Color In My Piano » by student’s level

DIY Floor Music Staff for $10

joy (admin) — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 13:01:43 +0000

I’ve been wanting a floor staff for a long time. Now I finally have one!

Here’s the materials I used:

oblong vinyl tablecloth (mine is 52” x 90”) or a shower curtain. (I paid $8 at Wal-Mart for my tablecloth.)
black masking tape, or electrical tape. (I found a roll of black masking tape for $1.29 at my local craft store. Masking tape is 1” wide. If you want thinner lines, use electrical tape.)
ruler
pencil

I’m happy with my decision to go with a vinyl tablecloth over a shower curtain. I got the tablecloth suggestion from a friend of mine from back in Michigan (thanks, Michelle!). The vinyl is a little bit stiff which helps it stay flat on the ground (although it’s pretty wrinkly from the packaging – hopefully those little bumps will smooth out with time), and the fabric backing prevents it from slipping around on my hardwood floor. The vinyl will be easy to sweep or wipe off if needed, and I love that my floor staff folds up easily for storage!

After some math, I determined that I would make the spaces 3.5” wide. Using a pencil and ruler, I marked where the tape should go using a little dash every 18” or so. I wanted to make sure the tape lines were nice and straight!

I would have liked to make the spaces larger so I originally considered using the tablecloth vertically instead of horizontally, but I also wanted to have plenty of room down the length of the tablecloth. My own two feet don’t really fit well in the spaces, but it will probably be just the right size for my students’ little feet. Fortunately, my beanie animals fit just right too!

The plush alphabet letters pictured in the first photo came from Goodwill. It was a near-complete set of 2 of all 26 letters for just $1. I removed A-G from the set and plan to give the rest to my 3-year-old nephew, who is obsessed with letters right now. :) If you wanted to make your own set of colorful letters, you could make them by cutting letters out of felt.

I’d like to sew some black, round bean bags to use as music note heads, but I think for now I’m going to buy a package of small black paper plates at the dollar store and cut out the middles to fit on the staff. Another idea is to buy a package of pre-cut round foam discs from a craft store or dollar store.

Now I just need to make a treble clef and a bass clef! I don’t think masking tape is going to work well for making the curvy treble clef shape, so I’m trying to think of an easier way. I might just cut the clefs out of cardboard or out of a dollar store shower curtain, and then spray paint it black. Any other ideas?

I can’t wait to show my new floor staff to my students! I found a few floor staff games here at Jennifer’s Pianimation blog. Please let me know if you know of some other great floor staff games. :)

Musical Instruments Quizzing/Sorting game

joy (admin) — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 12:14:55 +0000

My Homeschool Class and my Piano Readiness Class both recently finished their Musical Instruments Workbooks. We usually complete just two pages each class, so it took us awhile to get through it!

Now that we’ve finished it, we’ve been playing a fun little sorting/quizzing game using the deck of instrument cards that came with my MiniMusic kit. This competitive game has been quite a hit!

Instructions for Gameplay:

On his/her turn, each student draws a card from the top of the deck and has the opportunity to earn three possible points:

By correctly naming the instrument.
By correctly categorizing the instrument into its instrument family. We make piles for each family on the floor as we go.
By stating a fact about the instrument (e.g., how the instrument makes sound, what the instrument is made out of, how the instrument is played, etc.).

I keep track of each student’s points on a piece of paper. My students having been playing this game with a great deal of enthusiasm, and I’ve been impressed with how much it has helped them review / memorize the instruments! They love the satisfaction of being able to name facts about each instrument and being able to sort them correctly.

Note: If you don’t have any instrument flashcards, here is a website that has some beautiful (and free) ones to download. (The link in the post to download the pdf isn’t working when you click on it, but I found that it worked to copy and paste the link into my browser.) To play the game I described above using those cards, you will need to cut off the instrument names from the bottom of the card so the answer isn’t there for the students to read! :)

How I Lesson Plan for Group Classes

joy (admin) — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 12:23:17 +0000

I’ve had a few requests lately from readers regarding more info about what kind of activities I do with my Homeschool Music Classes and Piano Readiness classes, so I thought it might first be a good idea to first give you a peek into how I lesson plan for group classes. Although I don’t lesson plan for teaching private lessons, I do always make a plan for group classes.

