Category: Games

Summer Piano Party 2018

7/27/2018

Our 5th annual summer piano party was lots of fun despite the rain!

Summer Piano Party 2018 - Notes of Joy Piano Studio

Thankfully, we were still able to have the obstacle course, but we only played one inning of water balloon baseball before it was raining too hard. However, this year I was more prepared for the rain and planned games that could be modified to work in the garage: 'This or That', musical chairs (voted one of the children's favorite games), rhythm toss, and 'Name that Tune'.

To make things more interesting, I played music for the musical chairs using my glockenspiel. If a student 'got out', they were invited to play along with me on the next round. I also used my glockenspiel for 'Name that Tune'. This instrument proved to be ideal for the situation: small, portable, no electricity required, and my students can play it with me. :)

Check out my Music Games board on Pinterest:

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Summer Piano Party 2017

7/22/2017

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For each piano party, I make sure to have at least one new game. This year, for our 4th Annual Summer Piano Party, I tried a new icebreaker game and a built a musical bean bag toss game with my dad.

Notes of Joy Piano Studio - Piano Party 2017

Music This or That Game

My students and I enjoyed this music icebreaker game by Wendy Stevens. The questions immediately had my students sharing their opinion and connecting with other like-minded students. It was a great way to start the party, and I will definitely be using this game again in the future. To learn more about the game, visit ComposeCreate.com.

Photo Credit: ComposeCreate.com

Rhythm Toss (aka Musical Bean Bag Toss)

I love bean bag toss, so I was excited to discover Sheryl Welles' idea for a rhythm toss on Pinterest. My boards look similar to Sheryl's example, but I made the boards equal in rhythm value (ex: whole note on one board vs. whole rest on the other board, and so on). The rhythm values represented the points for each hole: an eighth note was 50 points, a quarter note was 100 points, a dotted half note was 300 points, and so forth. For the piano party, I simply divided the students into two teams and the team with the highest points won. For more information on the boards and how to use them to reinforce rhythm recognition, visit SherylWelles.blogspot.com.

Check out my Music Games board on Pinterest where I save ideas I find:

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Tips for Hosting a Piano Party Part 1: The Games

7/27/2016

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Have you ever thought about hosting a piano party or similar event? Sometimes the task seems a little overwhelming, but detailed planning and preparation can help make the event enjoyable for both you and your students. In fact, I look forward to our piano party with as much anticipation as my students.

This year the studio held its third annual piano party, and over the years I have learned some dos and don'ts. I hope this post will be a help to you as you plan a fun-filled get-together for you students.

Tips for Hosting a Piano Party Part 1: The Games

1. Ask yourself: Who is the piano party going to be geared toward?
Choose one or two of the following age groups: adults, young people, or children. Defining who the party will be geared for helps you determine the kind of games that you will have at your party. Personally, I have found it works well to combine young people (ages 12-17) and children (ages 4-11) at my summer piano party where they enjoy outdoor games, and to host a separate winter/spring piano party for my adult students (ages 18+) where we play musical board games.

2. Plan, organize, and prep age-appropriate games. A successful piano party doesn't just happen, it is planned and organized. Since the games are a very important of the event, be sure to have the games (and the supplies they need like tape, balls, glue, buckets, markers, towels, water balloons, etc.) ready the day before. To accomplish this, I use an old-fashioned pen and paper, write down the title of each game, and list every little thing I need to play the game. As I get the materials, I check them off my list.

3. Alternate the kind of the games throughout the party. At summer piano party, I start with a music game such as What Note Am I? to introduce all the students to each other. Next, is an energetic game such as an obstacle course; I always have it soon after the party starts because it needs to be set up before they arrive and takes up most of the backyard. After the energetic game, switch to a more relaxing game like Musical Chairs, and so forth. By alternating your piano party games in this manner, you will ensure that your guests stay engaged during the party and do not get overheated (if it is hot outside).

4. Use at least one game with water balloons or a sprinkler, if you are having a summer piano party. This lets the guests get cooled off, and helps reduce the chances of guests overheating. However, make sure you do these games in the middle of your event so guests have time to dry off. :)

5. Use Pinterest to help spark your creativity when it comes finding group games. Remember, many group games can be adapted to be "musical".

6. Use a tote bag or small bin to gather all the "little" stuff for the games/crafts. The day before the party, begin placing all the "little" stuff you need (pens, paper, card games, craft supplies, etc.) into a tote bag or small bin. On the piano party day, I place the bin on a card table in a corner of the yard/room for easy access, and store larger items for the games (i.e. balls, pool noodles, hula-hoops, etc.) underneath the table. The more you plan ahead, the smoother the day will go.

