30 Theme Ideas for the Music Studio Events

Here’s a list of 30 theme ideas for music studio events!  Themes can be used as the studio theme for the school year, or for summer music camps, or for studio recitals.  If used for the studio theme for the whole year, there are a number of ways the theme can be incorporated: the incentive program, group lesson activities, worksheets, games, food, decorations, dress, recital repertoire, etc., can all be coordinated to fit the theme.

1. Medieval Times — castles, knights, princesses
2. Fantasy — same as above, plus dragons, wizards, etc.
3. Mystery — detective, private eye, clues, magnifying glass, footprints, fingerprints, evidence
4. International / Around the World — choose a specific country, or give a survey of a few different countries  (Egypt, Africa, etc.) world music, cultures. For example……
5. Fiesta — sombrero, maracas, dances
6. Tropical — surfing, luau, grass skirts, steel drums, Caribbean/hawaiian music, palm trees
7. Winter — snow, icicles, skiing, snowboarding, snowmobiling, cold, mittens, scarves, snowmen
8. Carnival / Circus — ringmaster, tightrope walker, elephant, tickets
9. Art — colors, brushes, make connections between art and music. Activity: compose songs named after colors.
10. Roller coster park — use this theme to study musical forms (e.g., ABA), or musical styles.
11. Animal Planet — animals galore!  Activity: try matching animal characteristics to how different music sounds.
12. The Great Outdoors / camping — campfire, singing, woods, lantern
13. Under the Sea — ocean, waves, fish, jellyfish, dolphins, sharks, seaweed, treasure, sunken ship, scuba diver
14. Barnyard — farm, farmer, animals, fields, crops, harvest, tractors, seeds
15. Construction — bulldozers, dump trucks, CAUTION tape, hard hats, orange cones, STOP, GO, workers
16. Jungle Safari — lions, giraffes, jeep, binoculars
17. Wild West — cowboys, saloon, ghost town, cowboy hats/boots, bandanas, sheriff, horses, saddles, lasso
18. Pirates — pirate ship, pirates, buried treasure, treasure maps, scavenger hunt
19. Desert Oasis — cockroaches, oasis, palm trees, sand
20. Olympic Games — fitness, games, exercise, practice
21. Going Green — recycle, be efficient (with practice time)
22. Splish Splash — water bottles, droplets, river, brook, ocean, puddle, rain, hydration, summer, squirt guns, pool.  Listen to Debussy’s La Mer.
23. Outer Space — stars, moon, sun, rocket ships, astronauts, aliens, ufo’s.  Natalie is doing a space theme in her studio this year and it looks fabulous!
24. Futuristic / Time Travel — contemporary music, technology in music
25. Race cars — finish line, car, tires, gasoline, checkered flag, trophy.  Activity: do timed worksheets for naming note on the staff.
26. USA / Patriotic / Stars & Stripes — USA history, fireworks, wear red, white, and blue, or wear stars/stripes! Activity: learn about American composers.
27. The magic of music — magician, magic tricks, deck of cards, top hat, magic wand, rabbit, gloves. Activity: discuss how music has the power to affect your emotions, change your mood, influence you to do something, etc.
28. Blast from the Past — choose an era of music history: Classical, Romantic, Baroque, etc.  Dress old-fashioned, eat popular treats from back then, etc.
29. The Great Composers — choose a specific set of composers, and focus on one each day/week/month.
30. Musical Instruments — learn about the parts of the piano, or the instruments of the orchestra.  Discuss timbre, register, range, tuning, etc.

Please share any additional ideas you have, or any resources you’ve found to be helpful for planning a themed event for your music studio!

Joy is a graduate student earning her Master's in Piano Pedagogy and Performance. She has been teaching private piano for five years and group keyboard classes for two years.

Joy has blogged 150 posts here.

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