Free Stuff

Free resources for piano teachers and students:

Practice Packets for Students

Composer Practice Packets: contains a music history worksheet, listening activity, theory page, and a piano arrangement.
* Special note: these practice packets were created using an older version of the "Classics for Kids" website. Click HERE to find the new "Composer Explorer" pages you will need to complete the music history worksheets in these packets. You can find the pieces mentioned in the listening activity worksheets on YouTube.

Ludwig van Beethoven practice packet (elementary level)
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart practice packet (elementary level)
Antonio Vivaldi practice packet (elementary level)
J.S. Bach practice packet (late elementary level)
Antonin Dvorak practice packet (late elementary level)
Scott Joplin practice packet (early intermediate level)

Resources for Teaching Music History

Check out my blog posts highlighting free listening activities, worksheets, and sheet music from around the web.

Interested in finding resources related to a specific composer? Check out the composers I have highlighted in my "Composer Focus" series HERE.

Resources for Teaching Scales and Chords

The Major Pentascales: a chart featuring each of the 12 major pentascales shown on the piano keyboard
The Major Chords: a chart showing the 12 major chords organized into four groups
The Major Scales: a key signature and fingering chart for the 12 major scales
The Minor Scales: a key signature and fingering chart for the 12 minor scales

Transposing Challenge Worksheets

Challenge #1: Jingle Bells (5 note melody, RH only)
Challenge #2: Ode to Joy (5 note melody, LH only)
Challenge #3: Row, Row, Row, Your Boat (5 note melody with simple LH harmony)
Challenge #4: Deck the Halls (stretching to a sixth in each hand)
Challenge #5: Alouette (5 note melody using I and V7 chords in LH)
Challenge #6: For He's a Jolly Good Fellow (extended melody using I, IV, and V7 chords in LH)
Challenge #7: Country Gardens (using the entire major scale with I, IV, and V7 chords in LH)
Challenge #8: Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star (extended melody using I, IV, and V7 chords in each hand)

Ear Training and Sight-Reading Worksheets

Play-by-Ear Challenge #1: Steps only
Play-by-Ear Challenge #2: Steps and skips
Play-by-Ear Challenge #3: 4ths, and 5ths
Play-by-Ear Challenge: Christmas Edition
Same, Up, or Down?: An easy ear training/pre-reading activity
Do You Hear What I Hear?: A Christmas rhythmic dictation activity
Musical Jumbles: unscramble and re-write measures from famous songs (2 worksheets: treble clef and bass clef)
Christmas Jumbles: unscramble and re-write measures from familiar Christmas songs (2 levels)

Name That Tune Sight-Reading Worksheets

Christmas Name That Tune Sight-Reading Worksheet: three levels of sight-reading; each level contains 4 excerpts from well-known Christmas songs
Patriotic Name That Tune Sight-Reading Worksheet: three levels of sight-reading; each level contains 4 excerpts from American patriotic songs

Improv, Composition, and Theory Worksheets

Improv Worksheets (no writing required--in approximate order of difficulty)

The Bear and the Bird: a story-based improv activity for beginners
The Haunted House: a story-based improv activity for beginners

12 Bar Blues Improv Activity: a jazz improv activity that can be customized for beginners to intermediates
Carol of the Bells Improv Worksheet: a Christmas improv activity for elementary students
Valentine's Day: Yay or Boo?: a customizable improv activity featuring major and minor scales
"Spook-ify" a Familiar Piece: use the musical elements to turn "Mary Had a Little Lamb" into a spooky masterpiece
Create Your Own 12 Bar Blues: a template to explore the 12 bar blues chord progression in the key of C
5 Steps to Improv Success: step-by-step process for improvising over a chord progression in any key

Composition Worksheets (in approximate order of difficulty)