At each class, we begin and end with a “Hello Song” and “Goodbye Song.” Students like having this routine, and they are very good at reminding me about the songs if I forget about them! I have the students tap the beat on their knees (as we sit cross-legged on our carpet squares) while we sing. That way, I can tell if they are engaged even if they aren’t singing all the lyrics for one reason or another.

When I lesson plan the evening before the next day’s class, I try to include the following things:

Some kind of worksheet or written activity that they can take home and show their parents or hang on the fridge.
At least one kind of movement activity. I believe that the best way to develop a good sense of rhythm in students is through movement-related activities. Including movement activities in classes is strategic also because young children can’t sit still for very long. I find it’s best to do a movement activity right before the worksheet time so they can get their wiggles out!
At least one activity using the piano. I use silent keyboards and other props/games to learn various pre-piano concepts away from the piano, but I also make it a priority to let them use the actual piano because 1) that’s the whole point: nurturing a desire to make beautiful sounds at the piano; and 2) they love it so much!

On my lesson plan, I organize each activity chronologically, with a note next to each activity of the approximate time that each activity will begin. I usually watch the clock pretty closely as I teach and try to stay on schedule. If an activity takes longer or shorter than I anticipated, I adjust the next activity accordingly. I also plan an “if time” activity in case it’s needed. It’s important to be flexible!

At the end of the lesson plan, I compile a list of needed materials, so that I can easily gather them the next day before class and put everything in a basket.

Since the Homeschool Music class is intended to be a more academic class (versus the focus on music-making and pre-piano skills of the Piano Readiness Class), we are studying a composer each week. I let them color a coloring page of the composer while I read a simple biography. Then we listen to a famous composition and complete a worksheet that I create about the composition.

Here’s a screenshot of a lesson plan from last October, complete with all the elements mentioned above (click the image to enlarge, and then hit esc. to exit from viewing the image):

Printables mentioned in this lesson plan: the Rainy Rhythm game, the Musical Instruments Workbook, and the Musical Alphabet cards.

That pretty much sums up my method of lesson planning. If you have questions or your own tips about lesson planning, share them in the comments!

Wee Sing “Games, Games, Games”

joy (admin) — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 14:17:11 +0000

For Christmas, my friend and colleague Loretta gave me the Wee Sing “Games, Games, Games” book with music. I’ve been using it with my Homeschool Music Class with great success! We typically do a lot of sitting as we learn about composers, listen to music, and learn about the musical instruments. So I always find it’s important to come up with a few games that allow them to stand up and move around the room too. This Wee Sing book makes it much easier to plan movement activities! So far we’ve tried the “Looby Loo” song and the “Pass the Ball” song.

For “Pass the Ball,” students stand in a circle and pass the ball with the beat. The sound of the tambourine is the signal to pass the ball the other direction. The music goes faster and slower at certain points, which makes the kids get very excited! I got out a bunch of different little balls to pass, just to keep things interesting: a plush basketball, a Nerf ball, a fuzzy craft ball, and a juggling bean bag.

You can find the Wee Sing “Games, Games, Games” book with CD on Amazon.

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First Thoughts Regarding Faber’s “My First Piano Adventure”

joy (admin) — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 15:15:19 +0000

As big of a fan as I am of Nancy & Randall Faber’s materials for piano students, somehow I’ve never had a chance to try out their “My First Piano Adventure” books — until now. After trying out this book with a new 5-year-old student last week, I am wondering why in the world didn’t I check this out sooner?!

My First Piano Adventure ">My First Piano Adventure is designed for young beginners, ages 5 and 6. I suspect that 4-year-olds would also thrive using this book, and maybe even precocious 3-year-olds — but don’t quote me on that until I’ve had more time to test it out.

