Teaching Resources – Color In My Piano

The 12 Days of Christmas Project: A Collaborative Video Kit

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NEW! Thank you for checking out my 12 Days of Christmas Project collaborative video kit for music teachers and their young musicians! In this project, students are assigned a short segment from the familiar 12 Days of Christmas carol to play on their instrument and video record. The teacher’s job is then to stitch all the student videos together into a final video that can be sent out to family and friends! Students will easily learn their part by ear/rote using the provided Practice Audio Tracks or by reading the provided sheet music notes.

Here’s my example video:

Within this kit, you will find everything you need to organize and create your own collaborative video project with your music students — no matter what instruments you teach or whether you are a single-teacher music studio or a multi-teacher school. It’s designed to work for practically any sized music studio. In it’s most basic form, the project is designed to work for 16-20 students, but there is much flexibility provided for working with more or fewer students.

For example, if you have a small or medium studio, you can assign students to cover two or more parts. This is especially great to do for students who happen to play more than one instrument. Just imagine how fun it would be to have the video involve piano, voice, guitar, ukulele, flute, violin, trumpet, sax, or French horn! (Transposed sheet music is provided.)

If you have a large studio or multi-teacher music school, you can involve more students by doubling them up on the same day so they will be dueting in the final video. It’s especially nice to pair up students on two different instruments. Or, students could sing the lyrics or provide harmony using the provided chord chart on piano, guitar, or ukulele for someone else’s part. The sky’s the limit! I encourage you to get creative to showcase the unique makeup of your music studio.

The 12 Days of Christmas Project can be completed in as little time as one or two lessons, but I suggest at least getting organized 3-6 weeks before your projected release date. If you are a piano teacher with a multi-keyboard classroom with headphones, this project can be completed across one or more class periods. A friend of mine completed it during just one studio class with her students. You can decide whether you’d prefer students to record their videos either during lesson time or at home — it works well either way!

Here’s what’s included:

Teacher’s Guide (3 pages), providing tips and guidance for how to successfully organize the project
Timeline & Checklist (1 page), helping you stay organized and on track throughout the project
Planning Sheet (1 page), used for you to assign students to their own parts from the 12 Days of Christmas carol
Video Editing Guide (1 page), a step-by-step guide with accompanying video tutorial showing you how to combine student videos into a final collaborative video
Student’s Guide (2 versions, 1 page each), providing students and parents guidelines for how to practice and video record either at their lesson or at home
Student Parts for piano or treble clef C instruments (12 pages), containing strips of sheet music from the 12 Days of Christmas carol to give your students
MP3 Practice Tracks (20 audio files), for students to use to learn and practice their parts
Teacher Score for Video Editing (2 pages), sheet music for you to reference as you edit the student videos into a final collaborative video
12 Days Clipart (13 PNG image files), artwork licensed from artist Jesse Steury to add a fun visual element to the final video
Late Elementary Piano Solo (3 pages, $10 value!), studio-licensed sheet music arrangement you can give any piano students who wish to learn how to play the entire song
BONUS: Sheet music parts and full-length solos for C (Treble and Bass Clef), B-flat (Treble and Bass), E-flat (Treble), and F (Treble) instruments (60+ pages), for students who sing or play cello, trumpet, baritone, saxophone, French horn, etc. The full-length solos are studio-licensed ($10 value each), which means you can use this sheet music for years and years with your students
Duet Accompaniment (2 pages), a piano accompaniment you can record for the video project…or use to accompany the full-length solos on any instrument.
MP3s of the Duet Accompaniment and Duet Accompaniment + Solo (2 audio files), a recording of the Duet Accompaniment you can add to the video project or give your students as a backing track to enjoy when they play the full-length solo
Chord Chart, for pianists, guitarists, or ukulele players to use to add harmony (optional)
…and more!

In short, this kit will provide you all the guidance and materials you need to successfully pull off a collaborate video you can send out to your studio families and friends to celebrate the holiday season!

As a purchaser of this kit, the terms of use allow you unlimited printing for life for use with your own students. A STUDIO LICENSE for single teachers or a MULTI-TEACHER LICENSE for music schools is available. Either way, you and your students will be able to make use of this resources as often as you’d like for years to come! The 12 Days of Christmas project makes for a great annual tradition around the holidays.

The video-editing stage is arguably the most challenging aspect of the project (plan for it to take up to 3-4 hours). I would probably NOT recommend this project to anyone who is uncomfortable with technology and/or video editing — unless you’ve got a friend or family member who can help you with that step. That said, the provided Video Editing Guide, YouTube video tutorial, and Teacher Score for Video Editing will show you exactly what to do!

Would you like to see a video walkthrough of all the included pages? Watch it here.

Questions? Contact me here.

STUDIO LICENSE (for single-teacher studios)

Copyright – All files downloaded from ColorInMyPiano are protected by copyright law.
Studio License – Permission is granted for the purchasing teacher to make unlimited printouts and use the digital files for the purpose of teaching their own students. Sharing printouts or the digital files beyond that purpose is not permitted, such as sharing with other teachers. The purchaser is not permitted to resell the item(s), or alter, modify, or create derivative works.
Non-Transferrable – Purchase items from ColorInMyPiano are non-transferrable and must not be shared with other studios, teachers, or students of other teachers. Multi-teacher studios should purchase separate files for each teacher.
Responsibility – In all cases, the customer is ultimately responsible for their copyright compliance and the legal ramifications of their copy activity.

