At last Saturday’s Piano Party, I wanted to play the Spell-A-Keyboard game with my students as a team game, but indoors. Since I couldn’t draw keyboards with chalk as I did when we played the game outdoors, I realized that I needed to come up with some other way to provide a floor keyboard for each team.

So, that is why I decided to create this:

It is not as large as a floor keyboard, but it could substitute for one in a pinch. It is just the right size for beanbag games! Perhaps you can find other uses for this large keyboard.

Directions: Download the “Large Keyboard Printable” pdf from the Printables > Other Resources page. Print the pdf on four pieces of cardstock paper. Cut on the dotted lines and then tape together as indicated. When assembled, the keyboard measures approximately 20 inches x 13 inches.

Large Keyboard printable (137.1 KiB, 19,788 hits)

You can print the printable more than once if you want to create a longer section of keyboard.

Let me know if you come up with other creative uses for this keyboard!

Early Childhood Music, Printables

Jumbo Note-Naming Flashcards

21 May 201327 August 2017 Joy Morin

There are quite a few places you can download and print free music note-naming flashcards. Anne Crosby’s website and Susan Paradis’ website come to mind, for example. However, I recently realized that I wanted a set of jumbo-sized cards, to use with my Piano Readiness classes.

I can hold up these jumbo-sized cards during class and my young students can still see the note on the staff. Young beginners or students with disabilities may also benefit from having jumbo-sized flashcards.

I color-coded my flashcards according to the range of notes. I printed the Middle C position notes on green paper, the next few notes up to Treble C and down to Bass C on yellow paper, and the next notes up to High C and Low C (ledger lines) on blue paper.

You can download this FREE pdf on the Printables > Other Resources page, under “Jumbo Note-Naming Flashcards.”

Jumbo Note-Naming Flashcards (459.7 KiB, 48,339 hits)

Yesterday, I asked for your favorite game ideas involving note-naming flashcards. I can’t wait to try out some of your ideas — keep ’em coming!

Games, Group Classes, Printables, Rhythm, Teaching Piano

Rhythm Train Game

16 May 201327 August 2017 Joy Morin

I love being able to print out rhythm cards for my students to practice at home. I can give them just a few cards to start, and add more advanced rhythms and time signatures as needed. My students store their cards in a zipper bag and bring them to their lessons each week.

At first, I assign students to randomly choose a few cards clap and count at home each day. When that becomes easy, we are ready to play the Rhythm Train game. 🙂

Rhythm Train game

a music game for 1 or more students

Materials:

Rhythm flashcards.
Printed train cards of the engine and the caboose (download the FREE printable on the Printables > Games page, under “Rhythm Train game.”)

Gameplay:

Ask the student(s) to randomly choose 2 or 3 rhythm cards with the same time signature. First, make sure that the student(s) are able to accurately clap each rhythm card separately. As they master each card, they may add it to the train behind the engine, with the caboose at the end. When all the cards have been added to the train, ask the student(s) to clap the entire rhythm. Challenge the student to see how many rhythm trains they can make, or assign the student to make a rhythm train every day at home.

Playing the Rhythm Train game makes clapping rhythms just a little bit more fun. 🙂 It works well both in the private lesson (it can be played at the piano on the music rack, or off-the-bench on the floor) or in group classes.

You can download the free pdf of the train cards and instructions on the Printables > Games page, under “Rhythm Train game.” Enjoy!

Note: If you don’t have any rhythm flashcards, you can find a pdf download to purchase at ColorInMyPiano.com/shop/. Your purchase includes a license to be able to print the rhythm cards as many times as you wish, as long as you are using them with your own students.

Games, Group Classes, Music Theory, Printables

Ice Cream Interval game

6 May 201327 August 2017 Joy Morin

Check out the newest item added to the ColorInMyPiano Shop!

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. Continue reading “Ice Cream Interval game” →

Performances, Printables

DIY Project: Recital Countdown!

30 April 201327 August 2017 Joy Morin

Do you have any 4×6 photo frames lying around? It’s time to put one to good use!

This do-it-yourself project will help remind your students about upcoming studio events each time they come for their piano lesson. 🙂

Materials:

4×6 photo frame
Printed background (download the free JPG file on the Printables > Other Resources page — scroll down to “Recital Countdown”). When you print, be sure that the image is printing at the actual 100% size.
Dry erase marker

Recital Countdown (1.3 MiB, 5,560 hits)

Directions: Design a background (or print the one I’ve created), insert it into a 4×6 photo frame, write the event & countdown number on the glass with a dry erase marker, and place your new Recital Countdown on/near your piano!

Enjoy! 🙂

Music Theory, Printables, Sheet Music

Learning Triads & The Happy Birthday Song

15 April 201327 August 2017 Joy Morin

To follow up on my post from last week about my last group class (we call them “Piano Parties”), I wanted to share about the other two activities we did.

We started with this fun triad worksheet from Pianimation.com. This worksheet was a good reinforcement about what they learned from playing their major five-finger patterns, and was a good preparation for playing the 12-Bar Blues as a duet (as described in the previously-mentioned post).

Before playing the 12-Bar Blues, though, I had them playing the Happy Birthday song as a duet. I created a simple arrangement of the melody in Finale, with the chord symbols included above the staff.

