When our family was in Copenhagen 5 years ago we stumbled upon the LEGO store. LEGO is a Danish invention, so it’s a very celebrated toy in this country. We have LEGO in stores at home… but not in the same fantastic way.
This was the candy store equivalent of LEGO. Walls and walls and walls of bins just begged little fingers to pick and choose treasures they would then pester their parents to purchase. We visited twice (here are photos of Lexi preparing to drain our wallets each time). There’s just something about LEGO that kids love.
A little while back we wrote a very popular post about using Play Dough to teach piano and so we figured it was time to write a lego equivalent! Today we’re sharing 15 ways you can use LEGO to bring some off-the-bench theory fun into your lessons. After reading this you will definitely want to hop on over to your local toy store (or book a flight to Copenhagen for the true LEGO experience) and give it a try!
15 Ways To Use LEGO To Teach Piano
You can use LEGO to teach a myriad of piano theory concepts. You’ll need some LEGO blocks (for really little fingers, Duplo works best) and a marker. I use an erasable marker when I’m pinched for prep time, but if you want your blocks to withstand a lot of use, a sharpie (or if you want to be able to re-use the blocks down the road, a mailing label and a sharpie) will do the trick.
Lego Note Reading
1. Learn enharmonic equivalents by labelling your blocks with a variety of sharps and flats. Have your students stack the sharp/flat combinations that represent the same key (for example, C# and Db).
2. Using any measure of melody, and a variety of blocks labelled A through G, have your students build a stack of blocks that represents the notes in the selected measure. See example below:
3. Have your students create a 4-block stack using their choice of an assortment of blocks labelled A through G. Then, using blank staff paper in either the Treble or Bass Clef, have your students then draw the notes they have stacked onto the staff.
4. Play three notes on the piano while your student watches. Then, have your students name the notes that were played and then find the corresponding labelled blocks and stack them in the correct order.
LEGO Ear Training:
5. Start the ear-training process with your littlest ones by having your students listen to you play a set of quarter notes. Then, have them stack blocks together to correspond with the number of sounds they heard.
6. Play two notes and have your students place blocks on the lines on this page to show whether the two notes are stepping, skipping or repeating. Stepping notes move from a line to a space, skipping notes move from a line to a line, or a space to a space, and repeating notes stay on the same line or space.
7. Give your students an assortment of blank blocks that are in two colors only. Play an interval (within the key of C) and have your students first name and then “build” the interval: one color represents the interval (the root and the given note), one color represents the “missed notes” within that interval. For example, a Perfect 4th would look like this:
LEGO Scales and Triads:
8. Label each LEGO piece with a scale degree (tonic, supertonic, mediant, subdominant, dominant, submediant and leading tone). See how quickly your students can stack them into the correct order in a LEGO tower.
9. Using blocks labelled with note names, have your students build stacks based on scale degrees that you call out. For example, in the Key of C you could call out “Mediant, Dominant, Tonic”. Your student would then stack the matching notes in the same order (E, G, C) and then play the corresponding keys on the piano.
10. Give your students three blocks labeled with notes found within a key or your choice. Ask them to create root, first and second inversions triads by placing them in a stack. For example, a first inversion C major Triad would be a EGC stack. Have your student play the inversions as they create them to double-up on the visual learning.
11. Label your blocks with F#, C#, G# and D#, A#, E# and B# (or use flats instead). Call out major or minor keys that use these accidentals and have your students build “key signature stacks” ensuring a) the correct sharps are used and b) they are stacked in the correct order of sharps.
LEGO Italian Terms
12. Label your blocks with dynamic markings and have your students arrange them in the order of softest to loudest or vice versa.
13. Label your blocks with articulation markings (accent, staccato, tenuto, fermata). Label other blocks with quarter notes. Have your students build a 2-block stacks of quarter note + articulation marking and then play their stacks on the piano… using the right articulation for each set of blocks.
Lego Rhythms
14. Label your blocks with a variety of rhythms (quarter, two eighths, half, four eighths, dotted quarter and an eighth, dotted half etc. etc.) Ask your students to build stacks that work within a given time signature using this page.
15. Build stacks of rhythms within a given time signature using the labeled blocks and the same printable from above. This time, include some blocks that are “blank”. Your students then must name (or draw) the missing rest value that would complete the measure. See example below (arrows indicate where the rest value would be drawn by the student or named):
Kinetic Kids Learn Best By Being Hands-On!
Game-based play is a fabulous way to really make concepts “stick”… and is much more than a simple brain break. In my studio, piano games are a necessary component of any lesson, and a necessary tool that results in better understanding and increased motivation.