MULTI-TEACHER LICENSE (for multi-teacher music schools)

Copyright – All files downloaded from ColorInMyPiano are protected by copyright law.
Multi-Teacher School License – Permission is granted for the purchasing teacher and all employed teachers at the same school to make unlimited printouts and use the digital files for the purpose of teaching their own students. Sharing printouts or the digital files beyond that purpose is not permitted, such as sharing with teachers at other music schools. The purchaser is not permitted to resell the item(s), or alter, modify, or create derivative works.
Non-Transferrable – Purchase items from ColorInMyPiano are non-transferrable and must not be shared with other studios, teachers, or students of other teachers. Multi-teacher studios should purchase separate files for each teacher.
Responsibility – In all cases, the customer is ultimately responsible for their copyright compliance and the legal ramifications of their copy activity.

What if I need a transposed part that’s not included in the kit?

The kit includes parts transposed for most common music instruments in C (treble and bass clef), B-flat (treble and bass clef), E-flat (treble clef), and F (treble clef). But if there’s something else you need please let me know! I’d be happy to generate a special part just for you! Email me HERE.

Please note: This is a digital product, to be emailed after purchase.

Handdrawn Music Notes & Symbols Sets

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Ever needed music clipart/graphics to spice up your projects, but found yourself disappointed with the available options? Look no further! My handdrawn sets are fun and adorable, and you won’t encounter any incorrectly-drawn notes or symbols. (You can read more about WHY I created these clipart sets here.)

There are currently FOUR different sets available, as well as a combined bundle:

Handdrawn Music Notes & Symbols set (55 designs)
Curly Music Notes & Symbols set (61 designs)
Hearted Music Notes & Symbols set (48 designs)
Smiley Music Notes & Symbols set (77 designs)
BUNDLE: Get all four sets and save! (241 designs)

Each clipart collection can be used for making your own social media graphics, recital programs, flyers, invitations, worksheets, games, T-shirt designs, etc.. Your purchase includes a Limited Commercial Use License, which means the sky’s pretty much the limit! Use these images in Microsoft Word, Powerpoint, Apple Pages, Keynote, Google Docs, Google Slides, Photoshop, Illustrator, Canva.com, or whatever programs you prefer.

Here’s what will you’ll get:

.PNG raster (regular) versions of each design. They are high resolution with transparent backgrounds. The longer side is 2-8 inches at 300 dpi (600 – 2400 px).
.SVG vector versions of each design. They can be scaled indefinitely and the fill color can be changed from black to any color you wish. (Watch my tutorial video below to learn how!)
3 jpg files (a preview image, terms of use, and instructions)

Video Tutorial: How to use my Handdrawn Music Notes & Symbols in Microsoft Word and Canva

After you make your purchase, you will receive an email containing the download link for a compressed .ZIP folder containing all of your files.

Questions? Or would you like show me how you’ve been using my handdrawn clipart? Please send me an email via the contact form page.

Happy creating!

Format:	ZIP folder containing .PNGs and .SVGs (email delivery)
Terms of Use:	Limited Commercial Use License

LIMITED COMMERICIAL USE LICENSE

Permission is granted for the purchaser to use the purchased files to create their own digital/print projects for personal and limited commercial uses. The purchaser is not permitted to distribute, resell, alter, modify, or create derivative works from the file(s) themselves. The license is not transferable to another user.

There are some restrictions to be aware of when it comes to a Limited Commercial Use License. Below are examples of acceptable and non-acceptable use.

Acceptable Use:

Unlimited projects for yourself, family members, and friends.
Projects for commercial use to be sold to customers.
Making physical crafts/artwork and selling them at craft fairs and/or online.
Printing and selling physical non-customizable products such as T-shirts.
Making flyers for a client, and then printing and distributing them.
Using the purchased files in your favorite software such as Cricut Design Space, Silhouette Studio, and Adobe Illustrator to make an ‘end product’ to sell.

Non-acceptable Use:

Distributing the purchased files in any manner, including: selling, giving away for free, or as part of a package of products.
Allowing more than one user to use the purchased files to make projects for personal or commercial use.
Creating a digital product to sell/distribute which consists of or closely resembles the design element of the purchased files.
Allowing end users to customize and print on-demand products using the purchased files.

Trick-or-Treat! Rhythm Game

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Newly revised! The Trick-or-Treat! rhythm game is FUN way to start out your lessons for 4-6 weeks around Halloween time (although I’ve also had teachers tell me they use at all year round!). It’s easy: just pull out the cards you’ve assembled, and put some candy or treats in a bowl. Your students will be thrilled to see you present this game every year. Your students will have a blast — and you’ll see their rhythm skills improve.

How does the game work?

Inform your student that you have a bowl of treats — but that they must EARN their treat by playing a rhythm game. 🙂 Choose the appropriate deck for your student (Levels 1-5). Explain to your student: There are TRICK cards and there are TREAT cards. When a TREAT card is drawn, the game is over and it’s time to choose a treat. When a TRICK card is drawn, the student performs the rhythm on the card and then draws again.

All five levels of cards contain rhythms that are in duple meter and triple meter. The rhythms get progressively more advanced with each level. The easiest rhythms contain only quarter notes and eighth notes (or, macrobeats and microbeats, to use MLT-based terminology). The more advanced levels contain sixteenth-note combinations, elongations, rests, ties, and upbeats. The leveling information is detailed clearly for the teacher on a cheat sheet (see photo above).

The first week you present the game to your students, I recommend starting with Level 1 (even if they can handle more advanced rhythms). Over following weeks, you can bump up to the next levels or stick with the same level if more practice is needed. This approach really works! You’ll be impressed with how your students do from week to week.

Students will draw an average 4 or 5 rhythm cards before drawing a TREAT card. However, if you decide you’d like the game to last longer, simply remove one of the TREAT cards from the deck.

Here are a couple of game variations I use with my students:

YOUNG BEGINNERS: Instead of asking the student to read the rhythms, ask them to echo after you. This is so good for developing their ears and preparing for reading down the road!
SMALL GROUPS: Play the game normally, except ask the entire group to help perform the rhythm cards drawn by each individual.

