March Music Lesson Resources
Welcome Back!
Hello again and welcome to our second month of our free resource posts! It’s recital season here at MMT, so I’ve been creating practice sheets that encourage consistent practicing, while also trying to avoid burnout with pieces kids have been working on for months. I decided to go with the classic BINGO format for a couple kiddos this week.
Pick Your Patty’s Day Path- BINGO sheet:
This sheet is presented as a multi-day activity in a “choose your own adventure,” sort of way. There’s 25 different practice options, and students can choose any 2 a day to complete! (We only had 4 days between our lessons and the recital this week. If this were a typical full week, I might include the challenge of getting BINGO twice, or blackout BINGO, etc. in order to make the sheet last the whole week).
Some blocks are very simple, encouraging breaking down practice into smaller chunks; for example, “Practice page 1 three times.” Others have activities such as music riddles, online music games (shoutout to classicsforkids.com!), or more emotional/expression-based experiences. Many of my kiddos have been working on their overall self-confidence, so I like to encourage opportunities to show kindness for oneself. Since we’re having a recital on St. Patrick’s Day, there’s a space reading, “Happy St. Patrick’s Day! Write yourself a good luck note for your recital!” This, of course, can easily be adapted to, “Write yourself a good luck note for your practice,” or “Write yourself a congratulations note on how much you have learned this month!” It’s so important to feel external support from teachers and families, but when you hear those encouraging words from yourself, it can cultivate such a deeper connection to the idea of being proud of oneself, and really rooting in a place of self trust. I have one student who consistently reminds themself they have, “the confidence of a queen!” before playing their rep, and this has changed the game. It’s nice to hear positive feedback from others- it’s empowering to receive it from yourself.
Shake things up! Fresh and Fun Ways to Practice:
You will also find some other spaces that encourage different types of practice. Raise your hand if you’ve learned just as much, possibly more, from teaching than you do/did in your own lessons. All of us? Okay cool, I had a feeling. I love to suggest my students teach their music to members of their own family for a couple reasons. 1) It doesn’t really feel like practicing. They’re excited to be “the one in charge,” (aren’t they always?) and it can feel like a break from practicing (but shhh, it’s practicing in disguise). They’re the teacher now, and typically I find this sense of trust in self takes over, and they don’t second guess themselves as much. This leads to, 2) sometimes things just really click when they teach the concept rather than answering the questions. Approaching things from a different perspective adds new understanding and ways of overall processing. As teachers, I’m sure we can all relate to this. When you explain something in your own words, it becomes better internalized. Lastly, 3) this is an absolutely great way to connect parents with what their child is working on, and also encourage practicing at home. If the guardian does not have any musical background, maybe now they can more easily assist their child with practicing. Maybe they get a better understanding of where their child is landing in their practice. Maybe they have a better understanding of the impressive skill sets that go into their child’s musical learning (*advocate for music ed. and its importance in all areas of development!!*)
Of course, it is not always possible for parents/guardians to engage in this type of practice for a variety of reasons. It can still easily occur with the student teaching siblings, stuffed animals, or even making a video tutorial! (They have so much fun making these and honestly can be an ongoing project for them too!) As long as they are teaching someone/thing, this is such a unique and useful form of practice to shake things up a bit.
Make it Your Own
Always use these sheets however is best suited for you and your students. I’ll include a version that has some of my suggested practice prompts, but you can also find a blank bingo card for you to fill in your own practice prompts. Hot tip: if you like some of the prompts I include in the filled out version, but some of them just aren't a good fit, you can easily add prompts over top. One way is to download the pdf below, then upload the pdf to Canva (it’s free!). Another option is to take a screenshot of the pdf, then upload the screenshot to Canva (this will guarantee the format hasn’t changed). Once in Canva, simply insert a white square over top of the prompts you don’t need in order to “white it out”, and add your own text.
Why am I sharing?
I try to make each practice sheet with the careful intention to suit it to each individual’s unique processes. This means I make a different practice sheet for each student, each week. It sounds tedious, yes, but seriously my kids love it. That’s why I’m sharing these here. The more I make, the more they add up, and I can potentially reuse some for other students later on. That’s the whole idea! Maybe you also have a student who shares a love of outer space or word searches or coloring just like mine, and can use the same engaging practice sheet! Yes it is time consuming, but I love exploring what my student might connect with that week, and creating something that will enrich their learning to the highest extent. I hope you and your students enjoy, and I can’t wait to share more resources next month!
Tune back in!
It won’t always be practice sheets that are shared here! Check back in each month for all kinds of music games, visuals, etc!
Mikaila Vieyra, LPMT, MT-BC