Spring seems to be in fast-forward… the weeks are flying by and now, Easter weekend is just around the corner. Fortunately, this year, I am ready!
The week before Easter weekend is going to be non-stop fun in my studio. Today I wanted to share four “egg-cellent” (and easy) piano games that I will be playing with my piano students. Note: These games work great for Easter-Themed piano parties too! Pair them with our Easter Composition printable and our egg carton interval game and you have a fun, pre-planned Easter Piano Party at your fingertips!
Four Fun Piano Games You Can Play With Easter Eggs
For the four games below, all you will need is a set of plastic easter eggs (the kind that break in half down the middle) and some basic office supplies. The games are low-prep but packed with learning and fun. After half an hour spent getting ready, you can simply tuck your organized materials to the side and be ready to play on April 10th!
Ear Training Egg Toss
You will need:
6 plastic or paper cups, 6 plastic easter eggs, a sharpie, masking tape
How to Play:
Using your sharpie, write 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, and octave in the bottom of each cup. Tape the cups together so they stand as a “six pack”. Set them on the floor. Place a line of masking tape on your studio floor a short distance away from the cups. Give your student a basket of 6 plastic eggs. Instruct your student to stand behind the line of masking tape.
Play melodic or harmonic intervals on the piano. After an interval has been played, have your student name the interval and then toss an easter egg, attempting to land it in a cup. Analyze the bottom of the cup where the easter egg landed. If the label on the bottom of the cup matches the interval played, the egg remains in the cup. If not, the egg is removed from the cup and returned to the student. Continue play until all six cups contain an egg.
The Egg Beat-er Game
You will need:
7 plastic easter eggs, a sharpie, 17 coins
How to Play:
Draw a quarter note on an egg, a quarter rest on an egg, a half note on an egg, a half rest on an egg, a whole note on an egg, a whole rest on an egg and a dotted half note on an egg. Place the seven eggs in a basket.
Have your student sit at a table with the seven eggs in the basket. Place the 17 coins in a pile on the table. Explain to your student that each coin represents one “beat” in 4/4 time, and that she will be racing to fill each of her plastic eggs with the appropriate number of coins according to each egg’s label. For example, the egg labelled with a Whole Note would be filled with four coins.
On the word “Go”, begin timing your student as she races to fill her eggs. Keep track of all of your students’ times and see who is the “Egg Beat-er” champion!
Egg-cellent Scales
You will need:
16 plastic easter eggs halves (label two halves with “C”, two halves with “D”, two with “E”, two with “F”, two with “G”, two with “A”, two with “B”), four plastic egg halves labelled with the “flat” sign, four plastic easter egg halves labelled with the “sharp” sign.
How to Play:
In this game, your student will be racing to create major scales (in keys up to 4 sharps and 4 flats) as fast as possible. To begin, call out a scale and have your student arrange the labelled egg halves in the correct order on the floor according to the scale called (placing the egg halves open-side down so they rest firmly). If the scale contains sharps or flats, instruct the student to use an egg half labelled with a sharp or flat to cover the egg halves that are affected by the sharp or flat (by stacking them). Time your student so they have a target to beat in future rounds.
For example. If you call out “D Major!” your student should arrange the egg halves as “DEFGABCD” in a line on the floor and then stack egg halves labelled with sharps on top of the F and the C egg halves.
Egg-sercise Fun
You will Need:
This printable “grid”, 16 egg “halves” (use the halves from Game #3)
How to Play:
Place the note-reading grid on the floor and the egg halves to the side. Start the timer and then have your student place “note name” egg halves over the corresponding notes on the grid as fast as possible. Alternatively, you can add a keyboard awareness element to the game by playing a key on the piano and then having your student place the corresponding note name over the corresponding note on the grid.
And If Your Piano Students Are “Scrambling” For More…
If you notice “light-bulbs” going off in your piano students’ brains as you play these games, you’re not seeing things! Piano teachers all over the world are discovering that game-based learning is an effective way of teaching theory and ear training concepts. Using our PianoGameClub games during piano lessons makes it easy to implement the power of game-based learning in your studio! Get started today and we’ll send you your first 4 games immediately for just $8!