Buy the 44-page Trick-or-Treat! PDF download now, and here’s what you’ll get:

Introductory letter to the teacher
Leveling cheatsheet and tips for gameplay
Instructions for assembly (this is a digital product; meaning, you must print and assemble the game yourself)
Card holders for each of the five levels
Five levels of rhythm cards (152 cards total)

Price: $9.00

Click here to read the blog post announcement about this resource and learn more about how I used this game with my students.

Playing the Trick-or-Treat game with my 3yo daughter >>>

Read my time-stamped notes about the above video here.

Check out my solo demo of the game >>>

Watch my student, Robbie, play the Trick-or-Treat rhythm game independently >>>

Here’s what you’ll find in the video:

0:12 | What to do if a student happens to draw a TREAT card first thing! (This is a rare occurance.)
0:33 | How to teach a student how to perform the rhythm patterns on the TRICK cards accurately. They need to be able to (1) identify the meter, (2) count in before speaking/counting the rhythm pattern, and (3) maintain the meter as they speak/tap the rhythm pattern. (More tips on this below.)
1:00, 1:20, and 1:42 | Watch Robbie chant more rhythm cards.
2:00 | Robbie draws a TREAT card, ending the game.

Notes To Self: Wall Art Kit

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The “Notes To Self” Inspirational Wall Art Kit (PDF) contains the digital materials you need to create interactive wall art to inspire those within your social sphere. It’s a great way to promote positivity and camaraderie amongst your circle of friends, family members, clients, co-workers, or students. I created the “Notes To Self” wall kit with my piano students in mind, but they are perfect for any setting where people gather for a common purpose: schools, workplaces, gyms, churches, music/dance/art studios, and more.

Those who approach the “Notes To Self” wall art are encouraged by the sign to “Take one to-go, for you or somebody else!” I drew the sticky notes designs myself and digitized them for this kit because I wanted to make it easy for anyone to create their own “Notes To Self” wall art.

To create your own “Notes To Self” wall art, here’s what you’ll need:

An open wall space
An inkjet printer
Printer paper
3’x3′ sticky notes (here’s the “Super Sticky” Post-It notes I recommend, in my favorite color set) 🙂
The “Notes To Self” wall art kit (PDF) available for purchase in my shop.

The PDF contains a special template for sending the sticky notes through your printer so that the hand-drawn sayings and inspirations will be printed upon them.

Complete assembly instructions are included within the PDF, including a link to this YouTube video. Once you’ve printed the designs onto your sticky notes, you can arrange them onto your wall.

I’ve created two different sets of “Notes To Self” designs. You can choose one set or the other — or combine the two.

The “Inspiration Set”, containing 96 sticky note hand-drawn designs.
The “Bible Verses Set”, containing 42 sticky note hand-drawn designs.

If you’ve ever wished for ways to brighten the days of those within your circle of influence, the “Notes To Self” wall art kit might be right for you. It’s fun to admire the wall art and choose just the right sticky note to take home or gift someone special. 🙂

The Terms of Use allow the purchaser to print from this PDF as desired, forever, as long as you are using them for your own personal projects. This means the amount of sticky notes you could generate for special people in your life over the years is innumerable.

After purchasing this PDF, you will immediately receive an email containing the download link. Upon clicking the link, your computer will automatically put the PDF into your computer’s “Downloads” folder. Please move the file to a memorable place on your hard drive so you can access it for years to come. If you encounter any problems with this process, please don’t hesitate to contact me.

Thanks for reading!

Pages:	11 pages — Bible Verses set 20 pages — Inspiration set
Format:	PDF (email delivery)
Terms of Use:	Studio License

STUDIO LICENSE
Permission is granted for the purchaser to make unlimited printouts for their own students or community members. Sharing printouts or the digital files beyond that purpose is not permitted. The purchaser is not permitted to resell the item(s), or alter, modify, or create derivative works.

Here are a couple of photos I received from piano teachers who are using my “Notes to Self” wall art kit in their studios.

“The post-it’s are a big hit in my studio!”

Elanna Foster

Ontario, CA

“My students and I love your “Notes to Self”. Parents take them too and we are all inspired. I have a student who has built her own “Notes to Self” bulletin board. See attached photo. I can see a change in her since she started collecting them. I love her color-coding!”

Diane Lindsay

Illinois

Composition & Improvisation Prompts for Piano eBook

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NEW: Prompts for Piano, Set 2 is now available!

“Prompts for Piano” is an e-book designed to provide an easy way for teachers to guide beginner and elementary students through composition or improvisation.

One of the first challenges of starting a composition is getting inspired. Simply telling a student to compose a piece is too broad of an assignment that often causes the student to become overwhelmed.

The other challenge to helping students with composition is helping them learn how to make music that sounds like the topic they have chosen.

“Prompts for Piano” is designed to provide solutions for those two challenges. Each of the 20 prompts provides a topic idea accompanied by a brief written description and an image, intended to help inspire the student and generate enthusiasm for the project.

The “goals” listed on the prompt are intended to help the student successfully create a piece that will sound like the topic they have chosen. For example, for a piece about rain, students might be encouraged to use staccato sounds.

At the end of the PDF, there are a few pages of staff paper included to print for your students.

To begin a composition assignment with a piano student, I allow the student to choose one of the prompts. I keep printed copies of the prompts near my piano, but I also have the PDF loaded onto my iPad so I can print directly from there (I use the GoodNotes app for this). Students are usually very excited about the topic they choose, which leads nicely to a discussion about how we can go about creating music that will emulate that subject.

Over the course of the next few weeks/months, the student slowly adds new measures and properly notates their composition onto staff paper. When it is finished, I transcribe their composition into Finale and ask them to illustrate their composition. You can read more about how I go about composing with my piano students here. On the right is an example of a composition created by one of my students. And here is another example, on video:

And here is a video example submitted by a teacher from Texas. Her beginner student followed the parameters for the prompt “The Dinosaur” to the letter, and the piece sounds amazing!

