One of my students' favorite events is our annual Piano Party. It gives my students and their families an opportunity to meet others attending the studio. The ultimate goal is to build camaraderie between my students and spend a fun-filled afternoon together. Each year there are organized games for the students to play while their parents relax and fellowship in the shade.
What Note Am I?
A fun game to begin any musical party with is What Note Am I?, a twist on the original Who Am I? game.
Instructions:
1. Print off various notation symbols (I also included a flat, sharp, treble cleft, and bass cleft to make it more challenging).
2. Use masking tape to secure the piece of paper to their back.
3. Clearly explain that they are to guess what music note symbol is on their back by asking questions (i.e quarter note, half note, etc).
4. When a student thinks they know the note symbol on their back, they say, "Am I a (ex: quarter note)?". If they guess correctly they are done.
If not, I guide them to the answer by asking them what they already know about the note on their back and using a couple tools I created especially for this game. One tool is a page with a sample note and the name of each part, the other is a page with helpful questions.
Instructions:
1. Print off various notation symbols (I also included a flat, sharp, treble cleft, and bass cleft to make it more challenging).
2. Use masking tape to secure the piece of paper to their back.
3. Clearly explain that they are to guess what music note symbol is on their back by asking questions (i.e quarter note, half note, etc).
4. When a student thinks they know the note symbol on their back, they say, "Am I a (ex: quarter note)?". If they guess correctly they are done.
If not, I guide them to the answer by asking them what they already know about the note on their back and using a couple tools I created especially for this game. One tool is a page with a sample note and the name of each part, the other is a page with helpful questions.
| This PDF file contains both pages that help students ask questions and visualize the note on their back. | ||
Rhythm Squeeze
When looking for more musical games, I came across Rhythm Squeeze on one of my favorite piano teaching resources, Teach Piano Today. The instructions can be found there. I used these Rhythm Reading Cards by Susan Paradis which worked so well I now use the cards with students in their regular piano lessons. One of my students loves rhythm and really enjoyed playing this game.
Guess How Many Water Balloons + Water Balloon Baseball
Because July is typically hot, I always make sure to plan a water balloon game to give the kids a chance to cool off. When the students and their siblings arrive the first "game" is to guess how many water balloons are in the buckets (or bin). It's a great way to get another activity out of your water balloons.
Be sure to have a prize for the winner! This year the prize was a plastic water balloon pump complete with water balloons.
Be sure to have a prize for the winner! This year the prize was a plastic water balloon pump complete with water balloons.
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Water Balloon Baseball turned out to be a really fun game for teams to play. The rules are the same as regular baseball (except instead of a baseball you use water balloons and you need two players to catch water balloons in the beach towel).
Materials:
5 gal. buckets filled with 50 water balloons each (approx. 15 water balloons per person)
1 plastic bat
4 flat cones to represent home plate and 3 bases
1 beach towel
2 teams with at least 5 people on each team
1 designated pitcher (typically an adult)
Materials:
5 gal. buckets filled with 50 water balloons each (approx. 15 water balloons per person)
1 plastic bat
4 flat cones to represent home plate and 3 bases
1 beach towel
2 teams with at least 5 people on each team
1 designated pitcher (typically an adult)
Leave a comment and share one music-themed outdoor party game you enjoy!
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