The Lesson Book comes with a CD full of fun songs and activities that teach the student about basic technique, how to make different sounds on the piano, and much more. The CD alone is worth the price of the Lesson Book!! Parents can play the CD at home or in the car so the student is hearing them all week long. I bought my own copy to play during lessons — but I also plan to use some of the songs on the CD with my Piano Readiness Classes and Homeschool Music class because they are that good. :) Many of the songs involve some pretty creative activities for learning basic piano technique — which is great, because I am always on the lookout for finding effective ways to teach young beginners proper technique.

The accompanying Writing Book contains worksheets and activities that reinforce that concepts the student is learning about in the Lesson Book. Both the Lesson and Writing books feature some “piano friends” who show up throughout the books to teach the student about different concepts, and show up in the pieces’ illustrations. The piano friends are: Marta and Millie (the twins), Carols, Dallas, Katie, and Mrs. Razzle-Dazzle (the piano teacher). Their pictures are shown on the cover of the book. Students will be excited to meet these friends and learn about the piano from them.

After the student completes level A of the Lesson and Writing Books, there is a level B and C that follows. Once the student has completed all three levels, they are ready to jump right into Level 1 of the regular Faber Piano Adventures method books (skipping the Primer level).

These books are so colorful and fun, I can’t imagine what young beginner wouldn’t find piano to be a blast! I’m super excited to have (finally) discovered these and be trying them out with my students.

You can learn more about “My First Piano Adventures” on the Faber website. The Video Lesson Guide section is fabulous — watching Nancy Faber teach in the videos is sure to get you inspired. :)

Just Added: Musical Flashcard Sorting game

joy (admin) — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 13:27:42 +0000

This is a simple game to play with groups of students that makes note-naming flashcards a bit more interesting. It involves sorting the flashcards onto alphabet letter signs on the floor, as pictured on the right (the “A” flashcards would go in the blank space on the right side of the page).

The game is pretty flexible, because beforehand you can sort out exactly which flashcards you want to focus on with your students. This also allows you to control how long you wish the game to continue.

You can also use different flashcards. With my Homeschool Music Class this week, we used my Piano Key naming flashcards (they came with the MiniMusic set I purchased earlier this year). With my Piano Readiness Class, we’ve been doing on-staff work so we used regular staff-note-naming flashcards (I use this set from Faber & Faber, but any flashcards will do).

Another tip with this game: if you are using the note-naming flashcards, arrange the musical alphabet signs on the floor in a column, so that A is at the bottom and G is at the top. I recommend this because this arrangement resembles the staff, where the musical alphabet progresses vertically. If you are using piano-key-naming flashcards, I would arrange the signs on the floor horizontally, just like the keyboard.

Download the pdf of the alphabet signs and detailed gameplay instructions by visiting the Printables > Other Resources page. Scroll down to the M’s for “Musical Flashcard Sorting game.”

Christmas Rhythm Learning Moments

joy (admin) — Mon, 28 Nov 2011 15:33:59 +0000

As I’m sure is currently the case with many of you, my students are working on Christmas pieces along with their usual assignments. As usual, a few of them have encountered rhythmic “simplifications” in their arrangements (Away in a Manger and Go Tell it on the Mountain come to mind). After pointing it out the difference between what they played and what is on the page, together we made the executive decision to play the rhythm as it is normally heard. We also took a moment to discover what is the actual rhythmic notation of the tune and then marked it in the score above the staff. For a more complete discussion of this issue, check out this Forum Q&A post regarding rhythmic simplification in arrangements.

A few of my students in particular are really thriving on these Christmas pieces! Once again, I am reminded of the value of learning familiar tunes. I find that it gives students an extra boost in learning their pieces, since they can depend more on their ear for pitches/rhythms rather than their eyes. This means they will learn the pieces quickly and more accurately. I also find that playing familiar tunes is a huge motivator for students. They love to be able to play tunes they know!

Hurrah for Christmas music! :)

For a listing of free Christmas music arrangements on the internet, check out this post.

