When I was little my mom would fold a piece of paper into something called a “Fortune Teller”. It would keep me entertained for a long, long time (this was clearly before the days of iPads!).
The other day, during a nostalgic moment, I made one for my two daughters… and it had the same effect on them as it had on me… they loved it! So naturally, I turned it into a piano activity.
While the Fortune Teller we’re sending you below can take many forms in a piano lesson, my mind went immediately to keyboard awareness games and getting piano students comfortable with steps, skips, and leaps!
Today we’re giving you your very own “musical version” of a Fortune Teller, along with a game you can play with it that is a real hoot. Simply follow the instructions below and have fun!
Keyboard Awareness Fortune Tellers For Piano Kids
The Fortune Teller set-up is simple. You’ll need to download this printable and then follow the included folding instructions. Once you have your very own Keyboard Awareness Fortune Teller in your hands you can get ready to play!
How to Play:
Before you begin the game, have your student place a game marker on any white key within the C Major one octave scale. While he is doing this, you must secretly choose a white key within the same scale to serve as the “finish line”. Write this key on a piece of paper.
Your student will win the game when his marker moves within two steps of the selected secret “finish line”.
When you and your student are ready to begin, perform the following steps:
- Place the Fortune Teller on your fingertips.
- On the top of the Fortune Teller are four “Christmas Characters”. Each character has a note value on its tummy. Ask your student to choose a note value and name the number of beats it receives in 4/4 time.
- Manipulate the Fortune Teller (check out this video if you’re a newbie to these!) according to the number of beats the note named in Step 2 receives. The Fortune Teller will end up “open”.
- Next, your student chooses one of the numbers that is being displayed in the open Fortune Teller by playing the corresponding interval starting on middle C (for example, if your student is choosing the number 4 he would play C and then F).
- Manipulate the Fortune Teller according to the number/interval your student selected in Step 4. The Fortune Teller will once again end up “open”.
- Ask your student to choose a number again (repeating Steps 4 and 5).
- Ask your student to choose a number one last time.
- Open the flap associated with the selected number to discover the directions.
- Have your student move his marker from its original spot along the keys according to the written directions.
- Repeat steps 1-9 three times so that the student ends up moving his game marker three times. After the third turn, reveal the “finish line” key you selected during the game set-up. Did your student’s game marker end up within two steps of the “finish line”? If so, your student wins!
Do you notice how quickly your students learn and retain theory concepts when you’re using something new, fun and hands-on? That’s because game-based learning is such a powerful learning tool! By joining PianoGameClub.com you’ll build a fantastic library of resources to help you teach theory in a meaningful way to all ages and levels.
What Christmas Fun Are YOU Having?
We’d love to know… what Christmas activities you are preparing as the holiday season approaches.? Help us build a great collection by sharing in the comments below!
Shelby Williams says
What a great idea!! I will definitely use this in the next couple of weeks. Right now my studio is preparing for a Christmas recital, and we’re using a Pennies for Practice incentive. Each time the kids practice, they put a penny in a jar. By the end of the year we are going to donate all the pennies to a charity. Love the kids’ big hearts!
I wanted to let TPT know that they have skyrocketed my love for teaching piano. I taught myself to play the piano, then I started teaching in high school by accident (isn’t that how most of us start?) and never thought it would be such a huge part of my life. Now, I am studying music education in college and teaching piano most of the day! THANK YOU for making music creative, fun, and accessible! You’re wonderful!!
Andrea says
This is so sweet of you Shelby – thank you so much for taking the time to write 🙂 It means the world to us!
Karissa says
YES! I started teaching accidentally as well. I was teaching English overseas in Vietnam and a Korean lady from my church wanted to learn. I couldn’t “moonlight”, so instead of paying me, she made me incredible lunches or took me to new restaurants around the city (and sometimes took my husband with us). Then I started teaching their son as well. When I got back to the US I had experience and could easily market myself (and had access to curriculum). Fun fact: That first piano student? Her English name was Song.
Krista says
Same with me as well. I was volunteering at this little village scool in India. I was using my B.Ed degree to help them meet some checklist points so they could register with a private school board. One of the items was getting an arts program going. I started teaching 6 girls and played around with some recording. I went from being the person who swore she wasn’t going to be a piano teacher (I’m a piano teacher’s kid), but discovered my love for it. When I decided to settle back down I started teaching and now have 28 students and am putting plans in place to make this my full time career.
Marilyn Brennan says
This is just too cute and fun!! Thank you!
Brecklyn says
I love this! I will be playing this with my violin students today!
Robin says
Oh my word. I have been trying for 3 weeks to think of the name of this very “game,” wanting to use it for students! But you have already holiday-ized it, colored it, and made it fun and usable. Thank you!
Andrea says
So glad it came at the right time for you Robin! Hope you have fun with it 🙂
Marie Hershey says
This looks like a really fun game young students will especially enjoy.
My students loved your Haunted Mystery Mansion game so I made Thanksgiving and Christmas ones with the same idea but holiday pictures around and below the missing measures. It has really helped me to see if students understand how to count rhythm.
Susan says
THANK YOU! My kids love the games I’ve printed from your site, and I know they’ll love this. I appreciate you all SO much!
Andrea says
You’re so welcome Susan! Happy to hear it’s all being well used 🙂
Joyful says
Thanks for all your activities for us teachers! Would you have any of these for a lower level? Appreciate it if you do!
Jan says
Love this! Thank you so much!
Jahn Crews says
Thanks, again. You help us all with your great ideas of making music FUN!
I had an early recital….Nov. 1. Now we are working at the goal of “how many Christmas songs can you learn to play” (not Memorize, but some are) by our Dec. 18 Piano Play Party. I have a 1st grade boy who started in Aug. He already has FOUR songs on the wall chart I hung with everyone’s names. Everyone who plays at least 1 song wil get a prize…or several prizes. His older brother better get moving! Happy holidays to all of you.
Andrea says
Very cool Jahn! Having memorized Christmas songs is SUCH a gift to your students – they can play them anytime anywhere and that’s always so lovely for their family and friends 🙂
Colleen Branson says
Love it. Someone else shared a Halloween one recently and a couple of students really enjoyed it. Thanks for sharing this one.
Melissa says
Thanks, this looks like fun! I’m sure my students will enjoy the fortune teller (I made them when I was a kid, too).
We just finished our fall recital and coming up on a piano contest this weekend. After that is finished, we will play Christmas music and relax a bit. I plan to play plenty of games!
Andrea says
Hi Melissa! Yes, it’s the perfect “post-recital” activity 🙂 I’m going to send them home with my students for the holidays so they can play it with siblings and parents too!
Amy says
Fantastic! Three days ago a student proudly showed me the fortune teller fold-ups that she had just made at school. She’ll flip (in a good way) when she sees this in a few weeks at her lesson!
Melinda says
I’ve also heard these called “cootie catchers.” 🙂
Karissa says
Ha! I played this with a student a couple days ago. She’s 11 and said she had also heard of them as cootie catchers!
Andrea says
That’s the first time I’ve heard of that one! 🙂 Hope you had fun Karissa!
Beth says
Thanks! This could be a way to help the parents get a little more involved. Maybe the kids can teach their not-so-musical parents something with it!
Gaylinn says
I used the fortune teller yesterday. As a new student arrived and I finished a fortune teller game with a student, the new student wanted to play the same game. I had to think hard to come up with different game versions for the different levels of all those students. We used it for intervals, for note recognition, for reinforcing where the various keys are on the piano and much more. Thanks for a game that the kids begged to play!