Despite the abundance of resources available from talented music teachers, I still find myself creating most of my own materials. To work for me, the activities must work for private lessons that more or less follow the topics as presented in the Alfred’s piano series (i.e., no eighth notes until Level 1B, five finger patterns preferred until Level 2). I also have an aversion to copious amounts of color ink, and I’m only going to spend time cutting and laminating if the activity can be used for many students and many ability levels. I like games, but I prefer card games to board games because they are easier to modify on the fly for different students.
Quick Navigation:
Composition General Improvisation
Notes on the Keyboard Notes on the Staff
Composition
- Silly Composition Pages (no particular form)
- ABA Composition
- AABA or ABAB Composition
- Accompaniment Style Cards
- Chromatic Composition
- Composing Challenge (modifiable for different ability levels)
- Halloween Rondo
- Melody Shapes
- Motif Game
- Remote Control Rhythms
- Sequence Song (Composition Activity)
General Activities, Supplies, and Information
- Beat Your Score/Build Your Dream (How to Drill Anything)
- Body Percussion Cards
- Body Percussion Tempo Challenge
- Comparison of Alfred’s, Bastien’s, and Faber’s first level of books
- Comparison of Alfred’s Level 1B and Faber’s Level 1
- Cup Tower (How to Drill Anything)
- Giant Staff Paper
- Happiness on the Music Floor Incentive
- Jenga (How to Drill Anything)
- Musicality Activity
- Paint Chip Board Game (How to Drill Anything)
- Pre-Recital Self Assessment with the Smile-o-Meter
- Primary Chord Drill
- Random Dynamics
- Rainbow Board Game (How to Drill Anything)
- Relay Race Playing
- Remote Control (How to Drill Anything)
- Roll-A-Drawing (How to Drill Anything)
- Musical Alphabet
- Scale Sheet
- Sharks and Dolphins (Ear Training)
- Spider Web (How to Drill Anything)
- Suspend (How to Drill Anything)
- Takenoko (How to Drill Anything)
- Target Practice (How to Drill Anything)
- Tempo Strips
- Treat Game (How to Drill Anything)
Improvisation
- Accompaniment Style Cards
- Black Cat Strut (Improv)
- Gently Falling Snow Improv
- Improv Duet Game
- Melody Shapes
- Play Like an Animal
- Question and Answer Improv
- Motif Game
- Roses Are Red (mostly rhythm dictation, but there is an improv option at the end)
- Spin the Bottle on Lead Sheets
- Summertime Improv
- The Soundtrack
- Thunderstorm
Notes on the Keyboard
- Christmas Fortunes (Intervals)
- Race Across the Keyboard
- Sailing the Seas (Intervals)
- Winter Intervals
Notes on the Staff
- Christmas Fortunes (Intervals)
- Connect Four (Music Twist)
- Flower Game
- Giant Staff—Bean Bag Toss
- Giant Staff—Hopscotch
- Giant Staff—Twister (Music Twist)
- Interval Ice Cream
- Lucky Penny Game (Note Review)
- Modifying Note Games for More Advanced Students
- Monster Eyeballs
- Pictionary (Music Twist)
- Pluck the Turkey (Note Review)
- Race Across the Keyboard
- Race to the Top (Note Review)
- Sailing the Seas (Intervals)
- Sight Reading Dragon
- Sight Reading Measures, graded by intervals
- Sight Reading Spin the Bottle
- Slap Game
- Slash the Note Race
- Trim the Tree (Note Review)
- Takenoko (Music Twist)
- Winter Intervals
Rhythm
- Basic Rhythm Flashcards (one note per card)
- Basic Rhythm Flashcards (one 4/4 measure per card)
- Compose Your Own Rhythm Duets
- Dreidel (Music Twist)
- Phase Six (Music Twist)
- Poison Rhythm Game
- Remote Control Rhythms
- Rhythm Duets on Chimes, Bells, or Xylophone
- Roses Are Red Rhythm Dictation
- Spin the Rhythm Bottle
- Zap It!
Seasonal
- Winter
- Chinese New Year
- Valentine’s Day
- Giant Valentine
- Roses Are Red Rhythm Dictation
- Treat Game (How to Drill Anything)
- St. Patrick’s Day
- Easter
- Halloween
- Activities
- Repertoire (roughly in order of difficulty)
- Thanksgiving
- Hanukkah
- Activities
- Christmas