Have you ever thought about doing a summer composition project, or holding a composition recital with your students? Using these prompts can help make sure that your students choose varied topics during a studio-wide composition project.

Your purchase includes a Studio License allowing you to print as many copies from this PDF as desired, forever – as long as you are using them with your own students. You may also use the PDF as needed for online teaching purposes with your students.

Download a sample page from Prompts for Piano Set #1 below. Enjoy!

Composition/Improv Prompt - Free Sample (102.8 KiB, 17,079 hits)

Level:	Beginner/elementary students, but may also be appropriate for some intermediate students
Pages:	28 pages
Format:	PDF (email delivery)
Terms of Use:	Studio License

What is the difference between Prompts for Piano Set #1 and Set #2?

They are the same, format-wise; but the 20 prompts in Set #2 are completely different from the 20 in Set #1. If you are trying to decide which set to purchase, it may also be helpful to know that Set #2 includes a few prompts that are slightly more “advanced” — perfect for those students progressing into intermediate levels. If you have lots of students, you may wish to buy both sets so your students have lots (40 total) of choices!

Prompts for Piano has been purchased by over 400 teachers! Check out what a few teachers have to say about it:

“My students and I have been using this set of prompts with amazing success this summer. I love the goals and the prompts. I have three students who have already completed their first composition and they are over the moon with excitement at what they have accomplished. I never imagined I would be able to guide them through this process so easily.” –Heather Best

“I’ve enjoyed the support and encouragement from your blog and site for about 3 years now. The Composition and Improvisation prompts as well as your Composition Summer Camp plan was a big hit when I used it in 2019.” –Shelley P.

“I used several of the free printables this past summer for piano kits for my online students, but my favorite purchase has been the Prompts for Piano book. My students love creating new pieces with those guiding ideas. Thank you!” –Angela R.

Please note: This is a digital product, to be emailed after purchase.

Eras of Music History Kit

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The Eras of Music History Kit has been designed to make it easier to incorporate more music history into our students’ musical education. This kit contains a series of PDFs designed to help students gain a better understanding of the music from the main four eras of Western music history: the Baroque, Classical, Romantic, and Modern eras.

The four “era booklets” are the core component of this resource. Each booklet discusses the stylistic characteristics of the music, the evolution of the piano, and the popular forms composers used. The back of the booklet features a list of major composers and a list of important works from the era. The information has been carefully researched and written in a concise, clear way intended for students age 7+. This kit also contains a PDF for creating a timeline with composers’ pictures.

Here is a full list of what this kit includes:

Four PDFs of the era booklets (Baroque, Classical, Romantic, and Modern).
Four PDFs of the worksheets that correspond to the booklets.
A single-page PDF containing a handout with a brief overview of the four eras.
A single-page PDF of the historical context timeline.
A multi-page PDF for assembling a composer timeline to hang on the wall.
The license to be able to print from the PDFs as much as desired throughout your teaching career, as long as you are using the printed materials with your own students.

The resources within this kit are suitable for all kinds of settings:

Monthly group classes for your private students.
Music appreciation courses for homeschooling students.
Music history camps (see this blog post for more information).
At-home assignments for private piano students.

Stay tuned — in the future I plan to make available an additional set of booklets including the Renaissance Era and the Impressionistic Era.

Instructions: After purchase, you will receive an email with links to download the “.zip” file. Your computer will likely put the file into a folder called “Downloads,” but you will want to save the file to another location on your computer’s hard drive where you can easily find it again — so you can print from it for years to come. When you double-click the “.zip” file, your computer will uncompress the file into a folder containing a series of pdfs. The folder contains everything you need, beginning with the pdf of teacher tips, followed by the era booklets/worksheets, and then finally the history timeline pdf.

P.S. — As you might have guessed, this kit works great alongside a Great Composer & Their Music composer lapbook study. 🙂

Ages:	7 through adult
Pages:	26 pages total
Format:	ZIP file containing multiple PDFs (email delivery)
Terms of Use:	Studio License

“My favourite purchase from you is your Eras of Music History kit. It is a great resource!”
–Sara

Please note: This is a digital product, to be emailed after purchase.

Music of the World Camp Curriculum

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The goal of the “Music of the World” camp is to increase the students’ awareness of and appreciation for cultures that are different from their own – through experiencing the music and studying the instruments of other countries. Students will have a blast hearing the music from other cultures and learning about each counties’ musical instruments, landmarks, and animals.

This camp is appropriate for private students of any playing level (ages 5-12 will enjoy this camp the most) as well as for new students with little or no music background. This camp is designed to be a 4-day camp that meets 2 hours each day; however, you can easily find ways to expand on this curriculum if you would like to use it over other periods of time.

Each day of camp, students will travel to a different country around the world — and they will collect stamps in their passports to prove it!

Day 1: Australia – Students will learn about the Aboriginal people and a few of their musical instruments. They will also make their own didgeridoo, which is one of the oldest instruments in the world!
Day 2: China – Students will learn about ancient Chinese culture and make their own gong.
Day 3: Ghana – Students will learn about the drum ensembles that are popular throughout West Africa and make their own drum.
Day 4: Peru – Students will learn about the Andean people and make their own panpipes.

What is included in this curriculum:

Teacher lesson plans, which includes instructions for making 4 different world instruments.
A PowerPoint presentation for each country, highlighting important facts and history as well as providing photos of instruments, animals, and landmarks. The PowerPoint presentation can be shown from your lapbook computer. Alternatively, a PDF version of the slides that can be used on the iPad (or other tablet) is available to purchasers for free upon request by email.
A PDF for printing and assembling a passport for each student.
A PDF of authentic-looking passport “stamps.” At the beginning and end of each day of camp, give each student an entry or exit “stamp” that they can glue inside their passport.
A PDF of the lapbook materials, which should be printed for each student. As students watch the PowerPoint slides and listen to the teacher discuss the country and play recordings of music examples, they can work on cutting out and assembling their lapbooks.
A link to a YouTube playlist of music that you can use throughout camp.

