It’s that time of year again… the time when you start rooting around in your basement for your box of Halloween piano teaching fun!
I’ve already sent a truckload of materials off to the printer in preparation for a very exciting October.
But if you’re a little thin on Halloween teaching activities, don’t despair! Today we’re sharing a Halloween Improv Activity for young students that is great for reinforcing rhythm and teaching your kids to be creative on the keys.
But be forewarned… if you pull this out at the beginning of a piano lesson your students are likely to not let you do anything else for the next 30 minutes!
A Halloween Improv Activity For Your Young Piano Students
Our Halloween Improv Activity will have you and your young piano students playing a fantastically fun “improvised duet” with a good dose of “spooky”.
While your students experiment with creative rhythms and a simple melody, you’ll be providing the haunting accompaniment using a simple repeating chord pattern in the key of C Minor ( a suggestion for the music is below).
So here’s how it all goes down:
Step 1:
Print and cut out the Halloween Improv Cards found here.
Step 2:
Practice simultaneously saying the words and clapping the corresponding rhythms with your student. Then, have your student practice simultaneously saying the words and playing the rhythms on a single piano key.
Step 3:
Have your student place her hands in the C Minor 5-finger position. Using only her 1, 2, and 3 Fingers have your student play each of the different rhythms using any combination of these 3 keys (C, D and Eb).
Step 4:
Ready to turn this into a haunting duet? Have your piano student choose two Halloween Improv Cards (either at random, or her favourites) and place them on the piano.
Step 5:
Play the following accompaniment over and over… and over.
Step 6:
With her hands in C Minor position and using only C, D and Eb, have your student find a melodies to match the two rhythms on the Halloween Improv Cards over and over along with you. She’ll be using her “made-up melodies” – any combinations of those 3 notes as you play the duet together.
Step 7:
Once your student can comfortably do Sept 6, then repeat this activity using two different Halloween Improv Cards. Repeat this activity using four different Halloween Improv Cards… embellish, change it up and have fun with improv!
Add This To Your Halloween Collection Too!
Our latest release from PianoBookClub, The Rhythmic Haunting of Ruby Wrigglesworth, is the perfect resource for reinforcing rhythm during the month of October.
But it won’t be around for long! If you sign up for a PianoBookClub subscription before tomorrow night (September 26, 2015) it will be the first monthly book you receive! To learn more check out PianoBookClub.com.
Nice change for my kids…
…exactly! I started this last week with my kiddos who were really feeling the “back to school blues”… they’re exhausted already. Time for a “pick me up” and this fit the bill!
Oh, what fun! Thank you.
You’re welcome Jean! Would love to hear how your students liked it!
How do you know WHAT I need, exactly WHEN I need it? We have a make-up class tomorrow morning (Saturday). Going to try this as a group activity. Also, I’m absolutely loving the Piano Book Club!!
Hi Kelly – glad to hear our timing is right for you! Hope it made your planning for your make-up class a little easier 😉 So happy to hear you’re loving PianoBookClub!
What a great idea! Thank you, Andrea! I’m going to print these rhythm cards today.
You’re welcome Trisha! Hope it’s lots of fun for you and your students 🙂
Thanks! Perfect timing. I have a group class tonight! Love the colors!
Have fun with it Melody! We’d love to know how it goes. By the way… very jealous of your name! What a perfect one for this profession 🙂
I’ll use these in my October workshop! Fun! I want more improv. We’ve played improv with the 12 bar blues in C and the blues scale. Surprising how cool it sounds!
I love this and will use it with MANY students…Would you be willing to upload another version without the typo on the word “shining?” (It says “shinging”)
Hi Laura! Did you want to take a look at the attachment again and maybe refresh your page? We caught this first-thing and changed it yesterday morning. Maybe your browser has indexed an old page?
Thank you. Great fun! Our Costume H’ween Recital is coming up Oct 15 and this will help get them in the mood. Thank you.
That recital sounds like lots of fun Diane! Hope these activities are a great way to lead into it 🙂
Awesome! I’m going out of town for two weeks and I’m sending these home for some fun they can do on their own and then we can do them together when I get back.
Thanks, Andrea!
Have a lovely holiday Calene! 🙂
I’ve done this activity with all of my students this week and they’ve all Loved It!! Thanks so much for sharing!!!
So glad to hear it Kristy!
I have not enough words to thank you for all you have done ! It is amazing and so kind of you to share your ideas with us here for absolutely FREE!!!! THANK YOU and wish you ALL THE BEST!
Thanks for taking the time to say thank you Yuliana! And thanks for reading our blog 🙂 Glad you find it helpful and fun!
My kids have really enjoyed this activity! I used the full c minor pentascale and with more advanced students made them use two hands to create cross hand melodies. It was awesome!
Thank you so much!