Games to Help Children Learn Musical Notes
Children often learn best when education combines with entertainment. Several games involving music notes are available for children to play to increase their knowledge of music. Most gamed require two or more children. A few games require just one child. Learning music is great for teaching children to develop spatial reasoning.
The note name competition is a game that involves two groups of students. Divide students into two groups; each group will select one student from each group to represent the team during each turn. The teacher will write the names of 12 pitches horizontally below the bottom of the musical staff. The students must not look while she is writing the pitches. When the students turn around, they have to write in the notes as quickly as possible. The first student that writes in all of the pitches correctly will win. The other student continues to write pitches until confirmed that the first student won.
The clef game will initially teach the students the names of the notes on the staff. For the treble clef, have each student come up with an acronym for the names of the lines and spaces on the staff. One possible acronym is “Each Great Brain Dreams Fine.” Have the students come up with an acronym for both the bass and treble clef. The students may work in groups or by themselves. The group or individual with the most creative acronyms will win. To make this more entertaining, give the students construction paper, glue and markers to create presentations.
In Musical Bingo, the teacher creates enough cards for each student to have their own or share. Each card is a 4-by-4 matrix. The teacher must draw 16 pitches from the 18 available pitches between the bass and treble clef. Each box consists of a staff and a note. The children must place a token on a note whenever called. Four in a row wins and they should call out Bingo to have their answers checked. The teacher should call out pitches in this order: pitch name, clef type and line or space. For instance, “B is in the treble clef and on a line.”
The interval game is for advanced students. Teach the students about the chromatic scale and instruct them on the difference between major, minor and perfect intervals. Do this by writing a complete chromatic scale on the board and then showing them the difference between a minor second and a major second. Continue to explain each interval. To play the game use two groups of students and ask them to name the note that is an interval above or below a note. For instance, give them the note A and ask for a perfect fifth above A. First student to get the answer right wins.
Note Name Competition
The note name competition is a game that involves two groups of students. Divide students into two groups; each group will select one student from each group to represent the team during each turn. The teacher will write the names of 12 pitches horizontally below the bottom of the musical staff. The students must not look while she is writing the pitches. When the students turn around, they have to write in the notes as quickly as possible. The first student that writes in all of the pitches correctly will win. The other student continues to write pitches until confirmed that the first student won.
Clef Games
The clef game will initially teach the students the names of the notes on the staff. For the treble clef, have each student come up with an acronym for the names of the lines and spaces on the staff. One possible acronym is “Each Great Brain Dreams Fine.” Have the students come up with an acronym for both the bass and treble clef. The students may work in groups or by themselves. The group or individual with the most creative acronyms will win. To make this more entertaining, give the students construction paper, glue and markers to create presentations.
Bingo
In Musical Bingo, the teacher creates enough cards for each student to have their own or share. Each card is a 4-by-4 matrix. The teacher must draw 16 pitches from the 18 available pitches between the bass and treble clef. Each box consists of a staff and a note. The children must place a token on a note whenever called. Four in a row wins and they should call out Bingo to have their answers checked. The teacher should call out pitches in this order: pitch name, clef type and line or space. For instance, “B is in the treble clef and on a line.”
Interval Game
The interval game is for advanced students. Teach the students about the chromatic scale and instruct them on the difference between major, minor and perfect intervals. Do this by writing a complete chromatic scale on the board and then showing them the difference between a minor second and a major second. Continue to explain each interval. To play the game use two groups of students and ask them to name the note that is an interval above or below a note. For instance, give them the note A and ask for a perfect fifth above A. First student to get the answer right wins.
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