Motivate and Track Piano Student Progress with Free Printable Piano Challenge Sheets

With so many different elements to teach in music lessons, it can be challenging to fit it all in.  This year I've invited my piano students to complete a challenge each month that goes along with our monthly group lesson focus. 

Although these concepts are woven into lessons throughout the year, having a focus theme and deadline makes it more likely for them to boost their skills.  And it makes lesson planning simpler as the teacher! 

If they successfully complete at least 10 challenges a year from this Piano Challenge Chart they get a surprise reward at the last Spring Group Lesson.

Monthly Piano Challenge Focus Topics

Notenaming/Interval ID

• Pass off a new level for the One Minute Club Challenge by naming and playing notes quickly.
• Bronze: Bass F-Treble G
• Silver: Bass C- Treble C
• Gold: Bass G- Treble F
• Master: Grand Staff + Ledger Lines
• Susan Paradis Notes in the Fast Lane Sheets are gradually leveled and easier than flipping flashcards for this activity.

Seasonal Composing/Improvisation

• Complete a challenge from the Halloween Surprise Me Sheet.

Accompanist Skills 

• Prepare to accompany a hymn or Christmas song at the group lesson sing a long.

The "Teaching Basic Accompanist Skills" post and Accompanist Tips Free Printable include helpful tips for beginners.

Arpeggios 

• Can you play arpeggios in 12 keys?  

The Arpeggio Challenge Free Printable  includes fingering visuals for multiple levels.

Ear Training - Choose 1 challenge to complete

• Earn 90% or Higher on Listening Test
• Complete 30 levels on the bubble tones app
• Finish 10 Aural Games on TonicTutor.com free play mode.

The Expert Ears Challenge Free Printable includes links to activities students can try at home or during piano lab to prepare for their listening tests.

Theory

• Earn 90% or Higher on Theory Test

Use online practice links like Web Rewards, Teoria.com, Tonic Tutor.com, Heidispiano Quizlet to practice/prepare.

• Earn 90% or Higher on Theory Test: Theory Skills by Level

Terms and Signs

• Earn 90% or Higher on Terms and Signs Test

This Free Printable Terms and Signs Study Sheets includes terms and signs definitions and symbols for various levels.

Scales/Chords and  Chord Progressions

I love to use the scale level charts from Colourful Keys that help students track their progress of playing chord progressions and scales in various keys throughout the year.

This Keyboard Skills Challenge Free Printable includes a variety of options to boost students chord and scale skills including some fun creative improv examples. 

Rhythm

• Complete the next level of Rhythm Boss on the Rhythm Swing app or
• Count aloud and clap  a Music Progressions Rhythm Sheet correctly at your lesson.

Technique

Demonstrate the technique wizard skills on your level at piano lessons.

What other skills would you add to challenge your students?

Piano Adventures Lesson Book Level 1 Unit 6 Assignments and Supplementary Activities

Piano Teaching Lesson Plans: Sharps and Flats

This post includes specific lesson assignment instructions for pieces in the Piano Adventures Lesson Book 1 but many of the activities could also be used with other pieces for introducing sharps and flats.  I like to introduce the Rote Piece "I Love Coffee"  (The Half Step Song) in Piano Safari very early on to my students so they become comfortable with the feeling of playing half steps all over the keyboard long before reading sharps and flats in written notation.

Piano Adventures Lesson Book Level 1 Unit 4 Assignments and Supplementary Activities

Piano Teaching Lesson Plans: Introducing Intervals

Using online piano lesson assignments including virtual links allows my students easy access to learning videos and song samples all in one place.  By sharing a google doc with the parents and students, students can access the document from week to week as I add their newest assignment to the top of the page. This post includes specific instructions for pieces in the Piano Adventures Lesson Book 1 but many of the activities could also be used with other pieces for introducing intervals.  Scroll to the bottom to view lesson plan links for other concepts.

Creating Customized Piano Lesson Assignments

Adapting to Online Lesson Assignments

One thing I love about teaching private piano lessons vs. group teaching is the way I can customize the experience based on each students individual needs and progress.  For this reason I've hesitated to shift to a set rigid curriculum with preset assignments, even though that might make lesson planning easier. But the temporary social distancing measures have required me to switch from my handwritten, fluid lesson assignments to something a bit more structured.  The notes and ideas I've jotted down through the years in my copy of piano books for planning are now being compiled into Google Docs for each method/technique book including supplementary links to activities. 

UPDATE: The Piano Lesson Plans are now available for free for students or teachers.

Is Your Piano Teaching Curriculum Comprehensive?

Planning a well balanced piano teaching curriculum can be difficult because there are so many elements to consider as students began learning to play the piano.

