Creative Activities for Beginning Level Piano Lessons

After over 5 years of blogging, the posts are beginning to pile up and some ideas tend to get "lost in the crowd".  So today I organized my previous posts that pertain to beginning piano teaching ideas.  They are listed in the approximate order that I introduce the concepts in lessons.

High/Low Sounds
  Mason Jar Melodies
  Teaching Ear Training Through Song

Right/Left
  Piano Pokey
Piano Technique/Position Concepts
  Song: "At the Piano sit straight and tall.. "
  Caterpillar Crawl  (Firm Fingers, Flexible Wrist, Float-offs)
  Finger Trampoline (Firm Fingers)
  Nile the Crocodile (Level Wrist, Thumb Slide, Rounded Hand)
 1st Piano Adventures Wrist Forearm Fingertips, Cat-Backs, Hangin' on a Fence Post
  Rainbow Wrist Ribbons
Finger Numbers
  Where is One?
  Cookie Dough
Steady Beat
  Steady Beat Elephants, Woodpeckers, etc.
  Trepak Baseball

Practice Incentives & Group Piano Parties

Ideally every student would be perfectly motivated to practice consistently for the sheer joy of making music and the intrinsic satisfaction that comes from mastering challenging tasks.  But real life is not this picture perfect.  I use a variety of short term and long term practice incentives throughout their years of music study to recognize and track progress and reward accomplishments.  Some students respond well to checklists, others love positive peer recognition and competition, while some will soar to great heights for a coveted prize basket item or treat.  Following are some of the incentive programs I have enjoyed using with my students to help guide their success in a fun way.

• Piano Olympics 
• Piano Point Challenge
• Pianimation Mission Music
• Pianimation This is Your Brain on Music
• Pianimation Musikopoly
• Monster Candy Guessing Jar
• Piano Ice Cream/Pancake Party
• Mining for Goals
• Practice Tune-up Skills
• Mountains to Climb
• All Star Scales (Students move around the bases as they pass off Scales)
• Piano Quest for Virtues

Handel's Messiah Docudrama on Easter Sunday

Handel's Messiah

Special Encore Presentation Easter Sunday at 6 & 11pm ET/4 & 9pm MT

 I love the music from Handel's Messiah and found this docudrama on BYUTV  telling the story behind Handel's masterpiece both insightful and inspiring when I watched it a few months ago with my family.  I love how it incorporates a diversity of modern day performers as well as telling the less known story of the personal challenges he overcame to bring this inspiring work that testifies of our Savior Jesus Christ.
Happy Easter!