One thing I have noticed about my own music students is that they love a good mystery! Almost one of the first theory games I made was ‘Who Stole My Doughnut?’ and I have found it to be a great way to learn theory without students even realising – they are having so much fun…
Category: music theory
Improve note reading with Fruit Ninja!
Are you looking for fun resources or games to make note reading fun? If you are like me, you might have lots of music students at different levels. Some have learnt only a few notes in their method book, whereas others have covered the whole of the stave. Wouldn’t it be great if you could…
Who ate my cake?: an interactive mystery for beginner musicians!
Make music lessons fun with this new interactive musical mystery for beginners! Learn the music, search for clues and work out who ate the cake. At around 2 p.m on Thursday Mrs Sponge, the cook of Cherrywood Castle, told King Bomblebeard she had made his favourite cake and left it in the kitchen. The King…
Garbage bins and music theory!
These cute monsters have been a huge hit in my music studio this term – from my very young beginners up to my older teenagers! I love music studio competitions and have always found them to be highly motivating amongst my students. Since September we have been playing ‘Garbage Monsters’, and at the start of…
Play Ball in a Bin to practice note values
If you are looking for a fun way to practice note values then Ball in a Bin could be useful for you – or your students if you are a music teacher! This is a trick shot game where you shoot the ball into the bins to score points. The longer you wait, the more…
Motivating tired students
In an ideal world every student that walks through the music room door would be enthusiastic to learn, ready to fully listen, and engage 100% with the lesson. Sometimes though they arrive after a full day of school or work and might be tired out or have had a bad day. Even though you try…
Follow the musical clues to ‘Escape The House’
You find yourself in the hallway of a house but the front door is locked! How will you escape? There are lots of rooms to explore and musical clues to follow which will help you find your way out. All the questions are grade 1 level and include time signatures, note naming, rest values, musical…
Don’t catch the penguins!
Music teachers can set the questions any way they wish in this theory game! If you’re like me and have students of all different levels, sometimes you might need a game with a bit of flexibility – where you can set things up to suit the individual student. Don’t Catch The Penguins lets you (or…
Bucket Bats: a new beginner music theory game
I have been very busy the past couple of days making a new two player music theory game called ‘Bucket Bats’ – and it’s ready just in time for Halloween! This game works great for teacher/student or student/student and it’s a team game where you only win if you both get to the end! If…
A fun way to help piano students who get stuck in a five finger position
Have any of your piano students got stuck in a particular five finger position? Often it can be the notes around middle C which is where a lot of tutor books start. Many gently encourage students to use different fingers so they don’t associate a note with a particular finger. But others stick to thumb…
Who Stole My Doughnut?!
If you asked the question, “who stole my doughnut?” in my house the answer would definitely be my dog! He is a bit sneaky and likes to do what we call ‘counter surfing’ which really is sniffing out any food that might have been left unattended in the kitchen. He is the inspiration though for…
Music theory games for Halloween
If you are looking for some fun and spooky music theory games to play with your students this Halloween I have made several – and some are completely free! The pictured game is called ‘Pumpkin Mash’ and students have to name the notes in 40 seconds or the witch turns the poor pumpkins into mash!…