The only other necessary items you will need to purchase for this camp include file folders, scissors, crayons, lots of gluesticks, printer ink (black-and-white is adequate), paper, and the materials to make the instruments.

Purchase of the Music of the World camp includes the Terms of Use to print from the curriculum as much as desired for years to come, as long as the purchaser is using the materials with his/her own students. (Please do not distribute the files to others in any other way.)

You can read more about when I held this camp with my students here.

Instructions: After purchase, you will receive an email with links to download the compressed “zip” file. Be patient as the file downloads, because it is a very large file. Your computer will likely put the file into a folder called “Downloads,” but you will want to save the file to another location on your computer’s hard drive where you can easily find it again — so you can print from it for years to come. When you double click the “zip” file, it will unarchive into a folder containing all of the camp files. If you have any trouble downloading the file, please contact me and I will find a way to get the file to you!

Questions? Read the Terms of Use here.

Ages:	Especially for students 5-12 years old
Pages:	60+ pages, plus 50+ Powerpoint slides
Format:	ZIP folder, containing PDFs and Powerpoint documents (email delivery)
Terms of Use:	Studio License

“I was so happy when I discovered Joy’s Music Camp Curriculum “Music Of the World” I used it at my then relatively new summer Music Camp & it was a huge success! It made my life so much easier because I didn’t have to do a lot of work! It was already done for me.” –C.J.

Great Composers & Their Music Curriculum

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The Great Composers & Their Music series is designed to be an easy and effective way for teachers to incorporate music history in their students’ musical education. You can read about how this curriculum came to be here.

Each PDF download contains complete lesson plans and materials for studying the life and music of a famous composer. The lapbook is a creative and memorable way for students to learn and remember the facts from in the biography — and students will treasure it for years to come. The biography booklet contains a carefully-researched biography, written to include all the important facts you would expect while being relevant to and relatable for even your youngest students.

Everything the teacher will need is included in the PDF — other than the paper, folders, scissors, and other office supplies. 🙂 To teach the lesson plan, the teacher reads the biography booklet aloud to students, stopping to answer questions and to play musical excerpts of the pieces mentioned (playlist provided). As they are listening to the biography, students can color the picture of the composer and start cutting out the items for the lapbook. As students finish assembling the lapbook, they can listen to more musical excerpts by the composer.

Download a FREE sample of a biography booklet for “Mozart” below. Enjoy!

Mozart Biography Booklet (365.8 KiB, 12,066 hits)

Ways to Use The Great Composers & Their Music: Great Composers & Their Music is not only thorough and complete, but it is very flexible — so there are many ways to use this curriculum. I have used these this curriculum to offer weekly 50-minute music appreciation classes for homeschoolers, spending 3 weeks on each composer (we spend about 30 minutes of the class time on the composer, and 20 minutes on other music topics). I also use the lapbooks during monthly groups classes with my private students. The biography booklets are also great to print for private students who are learning pieces by a particular composer. Best of all, I have had great success using this curriculum to offer an annual Music History Camp during the summer (read this post to learn how).

Materials needed: Each student will need the printed lapbook pages (black-and-white is fine if you do not have a color printer), a file folder, scissors, glue stick, and crayons. I recommend that the teacher assemble a lapbook in advance to show as an example.

Time Required: The minimum time required to complete a composer study greatly depends on the age of the students, as well as how much time you choose to devote to listening to musical excerpts. Junior high/high school students will be much faster at assembling the lapbook than 5- or 6-year-olds. However, I would estimate the absolute minimum time needed is 45 minutes, if you allow the students to color/cut as you read the biography aloud and play musical excerpts. It would be better to have 60-90 minutes, or to spread out the composer study over a period of a few lessons. If you would like the composer study to take more time than that, you can no doubt find a way to expand on the information provided in the biography booklet!

Instructions: After purchase, you will receive an email with links to download the file(s). Your computer will likely put the file into a folder called “Downloads,” but you will want to save the file to another location on your computer’s hard drive where you can easily find it again — so you can print from it for years to come. The pdf contains everything you need, beginning with a few pages for the teacher, followed by the biography booklet, and then finally the lapbook pages.

Studio License: The license included in purchase allow the purchaser to use the digital file(s) or printouts from the files for personal and educational uses. This means: The purchaser may save the files on your computer or other devices and print/reproduce as desired for as long as you live, assuming you are using the materials with only your own students. Read the complete Terms of Use here.

*Click here to read brief descriptions of the concepts learned in each composer lapbook. Please check back for new composers!*

Ages:	Best for ages 6-15
Pages:	~20 pages
Format:	PDF (email delivery)
Terms of Use:	Studio License

Over 3300 lapbooks sold! Check out what teachers have to say about the Great Composers and Their Music curriculum:

“I just want to thank you so much for the Blast from the Past History Camp resources. I start my camp next week, and I am so excited to have an easy to use, information-packed curriculum. The copies I made today are absolutely beautiful! I am so impressed. For several years I have wanted to provide a summer camp, but my busy schedule has kept me from devoting time to developing one, and I have been unable to find a curriculum I like . . . until now! Thank you so much!”

Cheryl Marshall, NCTM

from Katy, TX

“Thanks so much for coming up with the composer lap book idea! My students learnt about Bach and became acquainted with some of his works. The instruction given from the downloads are clear and precise, and my students had fun “designing” and putting together their own lap book. It is a fabulous resources and a great way to study the life of Bach.”

