Each week my goal is to provide a game for you to use in your studio. This will be a game that I personally have used in my own studio with great success so you will know that it is kid tested and approved!
Looking for a simple game to practice note reading with things you already have in your teaching bag? All you need is a set of flash cards and a piano.
Take the set of flashcards you are working on with a student and hide them around the room. Have students search for each flash card and run to the piano and play the corresponding note as they find each card. If you want to add an extra challenge you can set a timer and see how fast a student can find and play the notes.
This is an excellent game to work on not only naming notes, but also playing them at the piano, witch is the end goal.
You could easily begin lessons with this game or bring lessons to a fun close.
If you are looking for a good set of flash cards Joy Morin at Color in My Piano has a great jumbo set.
Anne Crosby Gaudet and Susan Paradis have great smaller sets.
Hi! I just started reading your blog and am enjoying it very much! I have been teaching piano for five years now. I had to smile when I saw this game idea, because it is very similar to one I thought up a few weeks ago! For my version, I put a stack of the cards we are working on on the table in my waiting room. The student grabs the top card, runs to the piano and gives it to me, then plays the correct key on the piano. I’ve played this game with finger cards (for the WunderKeys students) that also have a number on them. I get them to play the correct finger and hold the note for the number of beats. I’ve also used cards with the letters of the musical alphabet, and the staff note cards you used. Every student LOVES this game, and if I let them pick a game to play they choose this one! Thanks for sharing your hiding idea, I’ll have to give that one a try too!
Hi Heidi,
Thanks for sharing your version of the game I shall have to try it out! By the way I love using WonderKeys too!
Kristen