I’m going to bare my soul and share the most embarrassing part of my entire house.
I have a junk drawer. And it contains a frustrating jam-the-drawer-shut collection of everything from hair elastics to plastic animal toys to rulers to… (ugh so embarrassing)… 5 empty tape dispensers.
I was in a gut-it-out mood the other day (mainly because my poor unsuspecting sister happened to open “The Drawer” the other day and quickly shut it in fear). It was time to clean it out.
But then my mind drifted to piano teaching again as I looked at the crazy assortment of goodies that emerged from that drawer. And so today we bring you a fabulously fun composing activity that will not only have you cleaning out “The Junk Drawer” in your own home… but will also have your piano kids creating some wildly imaginative pieces.
Trash to Treasure Composing 101
This activity can be done with just a few minutes of prep (depending on the state of your drawer I suppose!) and is immediately engaging for piano kids of all ages.
You will need:
- 4 paper lunch bags (or small gift bags – just nothing see-through)
- A random assortment of 16 small “treasures” (these can be anything… coins, office supplies, small toys)
- Our Trash To Treasure Composing Worksheets (free download here because we love ya!)
- A sharpie (number each paper bag 1 through 4)
- A piano student (and if you don’t have one of those we can help with that!)
How it Works
Put a variety of 4 small “treasures” that you’ve collected from your junk drawer into each paper bag. The mystery bags should be closed and waiting for your piano students before lessons begin.
Have your students randomly select a mystery bag. This bag then becomes their Trash to Treasure Composing Kit.
Follow along on the Trash to Treasure Composing Worksheet to see how these treasures can become a tune!
Compose Often and With Imagination
Giving kids ownership over their own learning is important – and nothing accomplishes this quite so nicely as composing. Creating ones own music is an intensely satisfying experience. Your kids will be motivated to practice, excited about their abilities and even more committed to learning the piano.
My teacher NEVER taught me to compose because I don’t think she knew where to start! If you’re in the same boat then you need our 12 easy-to-follow composing lessons that will leave you and your kids laughing out loud as you create 12 original compositions.
