game.

Google Docs: Sunny Circle of 5ths

Sunny Circle of Fifths UPDATED 5-13-2011

Here is a game to reinforce the Circle of Fifths.  You simple match the sunglasses to the correct key on the sun.  You could simple use the sun part and have students write the key.  As always, for a worksheet that will last and last you can laminate it or put it in a page protector.

Google Docs: Sunny Circle of 5ths
Sunny Games on TPT

Help the Bee Find His Key: Note Names

Here is another version of Help the Bee Find His Key.  Once worksheet focuses on Middle C Position.  I also created one using Treble Clef Notes and Bass Clef Notes.  And last, but not least a Key Signature one.

Google Docs: Middle C Position
Help The Bee Find His Key Middle C Position

Google Docs: Treble Clef

Help The Bee Find His Key Treble Clef

Google Docs: Bass Clef
Help The Bee Find His Key Bass Clef

Google Docs: Key Signatures

Help The Bee Find His Key Signature

Lucky Leprechaun Game: Key Signature

The Lucky Leprechaun Game is played like "Old Maid" except the goal is to be the last player holding the Lucky Leprechaun. 


Goggle Doc: Shamrock Key Signature Cards

Shamrock Key Signature  Cards

1. The dealer shuffles the cards and deals out all the cards to the players. It doesn’t matter if they don’t come out evenly.

2. Each player picks up his cards and holds them so that other players cannot see them. Players may want to organize their cards so that like notes are together.

3. Next, players take out of their hands any pairs they have. For example, if a player has two A's, the player takes that pair out. All the pairs from all the players’ hands go into a pile, face down, in the center of the table. However, if a player has, for example, three C's, he can only put down the pair.  Depending on the level, pairs do not have to be the exact same note.  For instance you can have a Middle C and a Bass C be a pair.

4. The player to the left of the dealer (Joel) spreads out his hand, face down, on the table. The player to his left (Amy) picks up one of those cards. If she can make a pair by using that card, she removes the pair and puts it in the pile at the center of the table. Otherwise, Amy just keeps that card.

5. Now, Amy spreads her cards on the table, face down, so that the player to her left can pick up one card out of her hand.

6.  Play continues in this way. Eventually, one player will be left with card "The Lucky Leprechaun" and that players wins.  You can also see who has the most pairs and they can be the winner as well.

Can also be played with Shamrock Keyboard Cards

Shamrock Key Staff 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

 

Christmas Circle of Fifths

Here is a fun activity that has students filling out the circle of fifths with ornaments around a wreath.  The student chooses an ornament and places it in the correct circle on the wreath.  You can have the ornaments all out on the table for the students to put them in order or the student can pick one at a time (a little harder).   I glued my ornaments to bottle tops for a more sturdy playing piece.

Christmas Circle of 5ths

I put my bottle cap ornaments in a peanut jar covered in Christmas wrapping paper.

Students picked one ornament and placed it on the wreath.

They continued until they completed the circle of fifths with note names.

 Then they added the key signatures on top.

Then they advanced to minor key signatures.

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.

Bell Game

This is a matching game for notes on the staff and key signatures.  The bear is trying to find his bell.  Help him by matching the correct letter with the correct note or key.  You could play a memory game with the bear and bell cards.  I might spread the bell cards out in a grid and have the children pick a bear card and match the bear to the bell.  There are many ways to use these cards, so have fun!

Bell Game

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.