Worksheets – Color In My Piano

Do you like to have your piano students analyze and label the chords in their pieces? I do!

I recently had the idea to create this pair of worksheets specifically for a couple of my students to assist with process of analyzing a piece. The worksheet is to be completed in the same key as their piece, before commencing their analyzation. The idea is to help students think ahead of time about what chords they can expect to see/hear in their piece — which can help make the analysis process easier.

This is a two-page set of worksheets: one for working in major keys and one for minor keys. The worksheets are basically identical other than the fact that the minor page reminds students they need to raise the leading tone.

The steps on the worksheet lead the student through thinking about the key signature, the notes of the scale, the primary chords (I, IV, and V) in that key, and then finally all the diatonic chords in that key.

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Printables, Worksheets

Just Added: “Identifying Ledger Lines” Music Worksheet

20 November 202123 November 2021 Joy Morin

It’s been quite a while since I shared a new worksheet…until today! Here is a brand new worksheet about ledger lines that you are welcome to use with your piano students or music students of any instrument.

The top of the page includes a definition and a graphic demonstrating what ledger lines are. The rest of the page presents a number of ledger line notes and asks the student to identify the letter name of each note. It’s a simple worksheet that might be useful to send home with your students to reinforce the concept after you cover it during a lesson.

Download this FREE worksheet by visiting the Printables > Worksheets page and scrolling down to “Identifying Ledger Lines.”

Identifying Ledger Lines (92.4 KiB, 2,617 hits)

PS: I have several other worksheets of a similar format you might be interested in checking out: Introduction to the Staff worksheet, Line & Space Notes worksheet, Identifying Line & Space Notes on the Staff worksheet, Intervals Unison-3rd worksheet, and Intervals Unison-5th worksheet. Hope you enjoy!

Worksheets

Just Added: Two New Digital Game/Worksheet sets

21 May 202015 September 2020 Joy Morin

As promised, here are two brand game/worksheet sets. I created them with groups in mind, but these would also work well in one-on-one settings.

I’m releasing these worksheets in two formats: (1) a black-and-white, print-friendly version and (2) a version with the colored background. The colored version is perfect for having students complete it digitally on the iPad in an annotation app such as GoodNotes, OR to screen share in Zoom during online lessons. Check out this post for more about screen sharing and the GoodNotes app.

What Do YOU Hear? – Rhythm Patterns game set

This set contains two pages: rhythm patterns in duple meter and rhythm patterns in triple meter. The teacher chants a rhythm pattern as students listen. Students echo it back and then identify which rhythm pattern they heard from the sheet.

If you have a group of students in a Zoom call, you can ask them to each choose a different “stamp” from the stamp tool (stars, hearts, checkmark, etc.) so they can visually mark which rhythm pattern they heard. Or, it also works to ask them to use hand signs (for example, if they heard rhythm pattern C, they will make a “C” shape with their hands).

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Technology, Worksheets

Digital Worksheet: Matching Staff to Keyboard

6 January 20156 January 2015 Joy Morin

Remember this set of worksheets (Matching Staff to Keyboard worksheets) I posted a couple of weeks ago?

At the suggestion of a reader (thanks, Elaine!), I have created a new digital version.

Using an annotating app such as GoodNotes (my review here), you can upload the PDF to your iPad and have students complete the worksheets digitally. It’s a great way to coach students through a concept while saving paper.

The PDF contains 20 pages, each with 3 notes that must be matched to the keyboard.

Download link here:

Matching Staff to Keyboard -- Digital Worksheets (307.2 KiB, 8,976 hits)

You can find the other digital worksheets I have created for tablet here.

Music Theory, Worksheets

Worksheets: Matching Staff to Keyboard

9 December 20146 January 2021 Joy Morin

Have you ever had students correctly identify a note on the staff, but proceed to play the note in the wrong octave on the keyboard? I think piano teachers all around the world can raise their hands on that one. 🙂

Being able to identify note names on the staff by letter name is important, but not as important as being able to instantly connect a note on the the staff to a particular piano key. This is why, during flashcard drills or note-naming games, I require students to play the corresponding piano key as they give a verbal answer of the letter name.

With all of this in mind, I created a new set of worksheets that require students to draw a line to match notes on the staff to the corresponding piano key. Although students may decide to figure out the letter names of the notes as they solve each problem, it is not the end goal — they must go a step further and connect the note to the keyboard.

By arranging a series of notes on each staff (instead of just one note), my hope was that students would develop a stronger understanding of how intervals on the keyboard look when placed on the staff. Read more about interval reading here.

