Category: Games

Free Landmark Note Worksheets!

4/26/2018

A great way to build strong note-reading skills is by teaching "landmark" notes: notes on the staff that are easy for students to memorize and identify quickly.

The landmark notes that I have found to be the most helpful for my students are shown in the picture on the left.

To help students practicing identifying and drawing these landmark notes, today I am sharing six free worksheets that you can use with your students! Each worksheet focuses on just 2-3 of the landmark notes pictured above. Click on the photos below to download each set of PDF worksheets.

Worksheets 1 and 2:
Treble G, Bass F, and Middle C.

Students learn to use the treble and bass clefs to find these landmark notes quickly.

Worksheets 3 and 4:
The 3 C's: treble, middle, and bass C.

Students learn to count 3 spaces up or 3 spaces down on the staff to find treble and bass C.

Worksheets 5 and 6:
"Ground" G and "Floating" F, plus a review of drawing the 3 C's.

The terms "ground" G and "floating" F are great hints to help students remember the locations of these landmark notes.

What do you think? Do you teach note-reading using landmark notes? Please leave a comment if you find these worksheets to be helpful for your students--I would love to hear from you!

P.S. Don't forget to check out the other free worksheets and teaching resources on my "Free Stuff" page HERE.

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A Free, Easy Ear Training Activity

1/13/2018

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Is one of your New Year's resolutions to work on ear training with your students?

Getting started with ear training doesn't have to be difficult. Today I would like to share a fun, simple activity that you can do with your students as early as the very first lesson. This activity will help students learn how to listen for steps and skips as well as ascending and descending patterns on the piano.

To use this activity, print out the instruction sheet and flashcards (found HERE). Start by showing students just the first two cards—same or up/different. Play one of the two patterns on the piano (I like to start by using the notes C, D, and E) and have them listen and identify which pattern they hear. Then, add the third card and ask students to identify whether the pattern they hear is "same, up, or down."

Once a student is comfortable with "same, up, or down" patterns, gradually add more cards and begin creating longer patterns by playing several cards in a row and asking students to put the cards in the correct order. The last two cards (using an “X” between the notes) introduce the concept of listening for skips. Practice singing and playing these cards separately before adding them to the mix.

Once your students are comfortable with this activity, they are ready to do the ear training challenge worksheets using steps and skips found HERE, HERE, and HERE.

Download the "Same, Up, or Down" ear training activity HERE.

What do you think? Will you be doing ear training activities with your students this year?

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Free Spooky Rhythm Activity Sheets!

9/30/2017

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One of my favorite ways to work on rhythm with my students is to use rhythm words. Chanting words to rhythm notes is a good way to help students develop rhythmic fluency and learn to spot rhythmic patterns.

You've probably seen other examples of activities using rhythm words such as fruit, candy bars, or animals. With October almost here, I decided to create a rhythm activity for my students with a Halloween theme. This activity helps students to learn to recognize and count eighth note and sixteenth note patterns.

To use this activity, print out the rhythm chart and rhythm flashcards, making as many copies as you need to create multiple rhythmic patterns. Then try a few of the following ideas to practice these rhythms with your students:

1. Copycat rhythms: Clap a rhythm while saying the rhythm words from the chart, then have the student repeat. After a few repetitions, clap the rhythm without saying the words and have the student clap it back while saying the correct rhythm words.

2. Identify the rhythm: Clap a rhythm and have students use the rhythm cards to build the correct pattern.

3. Build a new rhythm: Give students a time signature and ask them to build one measure of their own rhythm using the cards, then clap it back.

4. Spot the mistake: create a rhythm using the rhythm cards and clap the rhythm with one beat clapped incorrectly. Ask students to spot the mistake and swap the rhythm card out for the correct one.

Click HERE to download your free spooky rhythm chart and flashcards.

What do you think? How else might you use this spooky rhythm activity with your students? Please share in the comments!

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Free Landmark Note Worksheets!

A Free, Easy Ear Training Activity

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