I assigned the younger student to play the melody as written in the treble range of the keyboard, and instructed the other student to create a simple accompaniment by reading the chord symbols.

This was an excellent exercise in learning how to listen to each other! 🙂

I found out later that two of my students played the Happy Birthday duet for an older sibling’s birthday, a couple days later. What good timing! I think it is great for students to be able to play basic tunes like the Happy Birthday song for their families.

I also wrote an easy arrangement of “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star,” but we didn’t have time to use it that day. You can download both arrangements as free pdfs on the Printables > Sheet Music page.

Games, Music Theory, Printables

Easy DIY Music Whiteboard

26 February 201320 February 2019 Joy Morin

This has got to be one of the most-used DIY projects I’ve ever made!

Music whiteboards cost a pretty penny in music catalogues, so I decided to make my own. I bought this 8.5×11” frame from IKEA for under $3. I chose one that had plexiglass instead of glass, so that I won’t have to worry about it breaking if it gets dropped. The frame is a sturdy plastic.

On my computer, I designed the staff and keyboard pictures on a horizontal piece of paper, printed it, and inserted it into the frame. Easy! Continue reading “Easy DIY Music Whiteboard” →

Printables, seasonal / holiday

Piano Valentine Printable #2

8 February 20132 February 2019 Joy Morin

Remember the piano valentines I made last year?

I was wasn’t planning to design a new music-themed valentine this year — but when inspiration struck, I just had to design it!

Is it a heart, or is it a piano?! Well, it’s both! 🙂

This design is simpler and easier to assemble than last year’s design. Just cut out the heart shapes! If desired, you can attach a piece of candy to each valentine using a circle of tape. I made a bunch of these to give to my piano students next week.

The free pdf printable can be downloaded by visiting the Printables > Other Resources page, and scrolling down to the P’s for “Piano Valentine Printable 2.” Enjoy!

Piano Valentine Printable 2 (146.6 KiB, 15,293 hits)

Games, Group Classes, Printables, seasonal / holiday

January 2013 Piano Party!

9 January 201327 August 2017 Joy Morin

Last Saturday, I held another Piano Party for my students. I had record attendance: 14 students! Here’s a run-down of what we did:

We introduced ourselves, and shared our favorite Christmas present this year.

Christmas Recital and Name-That Tune game. Yes, I know Christmas is over! Because of how busy December often can be, I decided to try scheduling our students-only Christmas recital in early January instead. Besides, students always play their Christmas pieces through the break anyway, so they might as well do the recital after that!

I took advantage of the fact that my students would be playing familiar tunes, and held a name-that-tune game. I gave each student the worksheet below, and they had to write down the titles as they heard them. If they got it correct, they got to color in the star on the right, in order to keep track of how many they guessed correctly. This was a huge hit! Even the students who didn’t know very Christmas tunes were able to learn some new ones by the end.

You can download the Name-That-Tune worksheet by visiting the Printables > Games page and scrolling down to “Name-That-Tune – Christmas Edition.” Continue reading “January 2013 Piano Party!” →

Early Childhood Music, Games, Group Classes, Music Camps, Printables

Grand Staff Pass Game

8 January 201314 March 2019 Joy Morin

I’m back! I took a long blogging break over the holidays, but I’m super excited to be back and I have lots of things to share in the upcoming weeks! I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and New Years’.

Today, I am excited to share with you about a fun game I came up with for my students’ Piano Party last Saturday:

“Grand Staff Pass” is a activity for finding and naming notes on the grand staff. Each student has a printed grand staff in front of them, and must find the notes as indicated on the cards. The cards are passed to the next student, going counterclockwise around the room. Continue reading “Grand Staff Pass Game” →

Games, Group Classes, Printables, Rhythm

Bang! Rhythm Game

6 December 201227 August 2017 Joy Morin

On Pinterest, I saw an idea for a sight-word game called BANG and decided it would make an excellent music game. Here is my musical version:

I tried it out with my students at our Piano Party last Saturday, and it was a hit. The BANG! cards add an element of fun to an otherwise ordinary flashcard drill. Continue reading “Bang! Rhythm Game” →

Printables, seasonal / holiday

Free Christmas Photo Card Template

3 December 20122 December 2012 Joy Morin

I can’t believe it is December already! This year, I decided to design my own music-themed Christmas photo card to send out to my family and give to my piano students. My husband and I have started a tradition of taking a photo of ourselves with our cats (donned in their mini Santa hats) each year. 🙂

The best part about designing your own photo card template is that they are much cheaper to print. I paid the normal rate for printing 4×6 photos at my local store (rather than paying extra to use the templates provided in the machines at photo centers).

If you would like to use this template too, you are welcome to it! Due to the size of this file (15MB), I have added it to DropBox and you can download it here. You will need access to a program like Photoshop (Photoshop Elements or Lightroom is fine) to edit the text and insert your own photo. Here are the directions:

Open the file in Photoshop.
Select the text layer, and change the words to your family members’ names.
Select the layer called “Put your photo here!” Open a photo of your family, and then drag and drop it to replace the current image.
Go to File > Save As. Change the file format to jpeg, title the file whatever you wish, and save it to your desktop.
Print the photo using your favorite online service, or put the file on a flashdrive to take to your local store.

I hope your holiday plans are going well!