As you may know, I love using the excitement surrounding holidays like Halloween and Christmas to motivate (and educate) my students.
Today I am sharing 5 fun activities you can do this fall to celebrate Halloween--including FREE printables that will help reinforce music history, music theory, creativity, and much more!
Keep reading to learn more...
Today I am sharing 5 fun activities you can do this fall to celebrate Halloween--including FREE printables that will help reinforce music history, music theory, creativity, and much more!
Keep reading to learn more...
Activity #1: Make music history spooky with these listening activities.
 | There are many wonderful classical pieces that have become synonymous with Halloween. Introduce your students to these famous pieces and their composers by using this spooky active listening worksheet! Videos of four of my favorite spooky classics are shown below. Or, choose your own favorites to share with your students! Click on the image to download your FREE spooky active listening worksheet. |
| Toccata in D minor (J.S. Bach) | In the Hall of the Mountain King (Grieg) |
| Moonlight Sonata, movement 1 (Beethoven) | Danse Macabre (Saint-Saens) |
Activity #2: Spook-ify a familiar piece.
 | Help your students learn about the musical elements that make pieces sound spooky! This worksheet encourages students to experiment with changes to mode, pitch, tempo, dynamics, and articulations to create a spookier version of "Mary Had a Little Lamb." The optional bonus challenges provide even more opportunities to explore the musical elements through listening and improvisation. Click on the image to download your FREE copy of this worksheet. |
Activity #3: Create a Halloween-themed composition.
I've talked about my love of using composition as a tool to work on music theory skills many times here on my blog! Halloween is a great time to explore creating an original piece, since most students love experimenting with minor sounds.
These guided composition templates make the process of composing an original piece easy, without taking up a ton of lesson time.
Click on the images below to download these FREE Halloween composition templates!
I've talked about my love of using composition as a tool to work on music theory skills many times here on my blog! Halloween is a great time to explore creating an original piece, since most students love experimenting with minor sounds.
These guided composition templates make the process of composing an original piece easy, without taking up a ton of lesson time.
Click on the images below to download these FREE Halloween composition templates!
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Activity #4: Double the fun with Halloween duets!
Duets are a wonderful way to help your students develop their sense of rhythm, hone their listening skills, and learn how to work with others in an ensemble.
Duets are a wonderful way to help your students develop their sense of rhythm, hone their listening skills, and learn how to work with others in an ensemble.
 | I like to get my primer level students playing student-teacher duets as soon as possible. "Trick or Treat" is a fun, Halloween-themed piece for beginners that uses only a few notes on the staff and includes a mysterious teacher duet part! Click on the image to get your FREE copy of this piece. |
Pairing up students to play evenly-leveled Halloween duets is the next step--and it's a great way to help your students get to know each other and build a sense of community in your studio!
Below are some of my own evenly-leveled duets at a variety of levels. Click on the images to see and hear samples or to purchase any of these pieces.
Below are some of my own evenly-leveled duets at a variety of levels. Click on the images to see and hear samples or to purchase any of these pieces.
 Beginner Duet (available at Piano Pronto) |  Easy Duet (available at Piano Pronto) |  Easy Duet (available at Musicnotes) |
 Easy Duet (available at Musicnotes) |  Easy Duet (available at Musicnotes) |  Intermediate Duet (available at Piano Pronto) |
Activity #5: Wrap up the season by hosting a Halloween costume piano party!
My friend (and fellow piano teacher) Morgan and I have co-hosted several Halloween get-togethers for our studios. They were always a hit! Give your students a chance to play Halloween duets, share their spooky compositions, or just perform their favorite repertoire pieces for one another by planning a piano party to wrap up the Halloween season.
Piano parties are a great way to build camaraderie in your studio. Costumes (and, of course, candy) can make these get-togethers extra memorable for your students.
Piano parties are a great way to build camaraderie in your studio. Costumes (and, of course, candy) can make these get-togethers extra memorable for your students.
What do you think? Do you have any fun activities planned to celebrate Halloween in your studio? Let us know in the comments!
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