Download the free PDF by visiting the Printables > Worksheets page and scrolling down to “Matching Staff to Keyboard Worksheets.” There are five worksheets within the PDF, arranged in progressive order by difficulty. The first worksheet uses only the landmark notes Bass F, Middle C, and Treble G. The following worksheets each gradually increase the range of the notes on the staff.

Matching Staff to Keyboard Worksheets (327.4 KiB, 27,906 hits)

Update: I’ve created a new digital version of this worksheet that can be completed digitally on your iPad/tablet.

Group Classes, Teaching Piano, Worksheets

Worksheet: About the Piano Scavenger Hunt

9 May 20149 May 2014 Joy Morin

Last Saturday, I held the last Piano Party (monthly group class) for the school year. Our theme was to talk about the piano as an instrument: how it makes sound, types of piano, why the piano must be tuned, etc.

Here is a simple worksheet I used at the beginning of class to kick things off:

I allowed students to work alone or in groups to complete this worksheet. I told them they could get up and go to the piano to answer the questions if needed.

I think this worksheet would be a fun activity for a private student’s first lesson as well!

Download the free PDF by visiting the Printables > Worksheets page and scrolling down to “Piano Scavenger Hunt.”

Music Theory, Worksheets

Freebie: Identifying Intervals worksheets

14 November 201314 November 2013 Joy Morin

Before I talk about the interval worksheets, I’d like to announce the five winners of the NoteWorks app for iPhone giveaway:

Jane
Lisa
MaryBeth
Laura
Kristina Bowman

Congrats! Winners, please check your inbox for an email from me.

I have a couple of freebies to share today.

Remember my article about intervalic reading? As mentioned in that article, my DIY music whiteboard is an oft-used tool when I am working with students to learn to recognize intervals. Continue reading “Freebie: Identifying Intervals worksheets” →

Music Theory, Worksheets

Music Key Worksheets & More

2 August 20138 February 2023 Joy Morin

Some months ago, I found some fun faux keys at a craft store for $1 each (pictured below). I bought 12 of them.

(Can you guess where this is going?) 🙂

Continue reading to find out what I did with them! Plus, download a free 15-page resource of worksheets and more for major + minor key signatures and scales.

Read on.

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Music Theory, Worksheets

Freebie: Line & Space Notes Worksheet

30 October 201212 June 2015 Joy Morin

I’ve added a new free worksheet to the Printables page today!

This Line & Space Notes Worksheet is intended for use with beginner students who are first being introduced to the staff notation. Understanding line and space notes is important not only for understanding how staff notation works in general, but it is also an important pre-cursor for being able to identify intervals accurately by sight.

You can download this free worksheet by visiting the Printables > Worksheets page and scrolling down to the L’s for “Line & Space Notes Worksheet.” Enjoy!

Line & Space Notes Worksheet (75.8 KiB, 36,438 hits)

Early Childhood Music, Music Theory, Worksheets

Treble & Bass Clef Dot-To-Dot Worksheets

7 June 20127 August 2017 Joy Morin

Here’s a new worksheet I just added to the Printables page:

To teach my beginner students how to draw and recognize the treble and bass clef, I created this pair of dot-to-dot worksheets for the treble and bass clefs. The dots and numbers are nice and big for little eyes to see!

To download, visit the Printables > Worksheets page and scroll down to the T’s for “Treble & Bass Clef Dot-To-Dot Worksheets.”

Enjoy!

Treble & Bass Clef Dot-To-Dot Worksheets (68.0 KiB, 37,621 hits)

Group Classes, Music Theory, Teaching Piano, Worksheets

Music Worksheet: Identifying Space & Line Notes on the Staff

12 April 201219 November 2021 Joy Morin

Here’s a new free music worksheet that I just added to the Printables page:

This worksheet introduces the idea of identifying the space notes on the staff using the mnemonics FACE and All Cows Eat Grass. These are the only two mnemonics I use. I don’t teach separate mnemonics for the line notes anymore (like Every Good Boy Deserves Fudge or Great Big Dogs Fight Animals) because it’s simply too much to try to keep 4 different mnemonics straight! I have found that it’s easier for students to remember just two mnemonics and then learn to jump up a step from the nearest space note to identify a line note.

To download, visit the Printables > Worksheets page and scroll down to the I’s for “Identifying Space & Line Notes on the Staff.” Enjoy!

Identifying Space & Line Notes on the Staff worksheets (170.6 KiB, 54,899 hits)