Photo Credit: woodleywonderworks | CC 2.0

Make Me A Rhythm! game

joy (admin) — Fri, 18 Nov 2011 16:12:44 +0000

I was recently browsing some forums online and found a description of this game by a music educator. It sounds like a great game to use with large groups of students — perhaps for group lessons or summer camps. I asked the music educator if I could post about the game on my blog, and she kindly agreed. In her own words: “You certainly have my permission to share the game. I made it up, but someone else probably has, too. We all get ideas from one another and put them together in different ways.” I love her attitude and generosity! We teachers have so much we can share and learn from each other.

This composing/rhythm game is appropriate for groups of about 8 or more students. All you need are 4 pieces of paper with the numbers 1, 2, 3, and 4 written on them. These sheets serve to mark the beats of the measure, spaced out on the floor. One student is chosen as the Composer, who must select students and make them into quarter notes/half notes/whatever. Once the measure is complete, everyone claps the rhythm and the teacher records the rhythm onto a whiteboard to save it. A new Composer is chosen to compose the next measure. In the end, everyone claps the entire rhythmic composition to see what it sounds like.

I haven’t tried out this game yet, but it sounds fun! And it’s not always easy to find games that work for large groups of students. I just might try out this game at my studio Christmas party coming up. :)

Complete game instructions can be printed by downloading the pdf on the Printables > Resources page. I thought the game needed a more specific title, so I came up with “Make Me A Rhythm!”

“Musical Hopscotch” game

joy (admin) — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 08:41:20 +0000

About year ago, Sheryl Welles posted on her blog about a “Twister Hopscotch” game that she modified into a wonderful music game. Basically, all you have to do is use Avery circle stickers of some kind to make the spinner into a music spinner with rhythmic note values.

Here’s how the game works: In advance, set up the circles into a chain around the room. Students take turns spinning the spinner. If they correctly identify the name of the note value they spin AND correctly state the number of beats that note value receives, they may move that many steps forward on the circles (I call it a “life-sized gameboard”). If they answer the name or the number of beats incorrectly, they do not get to move forward that turn. The first student to reach the end of the game board wins. I call this game “Musical Hopscotch.”

My homeschool music class students LOVED playing this game, and it was a great way to drill the note values that they learned last week. I’m always amazed at the effectiveness of any game that involve any kind of movement!! I can’t think of a better way to drill note values with groups of young ages than with this game.

Since I had the circles set up in my living room already, I also used the “life-sized game board” with my other class, the Piano Readiness Class. Students took turns identifying notes on the staff using flashcards (you don’t use the spinner for this), and we used the gameboard as a way determine the winner instead of keeping points. I love that this game is so versitile! (THANK YOU, SHERYL!)

If you are unable to find Twister Hopscotch in stores, you can order it on Amazon (click here).

Just Added: Musical Leaves Matchup game

joy (admin) — Thu, 10 Nov 2011 16:40:25 +0000

This is a short music game I created as a way to reinforce the names of the piano keys with young beginners. It only takes a few minutes to play, but my students seemed to enjoy it. It gives them a break from the usual drill I do, where I have them find 3 different C’s on the piano, etc. :)

Here’s how it works:

You’ll need to buy fabric or foam leaves and mark each with a letter from the musical alphabet using a marker or felt tip pen. The student is instructed to match each leaf to it’s spot on the tree, until the whole tree is filled. The game only takes a few minutes, so it’s a great game to do on the piano bench at the beginning or end of a piano lesson.

Any leftover fabric leaves can be used to decorate your Thanksgiving day table in a few weeks. :)

To Download: go to the Printables > Other Resources page and scroll down to “Musical Leaves Matchup game.”

Color In My Piano » by student’s level

DIY Floor Music Staff for $10

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Musical Instruments Quizzing/Sorting game

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How I Lesson Plan for Group Classes

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Wee Sing “Games, Games, Games”

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First Thoughts Regarding Faber’s “My First Piano Adventure”

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Just Added: Musical Flashcard Sorting game

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Christmas Rhythm Learning Moments

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Make Me A Rhythm! game

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“Musical Hopscotch” game

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