Snowflakes: a winter-themed guided composition activity for beginners
Falling Leaves: a fall-themed composition activity that can be customized for beginners to intermediates
My Halloween Song: elementary students create a melody using the D minor scale
Irish Jig Composing Worksheet: elementary students create a melody in the style of an Irish jig
Sea Shanty Composing Worksheet: elementary students create a melody to fit the given chord progression
Spanish-Style Composing Worksheet: elementary students create a melody to fit the given chord progression
Pop-Style Composing Worksheet: late elementary students create a melody to fit the given chord progression
Witches' Brew Composition Activity: a Halloween composition activity for late elementary students
Waltz Composition Worksheet: late elementary students use dice to compose a major key piece in waltz style
The Pumpkin Waltz: late elementary students use dice to compose a minor key piece in waltz style
A Minuet for Mozart: a guided composition activity for early intermediate students using dice

Theory Worksheets
Note Naming

Landmark Note Worksheets 1 and 2: treble G and bass F
Landmark Note Worksheets 3 and 4: The 3 C's
Landmark Note Worksheets 5 and 6: "Ground" G and "Flying" F
Noted! Worksheet 1: identifying notes in treble and bass clefs that form familiar words
Noted! Worksheet 2: writing notes on the staff that form familiar words
Noted! Worksheet 3: writing on the staff using only ledger line notes that form familiar words

Intervals

Roll the Dice: An Interval Drawing Activity: roll the dice and draw the given interval on the staff

Scales

Pentascale Practice: use the W-W-H-W formula to practice building pentascales on the piano keys

Chords

Chords and Inversions Worksheet: a basic worksheet for identifying and playing chords in root position, 1st, and 2nd inversion
Common Left Hand Accompaniment Patterns: a chart with simple left hand patterns for lead sheet playing or composing
Major Chord Building Practice: building major chords on the keyboard
Minor Chord Building Practice: building minor chords on the keyboard
The Chord Building Challenge: building major and minor chords on the staff

Notation and Music Vocabulary

Notation Station Worksheet #1: drawing clefs, line notes, and space notes
Notation Station Worksheet #2: the rules of stem direction
Notation Station Worksheet #3: notating complete measures
Mighty Music Vocabulary Worksheet #1: Dynamics
Mighty Music Vocabulary Worksheet #2: Tempo Words
Mighty Music Vocabulary Worksheet #3: Articulations
Musical Symbol Scavenger Hunt Worksheet

Handouts and Games

Practice Aids

"Am I Ready?" A Performance Checklist: help your students be prepared to perform from memory and/or in front of an audience
Young Beginner Practice Sheet: a simple practice sheet/lesson schedule for young students
Practice Cake Printable: revised for 2021! A series of questions about each musical layer to encourage independent practice and self-assessment
Roll the Dice! A Practice Strategy Worksheet: a fun way to encourage more productive practice sessions
Get Stage-Ready! Worksheet: strategies to help students practice their performance skills
Roll the Dice! Memory Challenge: a fun activity to help students learn to play securely from memory
10 Ways to Practice a New Piece of Music: a chart with practice suggestions for students of all ages
10 Ways to Practice a Piece Before a Performance: practice strategies to help students of all ages and levels prepare for a performance

Repertoire Lists

Repertoire/Wish List: a sheet to keep track of each student's repertoire and goal pieces

Christmas and Winter Repertoire Lists: a place to record your students' favorite holiday and winter pieces
O-"fish"el Summer Repertoire Challenge: a repertoire sheet/coloring page for summer review pieces
Repertoire Rainbow Challenge: a repertoire sheet/coloring page with a rainbow theme

Games and Activities

The Piano Scavenger Hunt: a simple activity to help beginners find and identify the different parts of the piano
Note Match! Game: a simple card game to practice starting a piece on any note with any finger
Spooky Rhythm Chart and Flashcards: a Halloween rhythm activity for learning to count eighth and sixteenth notes
The Living Composer Project: four worksheets to help your students explore the music of living composers
2023 Summer Review Challenge Calendars: simple piano review challenges for each day in June, July, and August

Sheet Music

Video Game Themes

Korobeiniki (Theme from "Tetris"): a primer-level arrangement of the traditional Russian folk song
Don't Deal with the Devil (Theme from "Cuphead"): a late elementary to early intermediate arrangement available as a free download exclusively at Musicnotes!

