Five Fun Ways to Teach Theme and Variations Form in Music Lessons

Inspiring Creativity in Piano Lessons with 20 Variation Cards

When motivation for playing piano was waning for one of my students after a busy day, I pulled out these variation cards and it was definitely a game changer! Not only did he have a new excitement about learning his new piece, but I was able to assess his knowledge and teach some theory and technique skills in a lively engaging way that drew him in asking for more.  He wanted to complete the entire set of cards!
Instead of playing the "What Changed" game, that I blogged about on this previous post, I instead used the variation cards as a springboard of ideas for the Variation Practice Challenge.

Piano Variation Cards

My variation cards simply include a basic idea for varying the song with an image to represent the change.

Melody Variations

Scrambled Eggs- Mix up the Melody

drawkcaB - Play part of the melody backward

Composing Variation Cards Free Printable

Teaching composition and improvisation can be a tricky task for teachers who have the typical classical piano training background.  But with Variation Cards, you can easily guide students along in the process of creativity by having them "borrow" elements from their pieces and change them up to create new compositions with a similar style but added flair.

Here's a sample of a quick variation I created using the theme from Hot Cross Buns.  The Haunted House, Beetle Bug, Backwards and Scrambled Eggs variation cards that I use definitely add more interest, and starting with something familiar adds a safety net for the student to begin with if they are a bit timid about composing from scratch.

Free Printable Variation Cards

Having students create impromptu variations of folk tunes like Mary Had a Little Lamb or Twinkle Twinkle Little Star can be a fun way to spark interest at the beginning of lessons, but I also like to have students choose a few variation cards to apply to the pieces in their method books on a regular basis once they have learned the piece. 

Piano Adventures 3B: Gypsy Camp and Contrasting Moods

 This post includes lesson plans for "Gypsy Camp" in Piano Adventures 3B.

Music Sample

Listen to Gypsy Camp as you follow along in your music. Choose a creative label for the 2 contrasting sections in this piece.

Part 6: Teaching Rhythm Through Song

4 Creative Ways to Improve Rhythm Through Song

1.  Add lyrics to sing to wordless songs or tricky rhythm passages

Caterpillars and Spiders= Rhythmic Success!

Recently my son was learning struggling to accurately play the eighth note rhythms in "Theme and Variation" (Piano Adventures Performance Book 2A).  I sung some impromptu lyrics to help fix the problem.
In contrast to the steady quarter note theme ("A spi-der bit my nose----- off")
the variation changes to eighth notes ("A cat-er-pill-ar bit my nose----- off")
Singing lyrics that matched the rhythm fixed the problem immediately and the quirky lyrics made the rhythm unforgettable. "A caterpillar bit my nose off, than a caterpillar bit my toe.  I think I want to make some caterpillar stew.  Would you like some stew too?"
Although I also teach numeric counting as well (4, 1+,2+,3 4, 1-2), for many students adding lyrics to match the rhythms is much more effective.   Suzuki style "Pepperoni Pizza" scales, Piano Safari "Zechariah Zebra" Technique Songs and the Piano Adventures 2A "Famous People" piece that pair rhythm with familiar words are powerful tools to aid in rhythm development.


2.  Encourage rhythm compositions introducing the sounds of rhythms before they encounter them in their music.
Layton Music Candy Bar Rhythms - Challenge students to compose a Candy Bar Melody using all of the candy bar rhythm cards.  The lyrics for me would be something like this "My favorite candy is not Butterfinger, Nestle Crunch or Reeses Peanut Butter.  Twix and Milky Way both taste great, but I like Snickers best!" I'll have to admit that my less creative compositional mind keeps on reverting to the tune of the "Old Gray Mare."

Or you could try a variation to match the interests of your students
Animals: Bear(quarter), Lion (2 eighths), Alligator (4 sixteenths)
Bugs: Bug(quarter), Bee-tle (2 eighths), Cat-er-pill-ar (4 sixteenths) (Let's Play Music)
Pies: Mince (quarter), Ap-ple (2 eighths), Hu-ckle-ber-ry (4 sixteenths), Rasp-ber-ry
Candy Bars: Twix(quarter), Snick-ers (2 eighths), Butter-finger (4 sixteenths) Layton Candy Bar Rhythm Cards
Another great resource is the Teach Piano Today "Trash to Treasure" Composition activity.

3.  Teach Rhythm Names through song.
Songs can also serve as a mnemonic device to help students remember the names of notes and rests.
Note Names - Piano Adventures Primer "Quarter Note"  It's got a head and a stem and its all colored in.
Rests - Music k8.com Give it a Rest  

4. Spice up (Boring) Scales by Singing and Playing Rhythm Variations
Instead of playing a 1 8va ascending scale with quarter notes, challenge students to play a "Twix, Snickers, Butterfinger, Twix"  or "Caterpillar, Bug, Beetle, Bug"variation.  The possibilities are endless with a little imagination.

