Isn’t it funny how the most mundane jobs become absolutely marvelous when turned into a game? As parents, Trevor and I have learned this through experience with our two young daughters.
“Pick the clothes up off your bedroom floor”… typically ignored.
“I’m going to time you.. how many items of clothing can you put into this laundry basket by the time I count to ten?”… Kids race like maniacs to clean their rooms.
You’ve likely experienced this in your piano studio as well. Game-based learning turns boring theory exercises into brilliant learning opportunities. To illustrate the power of play, today we’re sharing a piano printable that will make your students smile when it’s time to do some score study.
Crossing Galaxies: A Score Study Piano Game
To play Crossing Galaxies you will need your student’s current piece (a full-page Level 1 or 2 piece works best), two different-colored highlighters and a copy of our free printable found here.
Note: The game board does not include accidentals. If your student’s piece is not in the key of C, have him write the key signature at the top of the page. This has the same effect on the game board note names as a key signature would on notes on the staff (all F’s become F#’s etc.)
How To Play:
- To begin, the student looks at his sheet music and names the very first note on the treble (or bass) staff. Next, he searches the Crossing Galaxies Score Study page for the matching letter and colors it in using his colored highlighter.
- The teacher repeats Step 1 using her own colored highlighter.
- The teacher and student repeat Steps 1 – 2 (alternating turns, moving note-by-note across the music) in an attempt to align three stars of the same color. The three colored stars can be aligned vertically, horizontally, or diagonally. Draw a line to connect the three.
- When three colored stars are aligned, the player using that colored highlighter scores one point.
- Play continues until one of two things happens: 1) Players reach the end of the piece OR, 2) One player scores five points.
- If players reach the end of the piece before scoring five points, the player with the most points wins the game.
- Notes: 1) If a player cannot find a star because all stars containing the required note name have been colored, the turn is over AND, 2) As the game progresses, the coloring of a single star may result in a number of different combinations of three aligned stars. In this case, one point is score for each new connection of three stars. See below for a game board example.
Players may choose to “block” each other from connecting a set of three, but this may not be the best game-play strategy (if it means missing out on scoring points). The block of 5 red stars in the example below counts as 2 points as the middle star is shared by two sets of three.
Enjoy! We love to see photos of your students using our resources! Be sure to tag us @teachpianotoday or #teachpianotoday on Facebook and Instagram so we can see them π
Barbara says
Way more fun than just “what is that note!”
But I’m a little confused about the directions…the student goes first and colors a star with the letter name of the first note of the piece; then when it’s the teacher’s turn she looks for the NEXT note in the score, then the student looks for yet the next note…is that how it goes?
I plan to laminate this so I can use it over and over and over, etc. Thanks for another fun resource!
Andrea says
Hi Barbara – yes, you alternate turns and move on to the next note in either the treble or bass clef. So, if the treble clef line was “Mary Had A Little Lamb” (and S is for student and T is for teacher), S would circle E, T would circle D, S would circle C, T would circle D etc. Strategy would mean you’d try to “block” the other player from getting a row of three whenever possible π Have fun! Laminating is a great idea – dry erase markers work well on laminated sheets. Have fun!
Jody Gafford says
Is one of the objects to block the other player from achieving three stars? Would it work in a group to play it like bingo with each child having their separate game board? Thank you for your wonderful resources.
Andrea says
Hi Jody – blocking is something you can do, but it might not always be the best strategy if it means missing a point yourself. You could likely use it as bingo… but I think it would be quite a bit easier to get a set of three. Give it a try and let me know! π
Amy Laybourn says
This looks cool, but I’m a little confused too! Do the players try to block each other (like connect 4)? In the picture it looks like red and blue kept to their own sides with no blocking. And, does each 3-in-a-row group need to be separate? Confused because red has 5 in a row in the example, so not sure what that counts for. Thanks!
Andrea says
Hi Amy! Yes, players can try to block each other if they like, but that may not always be the best strategy if it means you miss getting 3 in a row yourself (which is what happened in this game – players decided to go for points instead of blocking). The 5 in a row that are red in the example is worth 2 points as the middle star is shared by 2 sets of 3 that were created.
J Ellen says
Wouldn’t the five in a row actually give you three points: stars 1-2-3, 2-3-4, and 3-4-5?
Andrea says
Hello! The great thing about this printable is you can really use it however you like and can make your own rules to suit your style of play. We avoided writing a massive list of rules with a bunch of different scenarios as it really is a very simple game that is meant to be quick and easy in lesson time. We played this game with the “rule” that you can’t use one star more than once if they’re all in a row.This meant that 3 only could be used twice if it was all vertical (we did this for ease of visual score keeping or you get a whole bunch of lines all overlapping). Feel free to adapt and change it if you are used to other kinds of game play π
Susan says
I love the game aspect of note naming! Do you mean, β The 5 in a row that are BLUE in the example is worth 2 points. The middle BLUE Star is shared by 2 sets of 3 that were created.β My question is: What about the the 3 diagonal blue stars up, 3 diagonal blue stars down AND the 3 blue stars across the bottom row? Would that count as 3 points since it is 3 sets of 3 connections?
Andrea says
Hi Susan – I was answering a question about the “5 in a row” red stars π In this game, the blue player would have scored a total of 3 points.
Bonnie Haskell says
And another confused teacher…. π Can you highlight any where on the game board when it’s your turn? Or do you have to “travel” down the rows? I’m probably making this way more complicated than it was meant to be! :)))
Anna says
From the example, it looks like you can highlight a star anywhere on the sheet. That would definitely be necessary for blocking the opponent. I think it is like the board game Connect Four in that you can try to not show your plan by coloring stars that are separate from each other (not in a row), but then suddenly filling in the gaps and creating your connection. At least, for older students. For younger, I’d play it more simply for them. π
Andrea says
Exactly! π
Andrea says
Hi Bonnie – anywhere you like. Yes, keep it simple π
Jimmi Wilson says
LOVE IT… can’t wait to use this on with my next student!!! Thanks.
Andrea says
You’re so welcome! π Have fun!
Keera says
I used this today. We had three players and it worked out great.
Andrea says
Great to hear, Keera! π
Laura says
This is brilliant, thank you! Canβt wait to try it next week.
Shelly says
This looks like so much fun!! My kids will love this one! Thank you for all that you do!
Andrea says
It is a lot of fun! Enjoy and thanks for reading our blog π
Susanne says
As my 6 yr old student exclaimed, “This is the best game ever!!!” π
Andrea says
So glad!! π