February Music Lesson Resources
If you are a music teacher, music therapist, parent, etc, this is for you. I’m sure something most of us, if not all of us, have felt is the exhaustion associated with the amount of time, thought, and energy that goes into resource creation. I’ve certainly felt this way, which is why each month, I will be sharing 1-2 music teaching resources for anyone to download for FREE!
A Little Backstory
I’m a licensed and board certified music therapist, and have been teaching piano/music lessons both in and outside of clinical spaces for years. I love teaching and learning with all the little ones; watching them grow, sharing music, playing games. My students appear equally excited in all of our lessons too. Whether we are in adaptive lessons or traditional lessons, we always like to break up our time with music games in between practicing our rep. This allows a little break from practicing, while still exercising musical concepts in a fun and playful way. This helps sustain overall engagement, supports processing and understanding of music learning, and also makes the most of our time- and again, it’s just fun, and isn’t that the point?
I received feedback from some of the parents that their kids loved lessons, but were not motivated to practice throughout the week. Now, I love My Piano Adventure books- I myself grew up on them. It comes with a separate theory book with pages of extra practice or puzzles to accompany the music concepts learned that week. However, this still felt like “homework” to my kiddos, and I can totally see that. I loved the idea, but it wasn’t motivating actual repertoire practice, nor was it always the right fit for each individual. That’s when I started creating customized practice sheets each week, tailored to each individual and their personal music experience.
The Practice Sheets
In these sheets, I will write out what they are supposed to practice that week, along with a fun activity. For example, if I have a student who loves art experiences, I might include a coloring page, and write:
“Practice left hand only of How Far I’ll Go five times, then color Moana and Maui.
Practice right hand of How Far I’ll Go five times, then color her boat.
Practice the whole song hands together two times, then draw yourself sailing with Moana and Maui!”
In this example, the break was coloring; however, sometimes I’ll include more directly related music concepts in game/puzzle form (see the example in this month’s free download below!) This is first off, a fun reminder to practice, as well as giving specific instructions of how/what to practice from the week, while breaking it up with a fun activity that engages them. Let’s be honest, we all have struggled to find the energy to sit down and practice sometimes. For our kiddos just getting started, it can be just as, if not more, overwhelming. Having the practice organized in broken down manageable chunks, connected with another activity they also enjoy makes for a more sustainable practice model for most. They also have something they are excited to show you at the next lesson, and indicates they practiced! The thing that sustains engagement in lessons together is the breakdown of the music learning in smaller chunks, and breaks with music games. These sheets help keep that same lesson structure at home, even when you the teacher are not there.
So many options!
This is just one example. I’ve made so many detailed and involved practice sheets that include puzzles, games, artwork, writing, etc, as I try to customize each sheet to each of my students interests and preferred practice flow. Every sheet is different in terms of content quantity as well. Some students are coming from zero days of practice, so we start off with a practice sheet to accompany one day of practicing. As time goes on and students are adapting to more days of practicing, the sheets become more involved throughout the week, perhaps even having an activity or checklist for each day of the week. Since introducing these individualized practice sheets, I’ve gotten great feedback from parents about how their little ones are now practicing throughout the week, and I’ve noticed major growth in our lessons too!
What can I get this month?
So! What can I share with you? I’m attaching a version of a couple of the practice sheets I’ve made with blanks for you to fill in your own student’s practice instructions for the week (rep, duration, etc). Or! If you just want the activity, I’m also including a version without blanks/directions. This month I’m sharing a coloring sheet and a word search sheet. Both are lots of fun and include extra theory practice within the activity. Check back each month for more free practice sheets to add to your own resource portfolio! Give yourself some much deserved time back, take a breath, and just press download. I hope you and your students enjoy these sheets as much as we have!
Rhythmic Word Search- Practice Sheet #1 Description:
I created this sheet to target rhythm symbol names specifically. My student knew the rhythmic value by looking at a whole note, half note, etc., but if I only said or wrote the name, there was hesitation. This student loves word games, so the first part of the sheet has them solve the “mystery word blanks,” (identify rhythm symbol names) which then provide the clues to the word search, further reinforcing the names. Both these activities are also breaking up the actual repertoire practicing. The answer key is also provided for you, or for your student/parent.
Blast Off into Space (and Lines!)- Practice Sheet #2
This practice sheet targets note identification in a “color by numbers” style. My student was also into space at the time, so we had an outer space theme with this one. I will also include a blank version of this sheet so you can customize which notes you want your student to be focusing on.
Extension Idea! This is a fairly quick practice sheet that many kiddos could easily complete in a day. Though some kids, may be able/want to use this same sheet all week (one or two coloring steps a day), to increase practicing frequency with this sheet, you could write in additional notes such as “Practice ________, then draw yourself as an astronaut,” or “Practice ________, then create your own melody using the notes from your coloring page.”