Related Posts:
Post 1: Teaching Basic Keyboard Concepts Through Song
Post 2: Teaching Technique Through Song
Post 3: Chord Progressions and Transposition
Post 4:  Ear Training Through Song
Post 5: Theory and Tempo

Creative Keys Workshop with Leila Viss: Creativity

FINDING TIME TO BE CREATIVE

“Creativity is recombining elements that already exist in a new way.” – Wendy Stevens
Piano lessons for me as a child followed the traditional format of playing from the printed page, receiving feedback, and practicing it again until I got it right.

Composition 101: 5 Avenues to Begin Composing

Which is better creativity or conformity?

For a person who likes the comfort zone of predictable instructions, checklists and rubrics to measure progress, conformity is definitely the easier path, so embarking on a new adventure of preparing students for a Composition Festival this year was an intimidating challenge for me. I tapped into a lot of resources and discovered that there are a lot of different paths that lead to the same destination.

As I led my students through the process of creating their own pieces I was amazed at the many layers of learning this project created as they applied rhythm dictation, fingering choices, time signatures, dynamics, form and note naming. The best part was that my students were so motivated to apply these rules of "conformity" because they were passionate about their compositions. Following is a roundup of links that can unleash the creativity and get the juices flowing in a variety of ways.

Make a Motive or Theme/Mood with Sound Effects or Patterns
Wynn Anne Rossi Creating Creature Sounds
Piano Improvisation, Scales and Composing with BenSound
Compose Create Cartoon Motif Contest
Scale Ingredients Composing with Flour and Salt
(Major, minor, Pentatonic, Blues or Whole Tone)
Scaling the Chords with Bradley Sowash
Inner Musician.com

Piano Adventures 3A: Court Dance and Rock Variation

 This lesson plan includes activities for "Court Dance Rock " in Piano Adventures 3A.

Music Sample

What do you notice is different in the Court Dance Rock Variation compared to the Classic style Court Dance?

Piano Adventures 1: Row, Row, Row Your Boat and Variations

 This post includes lesson plans for "Row, Row, Row Your Boat" in Piano Adventures 1.

Music Sample

Listen to Row Row Row Your Boat.

Choose a variation to listen to below.

Piano Guys Variation of Row Row Row Your Boat  (sheet music affiliate link)

Row Row Row Your Boat Masterpiece

Row Row Variations

Row Row Round

Christmas Piano Group Lesson Plans 2023

I was reminded last week at an interesting webinar by Paul Harris about Sight Reading Skills that audiation, pattern recognition, improvisation and key signature awareness are some of the fundamental building blocks that sharpen sight reading skills. 

This month at Christmas group lessons we'll be reviewing arpeggios and practicing ear-training skills with some Christmas carol activities that require audiation (hearing music in your head).

Christmas Rhythm Dictation

I like to pair the Do You Hear What I Hear?  activity with some mini m&ms and beat boards so students can use tactile objects to represent subdivisions of the rhythm patterns. 

Elementary: Quarter Half and Whole Notes

Late Elementary: Quarter Half, Whole and Eighth Notes

Early Intermediate: Quarter, Half, Whole, dotted Quarter and Eighth Notes

Intermediate: 6/8 Time Signature: Eighths, Dotted Eighths, Quarters, Dotted Quarters

Carol of the Bells Improv

This classic Christmas piece is a student favorite! The repetitive rhythm can stick in your mind for hours but also makes a great springboard of ideas for improvising.

Elementary: Follow Directions on Carol of the Bells Improv Sheet by Chrissy Ricker

Late Elementary: Guess the Theme and Variation Card used as you listen to musical excerpts played by the teacher

Intermediate: Create Your Own Variation Using at least 3 Theme and Variation Cards. You can learn more details about some possibilities like Carol of the Scales, Lullaby of the Bells or Carol of the Pirates on my earlier post about Composing and Improvising: Free Resources for December.

Name That Tune Christmas Edition

The free printable Christmas Jumbles and  Christmas Name that Tune Sightreading pages by Chrissy Ricker also make great audiation practice as well. Can you name or unscramble the tune measures by looking at the notes and hear the music in your head without playing it?

Split Second is a fun game I picked up from the thrift store and repurposed for music lessons. Students race to write their answers on their paddles and earn points for correct answers and speed using samples from this YouTube Name that Christmas Tune collection of carols.

Take Home Transposing

At group we will try a short sample of the Jingle Bells(Elementary) and Deck the Halls(Intermediate) Transposing Challenges to apply prior knowledge of 5-finger patterns and intervals.

Monthly Challenge

For this month's bonus challenges students can complete the Arpeggio Challenge, Chrissy Ricker Transposing Challenge or Create their own Improv/Arrangement of a Christmas song to earn a bonus prize at lessons.

Related Posts

Composing and Improvising: Free Resources for December
Teaching Rhythm in the Bed Bug Hotel

Music Terms Rap and Games

This month our piano studio focus is theory, terms and signs. I love finding fun ways to teach music terms to piano students!

