Sometimes you just need a gimmick. In fact… when teaching little piano students, “gimmicks” can be powerful leaning tools. In those moments where you have a tired-out, frustrated, overwhelmed or otherwise unhappy little one on your bench, pulling out something interesting and fun is like sprinkling magic “happy dust” over your piano lesson.
If your approach to theory needs some “happy dust” then you’ll love the DIY teaching tool we’re sharing in today’s post. It’s a fun and (very) simple way to encourage your piano students to focus on the nitty-gritty details in their music. So, eat a popsicle, save the stick and read on!
Connect Kids To Their Piano Scores With Inspector McEye
In addition to exploring theory in games, in stories and in worksheets, it is important to solidify concepts in context. Using your piano students’ current pieces as study material brings immediate relevancy to their learning.
But exploring theory in context risks becoming a little boring; unless you employ a gimmick… like Inspector McEye. Using Inspector McEye your once-reluctant students will be happy to explore their scores and strength their understanding of theory concepts.
To make your own Inspector McEye, you will need a popsicle stick, some washi tape, some glue and a googly eye. I added a cape for fun!
14 Ways To Explore Theory With Inspector McEye
Armed with Inspector McEye your piano students can respond to the following 14 requests and have a blast studying their scores:
- Point to all of the ___ (choose a note name).
- Point to notes that step up, notes that step down and notes that repeat.
- Point to notes that skip and notes that leap.
- Point to a 5th (or another interval).
- Point to a half note (or other note and rest values).
- Point to an accent (or other articulation markings).
- Point to a symbol that means forte (or other dynamic markings).
- Point to the measure with the rhythm that I will clap.
- Point to a measure that matches the melody I will play.
- Point to the tonic and dominant of the piece.
- Point to notes that are played together.
- Point to patterns (rhythmic patterns, measures that repeat etc.).
- Point to notes played with the LH and notes played with the RH.
- Tap each note value while counting the treble clef rhythm.
More Quirky Theory Fun And Games
You’ll find yourself reaching for Inspector McEye more often than you may think… and you can bet your students will be happy to study their scores using this little bit of fun!
If your looking for more quirky, educational and fun ways to inspire kids to love theory, then you’ll want to check out Teach Piano Today’s PianoGameClub. For just $8 US/CDN monthly PianoGameClub subscribers receive four laugh-out-loud piano games each and every month that have piano students begging to learn theory!
Genius! What is “washi” tape and where would I find it?
Washi tape is a decorative “tape” that is removable. It will be in the scrapbook area of your local craft store. It comes in many designs and colors. It also can add a little jazz to assignment pages.
Cute little pointer guy! Will be heading for my craft supplies soon! 🙂
This is so good! I am going to make him and use him today with my beginner students!!
The best part is he is SO easy to make! I’m far from being a “crafty person” and it took me about 2 minutes 😉 Have fun with it!
Super cute!! I can see several of my kids loving this. I have a couple who will pretend to roll their eyes at first but deep down they will love it, and that will show quickly. Hopefully it will help my McWhiner. 🙂 Thank you for sharing!!
LOL! Yes, Inspector McEye specializes in eliminating McWhiners 😉
What a fun idea! I can’t wait to use it.
My students will love it!! I hope mine will turn as nice and lovely like the one in the picture 🙂
About the games from the Game Club now I’m implementing a new strategy that make the students even much more excited to win (they are already very much into winning the games especially if they play with their own parents in the class 😉 so with this strategy they are crazy excited!! 😀 ) and this is, that for each game they win, they add 2 points that they accumulate every week, toghether with points they earn when they practise certain amount of time and in december they can change this points for prices (gifts), the more points they have more important the gift is… I don’t mind expending a little bit of money in these gifts, since watching them learning with lots of fun and happiness is priceless!! 🙂 Thank you for all of these lovely ideas and printables you share!!
Oooh this is a fabulous plan, Maria Laura! Love it 🙂 Thanks for sharing!
This is a great idea! I am making them this weekend! Do you send them home with one? You are so clever!
You could certainly send one home, but I would tend to use it during lesson time as a way to help guide what you’re teaching.
Oh my gosh this is so cute! What will you guys come up with next! Adorable! Love it
Hi Sue – we hope your students have fun with it! Sometimes something like this can make all the difference 🙂 Thanks for reading!
I can’t stop laughing as I look at this little inspector! Just yesterday, I was trying to think how I could create something like this that would point to 2 notes at a time, so we could identify steps, skips, repeats and leaps. I wonder how you could adapt Inspector McEye? Perhaps wrap pipe cleaner around his/her middle to create to pointing hands..? Thanks for the fun!
Ooh I love it! Great plan for the pipe cleaners. The washi tape would likely hold them down too if you wrapped it diagonally?
This is a great idea! I use a mini plastic pointing finger stick for the same purpose. The kids love holding the stick and pointing to their music.
I love this idea! I made a Mr. and Mrs. McEye (for bass and treble clef rhythm tapping etc.) I’m not sure if the image will show
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I started out my year using a pencil to point with . . . and promptly dropped it and watched it roll under the piano. 😀 I think that Inspector McEye will be a lot more fun and a lot less likely to roll where I don’t want him!
LOL! Yes, he’s harder to lose, that’s for sure 😉 Hope you have fun with Inspector McEye!