Jo Tee H.

piano teacher from Singapore

“Just wanted to thank you for your terrific materials. I teach piano lessons part time in my Massachusetts home studio. I purchased your Beethoven lapbook and used it this past week with 15 students, ages 7 to 12, in one-hour group lessons (4-6 students per lesson). I love the engaging format (fold-outs and pockets)- very fun for kids to construct and they were excited to share with their families. The concrete “artifacts” (Heiligenstadt testimony, autograph manuscripts) bring the history to life for kids, the concepts become much more memorable, and they look great as color copies!”

Julie

piano teacher from Massachusetts

“Hello Joy, Thanks for your reply and thanks, again, for your lapbooks. They are perfect in every way for a typical one-to-one piano lesson. They are filled with accurate and interesting facts (and fun facts) for all age groups. They are a fun project to do with the student during the lesson. They are a meaningful way to introduce your students to the composer’s music they are studying. They offer the teacher an opportunity to interact with the student on a personal level. And I had fun too…colouring and engaging in chit-chat at my desk with my students was awesome.

I’ve had a few parents call and thank me for sparking a new fire in their child about music and history. So it’s been a win-win for everyone!”

Fran

piano teacher from Niagara Falls, Ontario Canada

“The resource I continually come back to are the composer lapbooks. I purchase a different ones each year to use for group classes. Thank you Joy for your dedication and perseverance in keeping up the blog for these 13 years. What an honor it has been to be a part of your life through your many entries!”

Karen S.

piano teacher

“I have used several of your printables (thank you for those freebies!), and have loved using some of the Composer Lap Books with my students (time for another, I think!). You put an incredible amount of research time into those!”

Lori B.

piano teacher

“I especially love your composer lapbooks and use them every time I have a holiday music camp. Best wishes and thank you!

Jenny B.

piano teacher

“My favorite resource is the composer lapbooks ..just did the Bach lapbooks a few weeks ago in fact and my students loved it!”

Emily

piano teacher

“I’ve purchased many of your resources and especially enjoy the Ice Cream Intervals game and composer lapbooks! The lapbooks have been a great way to incorporate music history into my lesson curriculum. Just gave out Scott Joplin at the end of Feb. to celebrate Black history month. … I LOVE these composer lap books and think they are a genius idea. Thanks for all the inspiration!”

Susan

piano teacher

“I started following your blog around 2013 and have gleaned so much knowledge and inspiring ideas to use in my studio. My all-time favorite have been the composer lapbooks and summer camp ideas/materials. Thank you!”

Laura

piano teacher

“I’ve been following you for at least ten years. I’ve used many of your shop items and enjoyed them with my students so much! Our favorites have been the composer lapbooks and camp ideas!”

Debra C.

piano teacher

“Your materials are wonderful. I especially like your composer lap books!”

Ginger S.

piano teacher

“I think my favorite offering on your website are the Great Composer lapbooks. Keep up the good work!”

Charmaine E.

piano teacher

“I have been enjoying and following your post for about six years now. My students and I really enjoy your composer lapbooks. You are one of my top go to places when looking for games and teaching resources for my studio. Thank you!”

Cassandra B.

piano teacher

“I started following your blog in 2014. Your blog shows your generous character in many free resources and thought-provoking ideas. I’ve used a handful of your composer lapbooks for my ‘Music Learning Labs’ and my students love learning music history this way.”

Sara

piano teacher

“Your resources and blog helped me so much! I have used many of your products and they have never failed to inspire and be an incredible resource for me as a teacher. I love your composer lapbooks!! I hold two music history parties every semester. I use your lap books and have many comments from parents and students of how much they love them.”

Brenda P.

piano teacher

“I have used many of your materials but most recently the Beethoven lapbook as a studio project and a way of celebrating Beethoven’s 250 years. It was a great success and fun to do. Thanks for all the time and creativity you put into your website and blog.”

Judith

piano teacher

Discount Code: Enter TAKE10 during checkout to receive $10 off your order containing of at least ten composers. Use the code TAKE20 to receive $20 off your order of twenty composers.

Ice Cream Interval game

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Testimonials

Being able to read notes on the staff intervallically is crucial for sight-reading. I like to tell my students that reading music is at least 80% interval reading, and only 20% note identification. To help my students learn to identify intervals quickly upon sight, I created the Ice Cream Interval game.

When you purchase the Ice Cream Interval Game pdf from the Shop, you will receive a pdf with 60 different ice cream scoops, the ice cream cones printed “Unison” through “Octave,” and 4 blank ice cream cones. The pdf also includes instructions for two different games to play.

The first game is simply to identify the interval on each ice cream scoop by placing it on the correct cone. This game can be played with one player during a private lesson or in the waiting room area, or it can be played non-competitively with a group of students. The students can either take turns identifying intervals, or they can simultaneously sort the intervals until the cards are gone. Watch a video of this activity during a piano lesson here.

The second game is a competitive game for a group of students. Each student receives a blank ice cream cone. On their turn, they must draw a scoop card and identify the interval. If the student answers correctly (the other students may check his/her answer), they may add the scoop to their cone. If s/he answer incorrectly, the scoop goes to the bottom of the pile and the student loses their turn. At the end of the game (after an allotted amount of time or when the scoop pile is gone), the player with the most scoops on their cone is the winner.

If your student has learned only the smaller intervals, you can sort out the appropriate cards in advance.

You can download a freebie sample of the Ice Cream Intervals game on the Printables > Games page, by scrolling down to the I’s for Ice Cream Intervals game. It’s perfect for preschoolers or other young beginners, because the scoops are limited to 2nds and 3rds on the keyboard.

