Games For Teaching

According to the Kodaly philosophy of teaching, children learn best when they are playing. It is this simple idea that has led to the use of games in my teaching. I will be presenting those games in this brief summary, sharing with you how to use games in teaching music, and giving you a set of references to get started using games in your own teaching.

Games fall into many categories. A simple word game like "Bear Hunt" can be used to introduce the concept of beat. In early lessons, I often do just that. Children like the tapping out the beat while they walk through grass, climb trees, and swim across the creek. After the game we discuss many things that have a steady pattern like walking does. Inevitably we arrive at the word beat and how it is like your heartbeat. For the first year, we do beat games from time to time at the lesson. It keeps the students interested, adds variety to the lesson, and reviews an essential concept. Many of the ideas that we teach in music require constant repetition to be learned. Repetition can be done in a dull series of practice exercises, workbook drills, and rote drills, or they can be done with games.

I also teach rhythm with large rhythm boards and Velcro notes. The children listen to a rhythm and attach notes on the board to match the rhythm. They score points when they get it right. This is especially effective for families with two or more children taking lessons at the same time.

In performance classes I will have students team up to play Wheel of Rhythm. A team member spins the wheel and tries to clap the rhythm it lands on correctly. If he/she is right, a letter is chosen for the board, just like the popular TV show. The team can guess the phrase, name, or term at any time during a round of play. The students are often competitive yet supportive to each other.

There are many games that focus on rhythm. If you haven't time to make your own games, there are versions of Rhythm Bingo, Dominotes, and other purchased board games that will work as effectively as those mentioned above. There are even games that require no board or materials at all. Rhythm Grapevine starts with one student tapping a measure of quadruple meter. The next student repeats the measure and adds his own. The third student then repeats both measures and adds her own measure. This continues until everyone has had a turn or until the rhythm is broken. A round is over when everyone has successfully completed the pattern. Each round can have a different meter.

I like to use large games like baseball, basketball, and soccer for learning intervals. There are game boards that look like a soccer field or a basketball court, and baseball can be played in a large room where the kids can run. I am the referee in soccer or basketball. I ask a question about an interval, and one team member answers it. The team token moves up or down the board. When they answer the goal area question, they can shoot a goal on the table or shoot a Nerf basketball through a hoop. In baseball, the principal is the same. The team that is up will be asked to label an interval. If the player gets it right, he gets a base. When the player names not only the interval, but also its quality, it is a double play. A run is scored when someone makes it home. Three "outs" means that the other team gets up to play.

Allegro with Intervals, a game taken from The Big Book of Music Games, is another favorite with my students. They move around the board based on the number of the interval. This is a good one on one type of game. If naming intervals becomes too easy, the requirements are raised to include the quality of the intervals.

Although note naming is a controversial subject, I teach note names in my studio. I use all types of games from Hangman to Tic-Tac-Note. I like to adopt old board games and turn them into useful music games. The games reinforce the concept of the notes beginning with marker notes like treble G and bass F, and move on through the leger line notes with older students. Hence, an old Chutes and Ladders game became Notes and Ladders. I replaced the numbers with the 7 note names. Students draw a card, name the note, and move to the nearest letter for the note. The dull and boring flash card set becomes an exciting Memory game. I found a lovely plastic skeleton hangman set at a dollar store. Students prevent themselves from being hanged by naming a note and finding its location on the keyboard. A wooden tic-tac-toe board became a perfect note practice game. I cut small note cards and placed them in all nine slots. To place an X or an O, a student has to name the note on the card.

There are many benefits to using games in your teaching. These benefits far outweigh the cost of creating or purchasing games. Students achieve success almost immediately and are rewarded by having beaten themselves, each other, or even a teacher in some of the games of chance. Parents are pleased because their child is willing to practice when the assignment includes a game. The games can be used for individuals and for groups of diverse students. Most of all, the student is learning without realizing that he/she has worked hard to do so.

I use games to teach the instruments of the orchestra, musical terms, the composers, and music history. I use computer games as well as board games, card games and passing games. Below is a list of resources that can help you get started making games a part of your studio.

Dominotes: (Irmo, SC: TP Music Aids)

Gardner, Robert and Debbie: "Kids Notes," Kids Time Deluxe for Windows; (Scotts Valley,

          CA: 1993).

Lewis, Shari & Norman Martin: Lambchop Loves Music; (Los Angeles: Shari Lewis

          Enterprises, Inc.: 1995).

Musical Instruments Quiz Game; (Dominguez Hills, CA: Educational Insights: 1991).

Pressnall, Debra Olson & Lorilee Malecha: The Big Book of Music Games; (Grand Rapids:

          Instructional Fair- TS Denison: 1998).

Pucci, Jeff & Richard Viard: The Musical World of Professor Piccolo; (Palo Alto: Opcode

          Interactive: 1993).

Raebeck, Lois & Lawrence Wheeler: New Approaches to Music in the Elementary School;

          (Dubuque, IA: Wm. C. Brown, Co. Publishers: 1974).

Schmidt, Irvin J.: Music Bingo; (La Porte, IN: Dek-a-Music Co.: 1967).

Steinberg, Russell: Multimedia Strauss; Multimedia Mozart; Multimedia Schubert;

          Multimedia Beethoven; & Multimedia Stravinsky: (Redmond, WA: The Voyager Company:

          1992).

Stickley, Olivia: Play the Beats; (Cleveland: Friendship House: 1963).

Wren, Rob: Alfred Basic Piano Library Theory Games Software; (Van Nuys, CA: Alfred

          Publishing Co., Inc.: 1995).

Yurko, Michiko: No H in Snake: Music Theory for Children; (Sherman Oaks, CA: Alfred

          Publishing Co., Inc.: 1979).