If you want your piano students to benefit from regular game-based learning subscribe to PianoGameClub and receive 4 awesome piano games every single month!
Stacey says
This is honestly just exactly what I needed today! Thank you both so much, for all of these awesome ideas, can’t wait to try them out on a little boy who just can’t stand theory and writing. Even though I do play games with him, this will be further enforcement since he adores LEGO.
Andrea says
Hi Stacey – glad to hear it! LEGO is a great way to hook those hands-on kids and give them the ability to truly show you their understanding without boredom as a distraction 🙂
Karen says
With this post I can’t resist singing, “Everything is Awesome!” and truly mean it. I’m so appreciative that you understand both teachers AND students. Looking forward to implementing these ideas very soon. Thank you!
Andrea says
LOL – that song is stuck in my head now Karen 🙂 Thanks for your kind words! We’re so happy to hear you find our website helpful.
Amy Comparetto says
Great ideas! I especially like #9 and 14. I still have a Lego fascination that I never outgrew. They have one of those really cool Lego stores in NYC right next to Rockefeller Center, and I always love going in there. I don’t think there are many kids who wouldn’t enjoy Legos in their piano lesson!
Carol Woodall says
As usual, you guys have some great ideas! I have used legos to explain chords, but never thought of using them in such a variety of other ways. Thanks!
Andrea says
Hi Carol – You’re welcome! Hoping your kiddos have fun with it 🙂
SonicPiano says
Just had a brainstorm: how about using Lego bricks as a visual aid for how note values correspond to each other? Some of my younger students still can’t quite comprehend eighth notes. Take one large Lego to represent a whole note. Stack two bricks half the size of the large Lego on top of the large Lego to represent two half notes. Stack four bricks half the size of the half note bricks on top of them to represent quarter notes, and continue as needed up to sixteenth notes. You can even draw the notes onto the bricks. I doubt you’ll need to go beyond 16th notes; by the time students get to that point they’re late intermediate/early advanced and should have mastered the basics.
Andrea says
Hi SonicPiano – this is an awesome idea 🙂
Lisa says
Wow! Wow! Wow! I LOVE all of these ideas. Many of my young students love legos, and even bring in things they have built to show to me. Headed to the store for legos now!
Andrea says
I’m sure they’ll be so excited Lisa! 🙂 We’d love to hear how it goes.
melanie says
I looking for a new idea for my group lesson next week. This fits the bill perfectly! Thank you!
Andrea says
Wonderful to hear Melanie! Have fun 🙂
Beth says
Love this idea! I teach mostly group classes on a weekly basis, and this would be a great way to incorporate more theory, that they can all do simultaneously and have fun doing it!
Louise says
Legos are also fabulous for young students simply to play with while they are waiting.
Andrea says
True Louise – they’re great for finger strength too!
Jenni says
Excellent ideas, and so much fun! I have a suggestion for the interval part. I’m going to use 3 colors. One for the middle notes, and if the interval has notes the same, space or line. then use only the second color, which shows they are the same. Use the third for perfect fourths, etc. one for the root, second color for notes between, and a different color for the top to show the fourth has one line note and one space note.
Heidi N says
My boy students love using legos for rhythmic dictation (thanks to some inspiration from a blog post by Jen Fink on pianimation I read a few years ago), but I love how you apply them to so many different concepts! #7 would make a fun group lesson game of minute to win it.
Andrea says
Yes, #7 would be fun used that way!
Ann says
Some time ago I attended a workshop where lego blocks and a board were used for composition. Longer blocks represented longer notes and quite young students were able to “compose” a short piece using lego blocks. This also gave them a visual reminder of moving up and down. After they had written their piece they played it on the piano. They also turned the board upside down and played it again to hear the difference. The teacher presenting the workshop also used this to demonstrate how difficult some students find it to learn the new musical language when she asked some of us to play the composition on the piano. It was a great reminder that, although we are very familiar with notation, it is like a new language for students.
Andrea says
Very cool idea Ann! We did a postcast about creative notation recently – you might be interested in it as well 🙂 https://www.teachpianotoday.com/2015/03/16/the-invented-notations-of-children-and-the-importance-of-composing-the-tpt-podcast/
Georgina says
Any excuse to use Lego is fantastic! I’ve created a musical Lego town that my students ‘visit’ and ‘help’ the townsfolk, for example by pairing up items using musical symbols.
The kids love the use of Lego, and are really excited every week to see what they’ll be doing next!
Andrea says
That sounds really cool Georgina!
J phelps says
Great fun! Thx