I have used many engaging activities like Quizlet matching games, music theory art, Musical Headbandz and Split Second, and Piano Cranium. 

Music Dictionary Rap

But this month I'm starting out one of my group lessons  with this Music Dictionary Rap from Piano Adventures Gold Star.

Music Flashcard Game Variation

Typically my students start out lessons with a quick game like music term memory match. Instead of playing this typical memory style with cards face down, to introduce relatively new terms and signs I first play a face up version. I like how this variation combines both skill and an element of chance so that any player can win. If the teacher is playing with the student, I even the playing field a bit by saying the teacher doesn't get to "steal on sixes" because they have an unfair advantage of already knowing all the answers. 

Divide the cards into 2 piles, one pile for the term or symbol and one pile for the matching answer.

Shuffle the cards and place them face up. 

Students then roll a die to determine how many cards they get to collect by guessing the sets of cards that are a match. 

If they roll an odd number (1,3, or 5) they guess just one match. 

If they roll an even number (2 or 4) they guess two matches. 

If they roll a 6 they get to steal a match from the opponent of their choice. 

The winner is the player with the most card matches at the end.

Related Posts

Split Second Music Theory Game

Musical Cranium

Using Tune Train App in Piano Lessons

I stumbled upon a fun free app this week that is engaging both my 6 and 10 year old in some fun composing adventures.  It is simple enough for even my 4 year old to enjoy.  Tune Train allows even young children to "play" with music composing in an engaging and intuitive way.   Using some preset familiar chord progression templates cleverly couched in different lands such as "Little Lamb Lane" and "Winter Time"  even young children can create pleasing melodies and then select a backing track that suits them.

Piano Pronto Movement 3: #21 Caprice and Tempo Terms

This post includes piano activities for Paganini's "Caprice" in Piano Pronto Movement 3.

Music Samples and History

Listen to the first part of each video to hear different instrumental versions of Romantic composer Paganini's "Caprice". Can you think of some lyrics to go along with the repetitive rhythmic motif?

Caprice Trumpet Variation

Free Piano Improvisation Printable: Who Can Sail Without Wind?

If your piano lessons are focused on just reading music from the method books, improvisation can feel a bit scary. Some students are so stuck to the printed page they are scared to make mistakes.

This is similar to reading a speech from a script. But with a little guidance, exploring improvisation can be much more exciting than a speech read just like hearing a speech given from the heart can be more engaging than a recited speech from memory.

Piano Pronto Movement 1: #23 F Scale Stomp

 This lesson plan includes activities for "F Scale Stomp" in Piano Pronto Movement 1.  

Music and Movement

Watch the F Major Scale Reminder Video.

Composer Fruit Basket Game

Lately I've been introducing my students to composers in various periods of classical music. I thought of this variation of "fruit basket" to help them become more familiar with composers and their musical eras.
Materials to make composer "necklaces":
Small Pictures of Composers (Two excellent places to find these are: D'net Layton's www.laytonmusicgames.com or Natalie Wickham's http://musicmatters.blog.com
Yarn
Hole Punch
Chairs
How to play:
Each student chooses a composer necklace to wear. Form chairs in a circle with one less chair than the number of people playing. The student w/o a chair stands in the middle of the circle and calls out a specific music period (Baroque, Classical, Romantic, Contemporary)or "Music History." The student with composers in the specific period have to hurry & find a new chair while the person in the middle tries to "steal" someone's spot. The last person left standing calls out another musical era. If "Music History" is called, everyone must switch to a different chair. Students can switch necklaces after several rounds to help them become familiar with the periods all of the composers fit into.
Variation:
Instead of using necklaces, you could post pictures of the composers on the chairs. Then students have to check their chairs to identify what music period they are in.

Tools for Composing Melodies and Free Printable Melodic Motif Bingo

 

Musical Motifs

Memorable melodies often use repetitive variations of a short musical idea or motif. Using these same tools as you compose melodies can help you develop a musical idea into a longer interesting piece with a common idea woven throughout. 

Piano Pronto Movement 2: #22 Rondalla Aragonesa and Minor Scale Ear Training

This post includes piano activities for Sousa's "Rondalla Aragonesa" in Piano Pronto Movement 2. 

Music Samples

A Rondalla is a group of stringed instruments played with a pick originating in medieval Spain. 

Listen to the beginning of the video to hear the piano and guitar versions of Granados Rondalla Aragonesa.

12 Bar Blues Activities

Choose a 12 Bar Blues Activity to complete below.

Piano Pronto Movement 2: #5 Stars and Stripes and Major and Minor 7ths

This post includes piano activities for Sousa's "Stars and Stripes" in Piano Pronto Movement 2. 

Music Samples and History

Listen to this fun variation of "The Stars and Stripes Forever."

Stars and Stripes Variation