If you’re teaching piano lessons during the summer months then it’s likely that you are on the hunt for fun activities that will keep your piano students motivated, excited and… learning!
So, if you’re scratching your head (or spending endless hours on Pinterest searching for ideas) relax… we’ve got you covered! One of our favorite things to do on this blog is to make the lives of piano teachers easier. So, grab a lemonade because your summer planing just got a whole lot easier!
Piano Teachers Share Their Summer Lesson Ideas
When we first published this post we put it out to the wonderfully creative bunch of teachers that make up the TeachPianoToday community and asked them to share one idea that they have used in summer piano lessons that was an absolute blast.
The response was amazing and the result is 65+ incredibly creative ideas that you can pick and choose from to incorporate into your summer piano lessons!
To find the summer piano lesson ideas, read through the comments below. And, if you’re still searching for more summer fun, check out our popular summer-themed piano teaching posts below.
16 Amazing Summer Piano Projects … That Will Take YOU Less Than 5 Minutes to Plan
Sheila says
My studio is going to have a Pops on the Patio concert in our backyard on a July evening. Students will perform with live drums, guitar and bass accompaniment. Their preparation will include writing lead sheets of their pieces for the other musicians. I may keep refreshments simple – a variety of iced pop to sip during the concert.
JoAnn Jordan says
I have a white shower curtain with a staff made with black duct tape. I split a clear shower curtain and made a treble clef and a bass clef to lay on the large staff. We use black dessert plates as note heads when aren’t moving our bodies on the staff.
This summer I’m targeting preschoolers with a Saturday morning music making/instrument making time.
Tiffiny says
I do a relay with composers and their time periods. The first player grabs a stick with a composer on it and runs to the other side where another student is waiting. He?she hands the student the composer stick; this student tells something about the composer and grabs a different composer on a stick and races to the other side where another student is waiting. The play goes on until the first player has had a turn to tell something about a composer or his/her time period. Obviously there are two teams racing each other. I have done this with other concepts as well. The students have really enjoyed this.
Beverly Holt Guth says
Boy, am I ever going to do this! I’m going to do an advanced version with my teen group – they’ll have to know composer, period, period dates, nationality and one famous piece. For my middle group (ages 10-12), we’ll just do composer, period and one famous piece. My husband inspired me this week when he was reading a book and said, So, Claire de Lune is by Debussy? It was mentioned in the book, and he didn’t know. I’ll send home a study sheet 2 weeks before the game, so everyone can know what they need to know! Thanks so much!
Jennifer says
Each week this summer will feature playing in a different key – beginning with C of course. We find as many things to go with that letter as we can: C=crazy clothes day; D= dynamics, songs about ducks etc.
Lindsay says
What a helpful resource! I’m planning some extraordinary activites and offerings for my studio this summer and this is just what I need!
For brand new beginners this summer I’m planning to do group lessons of 6, and in several of the lessons I’m planning on incorporating activity groups where students can interact with one another at different stations and trade stations after 5-10 minutes. Some of the activity stations will probably include creative listening (coloring and listening to music), duet partner coaching, iPad game activities, and also even a step outside to play things like piano hopscotch and others.
Another fun activity for the summer I’m working on is compiling a songbook that teaches basic musical concepts. It’s such a fun and memorable way for them to understand music, and it’s one more performance that can add variety to the Summer Piano Celebration in July – beyond the traditional solo performances. (More ideas I’m working out, but I’ll leave it at that!)
Susan says
Thanks for all of these fantastic ideas! And thanks Andrea and Trevor! You guys rock!
I’ve created a game similar to whack a mole. Put laminated interval cards on the floor. Call out an interval. The first person to find it whacks it with a plastic bat. The kids love it!
stacey says
All these ideas are so awesome, but I live in South Africa, where its summer most of the year so we couldn’t keep doing these fun outside activities.
Winter is coming up for the southern hemisphere, and Id like to know what fun things other southern hemisphere teachers do during winter, especially since its not snowing and in June/July. We cant use the usual snowmen Christmas activities
Barbara says
Get out the Super Soaker! (or have your students bring theirs) Print out various musical elements and/or notes on the staff. Make two copies of each — one large and one small. Laminate them each separately. Attach the large ones to cans and set them up on a wall or table (shooting range style.) Put the small ones in a container from which you or the student can draw out one at a time. Whichever element is drawn the student tries to knock that can over with the water gun. Helpful hint: If you don’t have access to an outside faucet, be sure to take a gallon jug of water out with you so you don’t have to keep running inside to refill.
Variations: 1)Print out only notes on the staff. As the student knocks one over you write it down in order. Then when you’re done outside the student goes in a plays their creation. 2) Have student tell you beforehand which note they are going to shoot and see if they get it right.
Don’t want to get messy with the water? Use a lightweight ball to throw instead. Either way…Have FUN!
Beverly Holt Guth says
You must be the Most Fun Teacher! I’m going to try this with my students! Thanks!
Laura says
If only I’d seen this post yesterday for the contest! Oh well, I will submit my idea anyway because my students LOVE it!
I printed out cards with the musical terms regarding speed of the piece (Andante, Adagio, Presto, etc). Then you play a game like “Red Light, Green Light”. The person who’s “it” shouts out a speed. All the others have to approach at that speed until “it” shouts “stop” and then switches to another speed. So, Largo=slowly and broadly. Allegro=quickly and happily. And so on. Lots of fun and really helps us remember what those hard words mean!
Sue Snyder says
Fill plastic Easter eggs with pieces of paper on which music symbols, name the notes and other terminology are written. As students find eggs, they open them, name the symbols, explain them, and if correct, they get to keep the eggs. Who doesn’t love an egg hunt. There are some other fun games, on the Internet, using plastic eggs.