Teaching the concept of rhythm to teenagers is a lot less challenging than teaching it to young piano students. Most teenagers have had experience with fractions, and therefore understand the idea behind the division of beats in a measure.
The danger teachers face however, is the assumption that a teenager’s rhythmic coordination is on par with her knowledge of the concept; which is rarely the case. For this reason, it is just as important to engage in rhythm-focused exercises with a teenager as it is with a seven year old.
When it comes to teenagers, the first tricky rhythms that will challenge their coordination involve eighth notes. While the introduction to eighth notes opens the door to a world of exciting teen repertoire, without focused rhythm practice it also opens the door to a world of frustration.
Today we’re sharing a printable activity that will help you hone in on eighth note rhythms with your teen beginners so that they can enjoy repertoire that really rocks.
Rock Your Introduction To Eighth Notes With This Printable For Teen Beginners
Eighth notes are usually introduced while your beginning teens are still solidifying their note reading abilities. For this reason it’s a good idea to start every beginning teen lesson with eighth note practice away from the piano. This will allow your teens to develop their eighth note muscle memory so that when they return to their repertoire space in their brains has been freed up to tackle note reading, dynamics and more.
The printable below is designed to reinforce eighth note rhythms and hands-together coordination. While it works great as a standalone activity, it will work wonders when paired with our “just released” teen resource, WunderKeys Rock Repertoire For Teen Beginners 2. You can learn more about this book below or on Amazon.
Click here or on the image below to download today’s activity.
Learn More About WunderKeys Rock Repertoire For Teen Beginners
Are you on a never-ending hunt for beginning teen repertoire? Our newest release, WunderKeys Rock Repertoire for Teen Beginners 2ย will satisfy your teens’ need for cool-sounding music while allowing you to meet your teaching goals. This book contains 14 pieces in the G Five-Finger Scale with a gentle introduction to eight note rhythms. Each piece is also paired with a full teacher-student duet for a motivating musical experience that’s fun in lessons and perfect for recitals! Find this book on Amazon.
Click the image below for a preview of WunderKeys Rock Repertoire For Teen Beginners 2:
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Laura Forero says
Andrea, when I click on the image or the link, it takes me to a printable that doesnโt match the image above-
It goes to a quarter note exercise. What am I doing wrong? I need the eighth note sheet!
Thanks so much,
Laura
Andrea says
All fixed!
Sonja says
I only see the quarter note exercise too. Would love to have the eighth note pattern. Thanks so much!
Andrea says
Hi Sonja! It’s all fixed ๐
Laurie says
I’m also seeing just the quarter note/half note patterns. Could we have the 8th notes? ๐
Andrea says
Hi Laurie! The link is all fixed ๐
Lisa B says
Thanks for fixing the link! This activity looks fun!
Andrea says
Enjoy! Hope your students have fun with it ๐
Sandra says
I find my students adapt to eighth notes easily. …It is the introductions of 1/16 notes that throws them. Intellectually they grasp it, but in practice they tend to lose the basic pulse.
Susan Theron says
The Teen duets look great!…is there no way you can get the books on Bookdepository? Shipping to NZ + exchange rate makes it very costly…
Andrea says
Hi Sharon! Currently our books are only available through Amazon as they are also our publisher. This book should show up on Amazon AUS within the next month or so (it takes a bit to for them to pick up the US newly published books).
Sarah says
I think these are great! I have the other teen printable like this, and one for primer students that uses colours for the hands. ๐
Caroline P says
Thank you! Was looking for a rhythm pattern to reinforce eighths and coordination<3