When our family went on vacation this past summer, the place we rented had a washer but no dryer. For the first time in their lives, my children were introduced to the “laundry line”. It was a smash hit.
Getting our girls to help with the laundry at home is generally met with eye rolls and avoidance. But the introduction of the laundry line flipped the switch to fun. Suddenly, the struggle was not getting the girls to do laundry but instead getting the girls to stop arguing over who got to do the laundry.
At first it was odd and unsettling. And then it was wonderful.
The nicer weather we’ve been having lately reminded me of my girls’ love for the laundry line. So, I decided to create a rhythm-based piano game inspired by our drying laundry 🙂
Setting Up A Laundry Line Of Rhythms
To play A Laundry Line Of Rhythms you will need a piece of string, some tape, four red clothespins, four blue clothespins and 12 index cards. Note: if you can’t find colored clothespins, simply draw colored dots on plain, wooden clothespins.
Before the game begins, attach a piece of string across a window or door frame to create a laundry line. Make sure to hang the string at an accessible height for your little piano students. Next, clip all of the clothespins, in any order to the piece of string.
Finally, write an incomplete rhythm in 4/4 time on each index card. For example, on a card you may write a half note, or three quarter notes, or a quarter note and a quarrier rest, or a half note etc.)
How To Play A Laundry Line Of Rhythms
- To play the game, have your student select any five index cards.
- Ask her to analyze the incomplete measure of rhythm on the first index card and determine how many beats are missing.
- Next, have her clip the index card to a clothespin that completes the measure of rhythm. A red clothespin represents a quarter note and a blue clothespin represents a half note.
- Instruct your student to repeat Steps 2 – 3 for the remaining index cards.
More Fun For Spring In Your Studio
As the weather improves and the outdoors become a more attractive option, it’s a good idea to keep your students motivated by ramping up the off-the-bench fun in your studio. Below we’re sharing some more fun DIY activities to use in the coming months. Click on the image to explore each activity.
Sarah says
I love the idea! Going to go find some clothespins (of which we have plenty) and string. 🙂
Andrea says
Hi Sarah! Great! Can’t wait to hear how your piano students like it 🙂
Susan says
Gotta love a Laundry Line. Can also be used for listening – 1.which rhythm am I playing? – now you play one and I will find it on the line
2 which postcard am I improvising to? mow you play one and I will find it on the line – the idea being to communicate rather than trick the other person. Talk about what you were thinking while playing your description.
Andrea says
Great extension ideas, Susan! Thanks for sharing 🙂
Leigh says
I’m confused as to why you use red and blue clothes pins instead of just drawing a quarter note on a standard wooden clothespin and a half note on another. I’m a visual learner so that seems to me it would be easier. Or are you trying to have them think in a different way?
Andrea says
Hi Leigh – we used colors so they could represent the idea of “one beat” or “two beats” – meaning it could be either a note value or a rest value. If you wanted to you could draw quarter notes, half notes, quarter rests and half rests on clothespins and use those (we are always attempting to save you time 😉 )
Karen Lee says
I love all of your ideas and games! When I use them, it takes almost all of the lessons because the kids are having so much fun. (a good thing) But I am curious to know how long YOUR lessons are and how much time you spend on off the bench and playing time on the bench each week
cheryl benefield says
Love this idea with clothes pins….found little clothes pins and twisted-two-color twine at Dollar Tree. I will probably write the notes on the pins and have multiples. This will be fun for my little students who like “little” things.
Andrea says
Hi Cheryl! Great 🙂 Hope you have lots of fun with this activity!