Pre-Reading (see specific holidays below for more options)

The Halloween Song (black keys only)
Jingle Bells (right hand only)
Mary Had a Little Lamb (right hand only)
Hot Cross Buns (left hand only)
Ode to Joy (right hand only)
Old Macdonald Had a Farm (both hands)
Yankee Doodle (both hands)

Fall/Halloween

The Halloween Song: a beginner (pre-reading) Halloween piece, easy enough to be taught by rote
Trick or Treat: a beginner (on-staff) Halloween song with teacher duet
Theme from Mahler's Symphony No. 1: an elementary arrangement of the famous theme
In the Hall of the Mountain King: an elementary arrangement of Grieg's famous theme
Theme from the Fifth Symphony: an elementary arrangement of Beethoven's famous work
Candy Corn Boogie: an original piece for late elementary piano with optional teacher duet
Handel's Sarabande in D minor: an early intermediate arrangement of the famous Baroque piece

Thanksgiving

Over the River and Through the Woods: a lead sheet activity with primary chords
Over the River and Through the Woods: late elementary solo
Simple Gifts: an easy lead sheet activity
Simple Gifts: an intermediate lead sheet activity

Hanukkah (in order of difficulty)

The Dreidel Song (pre-reading)
Oh Hanukkah, Oh Hanukkah (primer, on-staff)

Christmas (in order of difficulty)

We Three Kings (pre-reading)
Jingle Bells (pre-reading)
Ode to Joy (pre-reading)
Good King Wenceslas (pre-reading)
Jolly Old Saint Nicholas (primer, on-staff)
I Saw Three Ships (primer, on-staff)
Away in a Manger (primer, on-staff)
Angels We Have Heard on High (elementary)
Deck the Halls (elementary)
Russian Dance from "The Nutcracker" (elementary)
Jingle Bells Ensemble (an elementary ensemble piece for up to 4 students at one piano)
Joy to the World (late elementary)
Up on the Housetop (late elementary)
Over the River and Through the Woods (late elementary)

Christmas Lead Sheets (in order of difficulty)

Christmas Music for One Hand Alone (in order of difficulty)

Saint Patrick's Day

The Irish Washerwoman: a traditional Irish jig arranged for elementary piano
Molly Malone: a traditional Irish folk song arranged for elementary to late elementary piano
Danny Boy: an intermediate lead sheet of the traditional Irish air

Easter

Amazing Grace: an elementary arrangement with lyrics

Patriotic

Yankee Doodle: a pre-reading version with lyrics
The Star-Spangled Banner: an elementary solo version with lyrics
America the Beautiful: an elementary solo version with lyrics

Special Occasion

Happy Birthday (lead sheet)
Wedding March (Mendelssohn): an elementary arrangement

Classical Favorites

J.S. Bach/Petzold: Minuet in G (late elementary)
Beethoven: Theme from the Fifth Symphony (elementary)
Beethoven: Ode to Joy (pre-reading)
Chopin: Theme from Fantaisie-Impromptu (elementary)
Dvorak: Largo from "The New World Symphony" (late elementary)
Grieg: In the Hall of the Mountain King (elementary)
Handel: Sarabande in D minor (early intermediate)
Joplin: Maple Leaf Rag (late elementary)
Joplin: The Entertainer (late elementary)
Mahler: Theme from Symphony No. 1 (elementary)
Mendelssohn: Wedding March (elementary)
Mozart: A Little Night Music (elementary)
Pachelbel: Canon in D (intermediate lead sheet)
Strauss: The Blue Danube Waltz (late elementary)
Tchaikovsky: Russian Dance (elementary)
Vivaldi: Spring Concerto Theme (elementary)