Ice Cream Interval game - SAMPLE (2.9 MiB, 20,133 hits)

You can purchase and download the full edition of Ice Cream Interval game by clicking the Purchase button below. I recommending printing the PDF onto sturdy cardstock paper (lamination optional). Cutting out all the ice cream scoops will take some time, so I recommend watching in a good movie while you cut. 🙂 Enjoy!

Price: $8.00

Ice Cream Intervals – Extension Pack

New! Introducing the Extension Pack, which nearly doubles the amount of ice cream scoops by providing 48 harmonic (blocked) intervals to add the original melodic (broken) intervals. The intervals in the Extension Pack range from “2nd” to “octave.” Please note that no cones are provided in the Extension Pack, so you won’t want to purchase it unless you also have the original Ice Cream Intervals game.

Price: $4.00

Level:	Beginner through intermediate (intervals unison through octave)
Pages:	10 pages — Ice Cream Interval Game 6 pages — Extension Pack
Format:	PDF (email delivery)
Terms of Use:	Studio License

The Ice Cream Intervals game has been purchased by over 1000 teachers! Check out what a few of them have to say below.

“I have really enjoyed the ice cream intervals game. My students love it, and it’s such a great way to reinforce intervals without it feeling like a chore.” –Lisa B.

“I’ve purchased many of your resources and especially enjoy the Ice Cream Intervals and composer lapbooks!” –Susan

“My very first printable was your Ice Cream Intervals and it’s still a studio favourite! Thank you for all you so generously share with the global “colourful piano” teaching community.” –Rose P.

“I love all tools you created those years especially Ice Cream Interval game …I used at my summer camp and theory classes several times. Please continue to enjoy being mom, teaching and sharing amazing ideas. Wish you all the best!” –Sachiko J.

“I think I’ve been reading your blog from the beginning! I love all the perspectives you offer on the blog and all the resources you’ve created. Some of my favorites are the Ice Cream Intervals game and the music history timelines. I look forward to following you for many years.” –Lynnette B.

“I’ve been following your blog since college and have always enjoyed it. One of my favorite resources of yours that I love using are the ice cream interval cards. Kids love them and we always talk about favorite flavors of ice cream. It’s such a great visual to work on intervals!” –Emily

” I have loved using so many of your ideas and sharing them in my teaching. The ice cream intervals are so colorful and fun.” –Saundra

“One of my favorite resources is the Ice Cream Intervals-I once held a studio wide challenge to sort all the intervals they were familiar with to continue to beat their own time to earn a certificate for ice cream. :)”. –Melinda

Camp: “So, You Want To Be A Composer?”

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“So, You Want To Be A Composer?” is a fun, creative camp designed to inspire and equip your students to compose their own pieces of music! Students will leave camp knowing how to make a piece of music reflect its title, use motives, organize a piece using a form, and much more. This camp is full of music listening, music making, and music composing. Read more about when I held this camp in the summer of 2012 and view a peek at a student composition.

When you purchase, “So, You Want To Be A Composer?,” here is what you will receive:

The complete Lesson Plans (21 pages), clearly outlining (with accompanying photos) what to do each day. The appendices at the end include a list of alternative classical repertoire to study, instructions for making a musical instrument each day, and instructions for setting up a water xylophone.
The “Elements of a Great Composition” workbook (16 pages) to print for each student, covering topics like motives/themes, form, accompaniment styles, and proper notation.
An editable “Folder Cover” file (Microsoft Word docx), so you can insert the year and your studio’s name. This sheet is for students to cut out and glue to the front of their camp folder (which will holds the workbook mentioned above).
6 “Quick Composition” activities.
Over 15 varieties of staff paper.
…and more!

Here are some specifics about how the camp is designed:

Meets for 4 days, for 3 hours each day.
Intended for 1st or 2nd year students (including complete beginners); however, the lessons plans are easily adjustable for more advanced students.
A group of 3-4 students would not be too small. A maximum of 8 students is recommended, due to the fact that you will need to borrow enough keyboards for the majority of your students to be able to be use them simultaneously during the free composition time.
At the end of the week, parents are invited for a Composer Showcase, where we let everyone browse the compositions and then enjoy a mini-recital of some of our favorite compositions from the week!

The various worksheets and composition activities included in this camp have an added benefit: Many of the activities included in this lesson plan could be used during studio group classes, or even with some of your private students who are interested in composition.

Have you always wanted encourage and help your students to compose their own music, but have been unsure where to start? The “So, You Want To Be A Composer?” camp just might be the solution for you!

Instructions:

After purchase, follow the instructions to download and save the file onto your computer’s hard drive. The file will download as an archived folder. Unarchive the folder (your computer should do this automatically) and then you will be able open the folder to browse all the files inside.
The first file is the lesson plans. The other files are various worksheets, composition activities, sample compositions, and staff paper — all mentioned in the lesson plans.

Questions? Read the Terms of Use here.

Level:	Beginner to intermediate
Pages:	90+ pages
Format:	ZIP file containing a folder of PDFs (email delivery)
Terms of Use:	Studio License

Rhythm Cards

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Rhythm Cards are great for use in both private lessons or group classes! The notes on the cards are clear and easy-to-read. A variety of time signatures are used. Once you purchase these rhythm cards, you can laminate a set for your studio can use for years to come, and you can even send printed copies home with your students!

JUMBO RHYTHM CARDS – $5/set

Set 1: These 3.75×5 inch cards are great for young beginners. Each card contains a 1-measure rhythm example in either 3/4 or 4/4 time. (I recommend color-coding the time signatures for easy sorting.) The rhythms in Set 1 contain basic rhythm values and rests (no eighth notes). The PDF contains 49 rhythm cards.
Set 2: The rhythms in Set 2 contain rhythm examples in 3/4 or 4/4 time that contain pairs of beamed eighth notes. Set 2 does not overlap with the rhythms in Set 1, so the sets can easily be combined to create a larger variety of rhythms. (I recommend color-coding the time signatures for easy sorting.) The PDF contains 49 rhythm cards.

