These cards provide a great jumping off point for a group improvisation. While the spooky theme is extra fun at Halloween – they really can be used at any time of the year for an awesome ensemble or band experience in a group class or workshop. How to Play Assign one student the bass pattern … Read more
These listening sheets challenge intermediate students to pay attention for intricate details in the music. What’s the form? Was there a perfect cadence? This bingo game is a great jumping off point for many discussions in group and private lessons. How to Play Give each player one bingo card and a pen/marker. Choose a suitable … Read more
This newbie activity is slightly more challenging than the Keyboard Builder. Using the Piano Builder students must recreate the full piano, matching the groups of two and three black keys as well as the B flat at the bottom. This is a great lead up to starting to learn some of the key names and about … Read more
Use the Keyboard Builder with your new piano students to help them find the groups of two and three black keys and understand the patterns of the piano keyboard. This is a great activity in particular for preschool piano students or students with special needs who need more direct practice of finding these patterns. How … Read more
The idea of Rhythm Vocab cards is to gradually build up a rhythm vocabulary with our students. When students have this vocabulary they won’t need to decipher and analyse each rhythm – it will instinctively come to mind. There are many ways to use these cards in your lessons and make them part of your … Read more
The idea of Rhythm Vocab cards is to gradually build up a rhythm vocabulary with our students. When students have this vocabulary they won’t need to decipher and analyse each rhythm – it will instinctively come to mind. There are many ways to use these cards in your lessons and make them part of your … Read more
The idea of Rhythm Vocab cards is to gradually build up a rhythm vocabulary with our students. When students have this vocabulary they won’t need to decipher and analyse each rhythm – it will instinctively come to mind. There are many ways to use these cards in your lessons and make them part of your … Read more
The idea of Rhythm Vocab cards is to gradually build up a rhythm vocabulary with our students. When students have this vocabulary they won’t need to decipher and analyse each rhythm – it will instinctively come to mind. There are many ways to use these cards in your lessons and make them part of your … Read more
Relative Rhythm cards are one my favourite tools for students of all ages. The idea is really very simple: all the note values are represented in relative size to each other. So, a crotchet (quarter note) is half the width of a minim (half note) and double the width of a quaver (eighth note). Use … Read more
This is one of the best tools in my kit for when a student doesn’t grasp the concrete relationship between the grand staff and the keyboard – that it is a direct representation, not a series of random notes. By placing the notes on the keys themselves, we make this more clear over time which … Read more