7. Be flexible. Even though I spend hours planning everything in great detail, I have learned that some games are more successful than others. For my students, the obstacle course, musical chairs, and water balloon baseball are super fun games that we play every year; however, to keep things fresh, I do change up the obstacles of the course. This year, water balloon baseball lasted so long that we ran out of time for the other game I had planned, but I didn't mind because the students were all enjoying the water balloons (and so was I).

Join me next week as I share "Tips for Hosting a Piano Party Part 2: The Food".

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Which Came First? Musical Edition - Piano Party Game

6/14/2016

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Which Came First? Musical Edition - Piano Party Game

It's finally here...a fun group game for teen and/or adult music students. Which Came First? Musical Edition is the perfect group game for a piano party! And best of all...it's FREE!

How to Play:
1. Form 2 or more teams; shuffle the deck and place the cards question-side up.
2. To begin, Team A draws a card and reads the question, "Which came first? Henry Mancini or Antonio Vivaldi?" (or whatever musical person, piece, or item is on the card).
3. Team B picks an answer.
4. Team A reads the back of the card to reveal the answer and learn about music history. If Team B was correct, they get to keep the card, otherwise it goes to the discard pile.
5. First team to 7 cards (or whatever number you choose) wins!

Which Came First Musical Edition Printable.pdf
File Size:	369 kb
File Type:	pdf

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The card design and format is based on the card game, Which Came First? The Chicken or the Egg. To find answers to these questions, I utilized the Internet, and I would not have been able to create this without a multitude of informational websites. The credit due these wonderful websites is found in the PDF below.

Which Came First Music Edition_Internet Links.pdf
File Size:	118 kb
File Type:	pdf

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I would love to continue adding content to this game, so if you have any ideas for Which Came First? Musical Edition, please comment below!

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2015 Piano Party!

7/18/2015

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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.

What Note Am I? - Game Materials
File Size:	236 kb
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This PDF file contains both pages that help students ask questions and visualize the note on their back.

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2015 Winter Piano Party

3/21/2015

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The party went very well - we had plenty of food, good weather, and a wonderful time together playing Musical Clay-to-Win, Piano Puzzlers, and Musical Masterpiece. I'm already looking forward to the next opportunity to get together again. The music games we played at the party are explained in detail below.

After having a Piano Party geared for my younger students last summer, it has been on my heart to have a special time for my three piano students over 18 years old. They are very dear to me and I am blessed to be their piano teacher. This party was designed for them to have an enjoyable afternoon of fellowship with each other.

2015 Winter Piano Party!

Musical Clay-to-Win is a musical version of Clay-to-Win (1988). It is similar to pictionary except you sculpt clay instead of draw. I made special cards to make it "musical". The four categories I chose were: music notation (i.e. quarter note), musical instruments (i.e. violin), "things" associated with piano (i.e. chair), and "You Choose a Category" (any item from the categories listed above). This game is a favorite with teens and adults.

Materials needed to play:
2 equal amounts of Play-doh (same color)
Musical Clay-to-Win cards
2 placemats
2 plastic knives
1 very small cookie cutter
1 die

Musical Clay To Win.pdf
File Size:	291 kb
File Type:	pdf

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Instructions for the original Clay-to-Win Game can be found at boardgamegeek.com

Piano Puzzlers, created and performed by Bruce Adolphe on American Public Media's Performance Today, takes a familiar tune and transforms it into the style of a great composer. After a friend shared these piano puzzler podcasts with me, I was so excited to share these musical gems with my students.

To play this game, a Piano Puzzler is played and the students guess the familiar tune and composer whose style it is played. I selected fifteen of these FREE music composer flashcards to use as a list for them to pick from and added a couple composer cards not associated with any Piano Puzzler to make it more interesting.

As a fond reminder of the 2015 Winter Piano Party and encouragement to listen to more Piano Puzzlers, I gave each student a CD containing several Piano Puzzlers.

Musical Masterpiece takes a musical twist on an older board game, called "Masterpiece: The Art Auction Game". The "twist" is bidding on musical pieces, instead of bidding on paintings. To personalize the game, I chose musical pieces that my students and I would enjoy bidding on. This game turned out to be a favorite at the Winter Piano Party and I am looking forward to playing it with them again.

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Summer Piano Party 2018

Summer Piano Party 2017

Tips for Hosting a Piano Party Part 1: The Games

Which Came First? Musical Edition - Piano Party Game

2015 Piano Party!

2015 Winter Piano Party

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