REGULAR RHYTHM CARDS – $6/set

Level 1 contains 12 pages of rhythm cards, for a total of 96 cards. Each card contains a two- or three-measure rhythm example. 24 of the cards only use basic rhythms (no eighth notes), 24 of the cards add quarter rests, 24 of the cards use half rests, and 24 of the cards use beamed eighth notes. The time signatures used are 2/4, 3/4, and 4/4 time. Choose between a PDF version that allows you to print and cut apart the cards, or a collection of JPGs for your iPhone/iPad.
Level 2 contains 16 pages of rhythm cards (6 on a page), for a total of 96 cards. Each card contains a two- or three-measure rhythm example. The rhythm examples in this level use ties and add a few new rhythm values: the eighth rest, the dotted quarter note, the single eighth note, and the triplet. The time signatures used are 3/4, 4/4, 3/8, and 6/8 time.
Level 3 – contains 22 pages of rhythm cards (5 on a page), for a total of 110 cards. Each card contains a three- or four-measure rhythm example. The rhythm examples in this level use ties, sixteenth rests, and various combinations of sixteenth notes with eighth notes. The time signatures used are 3/4, 4/4, 6/8, 9/8, and 12/8 time.

Game Ideas for Rhythm Cards:

PDF Assembly Instructions:

After purchase, check your email for the receipt containing the download links. Click the link to download the file to your computer’s “Download” folder. Be sure to move the file somewhere else on your computer’s hard drive where you will be able to find the file again in the future.
Print the Rhythm Cards onto cardstock paper. You can print the cards double-sided if desired. Tip: If you buy each level, print the levels on different colors of cardstock paper so they are color-coded.
Cut out the cards, and then laminate if desired.

JPG Instructions:

After purchase, follow the instructions to download and save the file onto your computer’s hard drive.
Unzip the file. You’ll find a folder containing the 97 jpg files. Copy and paste the whole folder into a place where it can sync with your iPhone/iPad.
- How to set up a folder of folders to sync with your iPhone/iPad:
  - On your computer, create a new folder called “Sync to iPhone.” (I suggest putting creating this new folder within your “Pictures” folder on your computer.) Next, put the “Rhythm Card jpgs – Level 1” folder inside the new folder you just created.
  - Connect your iPhone/iPad to your computer and open iTunes. Within iTunes, click on your device listed in the left hand column. Now select “Photos” from the menu that appears. Put a check mark in the box where is says, “Sync photos from…” Then click on the dropdown box, and browse to find the new folder you created earlier.
  - Click the “Sync” button in the lower right hand corner, and the photos will be added to your iPhone/iPad.
To pull up the photos to use them on your iPhone/iPad, go to the “Photos” app, then select the “Rhythm Card jpgs – Level 1” folder. Click on the first photo to enlarge it. Then, swipe to the right to go to the next card.

Questions? Read the Terms of Use here.

Level:	Beginner through intermediate
Pages:	13 pages — Jumbo Rhythm Cards Set 1 14 pages — Jumbo Rhythm Cards Set 2 13 pages — Rhythm Cards Level 1 17 pages — Rhythm Cards Level 2 23 pages — Rhythm Cards Level 3
Format:	PDF (email delivery)
Terms of Use:	Studio License

Rhythm Flipbooks

General Info

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Testimonial

This PDF download, when assembled, is a great resource for practicing rhythm with your students! It is convenient to pull out during a lesson or group class, and requires less clean-up than flashcards.

Inside, the notes and rests can be flipped separately from each other, so you and your students can create a variety of rhythm examples!

When you purchase the Rhythm Flipbook, you will get TWO versions: the original “My Rhythm Flipbook,” and “My Easy Rhythm Flipbook.” The only different is that the easy version has had the sixteenth-note and triplet rhythms removed, for use with beginner students.

If you assemble two Rhythm Flipbooks, you can even put them side-by-side to create longer rhythm examples. Once you have purchased the Rhythm Flipbooks, you are permitted to print as many as desired for you and your students.

There are separate sections for each time signature (4/4, 3/4, and 6/8). I recommend using a colored page to divide the sections, so you can easily find the desired time signature.

Instructions for Assembly:

After purchase, follow the instructions to download and save the file onto your computer’s hard drive.
The pdf contains a full sheet of detailed instructions for assembling this flipbook, but here is a quick summary: You can print/cut the pages yourself at home, and then bring the stack in to a copy shop for binding (which generally costs around $5 USD). Or, you can get the flipbook both printed and bound at a copy shop (which generally costs around $20 USD) — just bring in the first page of instructions so they can see how it needs to be done. AFTER getting the pages bound, cut vertically between the note values, as shown in the photo in the instructions. Note: I do not recommend laminating the pages because the stack would become too thick to fit in a spiral binding. Printing on cardstock paper will make the flipbook durable enough to last for many years.

Questions? Read the Terms of Use here.

Level:	Beginners into intermediate levels
Pages:	50 pages
Format:	PDF (email delivery)
Terms of Use:	Studio License

SINGLE USER LICENSE
Permission is granted for the purchaser to make a printout for personal use. Sharing the digital file/printouts with others is not permitted. The purchaser is not permitted to resell the item(s), or alter, modify, or create derivative works.

“I love the concept of having everything in a flip book format rather than the more traditional flash cards I have used in the past. I have used it with a few different age groups. All of my students were excited when they first saw it and thought it looked like fun! They loved being able to make up their own rhythm with the flip book! They had so much fun clapping out each others rhythms and trying to trick and outdo the other person! The flipbook was easy to use and effective in group lessons as well as private lessons.”

Sarah J.

Level:	Beginners through intermediate levels
Pages:	45 pages
Format:	PDF (email delivery)
Terms of Use:	Studio License