June has been a busy month and honestly, a little crazy! But it’s been fun too.
This week I just finished up my first online summer music camp! My summer camp was all about Piano Music Games. I wanted to teach something about piano in a fun and easy way. I didn’t know how it would work out or how many students would show or if my ideas would even work! But we jumped in anyway with both feet!
Each day of the week I chose a different topic, and we would have a mini-lesson to start, and then play 2 games focusing on the topic of the day. All of the games I used came from Vibrant Music Teaching.
Day 1 we talked about the Music Alphabet and the Piano Keys. We played a game called Musical Meander where they had to name the piano key and then a game called Gator Gaps where they had to guess the next letter in the music alphabet before they got chopped by an alligator!
Day 2 we talked about Rhythm and Note Values. We learned a handful of basic types of notes and how to count them. We played Star Seekers (which I’ve mentioned here before) and Macchu Picchu Movers, where they had to clap or play a rhythm correctly to move up the mountain.
Day 3 we went over Intervals and Notes on the Staff. This was a tough day because there was so much to learn. We could’ve used several classes on this topic alone! But we made it work with our games Brooklyn Bridgers and Double or Nothing. I especially liked Double or Nothing because it had an element of risk and it looked like an old-fashioned video game from the 80s.
Day 4 we covered Tempos and Dynamics. An easy day compared to the day before. We learned a variety of Italian words (how fancy!) that tell us fast or slow or loud or soft. Then we played Big Ben Baboon and Walk the Plank. The second one was especially fun because as the kids would get close to end of the plank they would get really nervous as if they were actually walking a plank!
Day 5 we talked about a few music symbols we hadn’t covered yet. We also talked briefly about major and minor chords and how they sound, using a game called Hide and Squirrel. Then we did a short review of some of the things we learned throughout the week and we played Bananas and Ladders, which was perfect to review everything. I even borrowed game cards from the other games we had played throughout the week so they were familiar to the kids.
We had so much fun! I can’t wait to do another camp. I don’t know if I’ll get to do another this year but if not, I’ll be ready for next year!
Miss Donna 4 Music 