Foundations of Piano Curriculum

When organizing my curriculum as a new piano teacher, I started making leveled checklists with the basic foundation ingredients that I received in my own piano lessons as a child such as Notereading, Rhythm, Theory, Technique, Ear Training and eventually organized preparatory materials in Piano Teaching Binders

12+ Months of Free Music Group Lesson Plans

Planning Piano Group Lessons

Choosing a monthly focus topic for piano lesson not only simplifies lesson planning, but it also helps me ensure that students are getting a well-rounded exposure to musical concepts that can easily be overlooked like composition and ear training.

Creative Keys Workshop with Leila Viss: On and Off the Bench

This session focussed on using technology during off bench time in your teaching studio and started with a rousing game of Kahoot!  Kahoot.com  is a free educational game platform where teams race to answer questions correctly using a pc, ipad or mobile device.  This would make a great activity for a group lesson or buddy lesson.  You can choose from a wide selection of games created by other teachers or create your own customized set.  By searching "leilaviss" in the Kahoot search bar I discovered the fun Kahoot games created by Leila about intervals, chord spelling, music styles and composers, etc.  A few other possible search topics include piano keys, key signatures, chord qualities, notes on the staff, rhythm.

Free Simplified Christian Piano Music

Part of my bedtime routine almost every night as a child was listening to a 30-minute cassette tape of music that we sang in church. The soothing music and encouraging words continue to bring a lot of peace to me as I play, sing and listen to varying arrangements.  I love finding sources for free simplified arrangements that allow my students to start playing some of their favorite familiar church songs within the first few months of lessons.

Free Christmas Themed Piano Teaching Resource Roundup

While rounding up free Christmas themed resources and ideas that I have gathered over the years for my upcoming Christmas Piano Group Lesson and found some gems that I have used in the past but had forgotten about. I hope you enjoy using some of these fun activities with your students this Christmas season! The game links are organized by concept with links to free Christmas music and improv activities listed at the bottom. Update: Unfortunately some of the resources are no longer free since this post was created years ago, but I come back to them year after year for Christmas piano fun.

Piano Studio Tour

I am so thrilled to now have a specific room in my home dedicated to music teaching!  I was a little hesitant to move my piano out of our family room, because I always envisioned the piano being a gathering place for my large family ... but being able to shut the door while I teach and while children practice has definitely been worth switching it to a smaller space.

I'm a big fan of a bargain, so when I saw this bulletin board at the thrift store I was excited to snatch it up.  You can read more about how I plan to use it on this piano bulletin board post.

Once I secure something to the wall, its likely to stay there until I move (which will hopefully never happen again!)  So the DIY photo collage above has velcro backed frames that I can swap out for different photos when I want some change without a lot of hassle. You can view more details on how I made it  here.

 I paired this dollar store quote plaque with an old "sand tray that I spray painted white and covered with music wrapping paper.  I can easily swap out the picture in the middle when I'm ready for a change.

The glass insert on my desk is removable, so I slipped some music wrapping paper underneath it to go with the music theme.

My piano game card storage pouch hangs inside the closet along with music, string instruments, my children's personalized piano bags, and storage drawers containing rhythm instruments (maracas, castanets, etc.), piano group game supplies and white boards.

Since large box style tvs are a thing of the past, I found this tv armoire for a great deal on craigslist several years ago.  It is perfect for housing my most often used piano library music, piano teaching binders and teaching caddy.  I made book organizers using Costco cardboard milk carriers covered with decorative contact paper to separate books into different categories.  The colored dot stickers on the spines make it easier for me to quickly find supplementary music appropriate for the student's level.  The caddy keeps silly putty, game pieces, dice, dry erase boards/markers and colored pencils with in easy reach when a student needs some hands on fun to ramp up the learning.

DIY Piano Room Photo Collage

 I recently completed my dedicated piano studio room and have been searching for the perfect piano themed decor to adorn my bare walls.  I wanted a photo collage with something personal and inspiring, yet versatile enough to change up to fit my studio themes. 

I began my project with this scrap board which I painted white with spray paint I had on hand(FREE-YIPPEE!).

Piano Game Card Organization

Can you tell I love to play games with my piano students?

You've probably seen my Game Resource List that lists links to most of my favorite piano games organized by concept and level, but unfortunately my piano cabinet is not compartmentalized so nice and neat. My old method of organizing games  (pictured below) worked for a while, but as my collection grew, the space was insufficient and I didn't use them as often as I would like because they were tucked away out of sight.
So I was excited to recycled this vinyl pocket organize that my mom used when I was a child to post our daily chores on 3x5 cards.  She cut strips of tablecloth vinyl and sewed then onto a large piece of vinyl to form pockets. I've been coveting  hoping she'd want to give it up for a while.  When she took it down last month to redecorate her utility room where it has hung for years, I was pretty thrilled to inherit it.

After shuffling the cards around a few times I added labels on the side grouping the games in related rows with the easiest games on the left.  Concepts include Rhythm Values, Rhythm Patterns, Misc Rhythm Concepts (Time Sig/Tapping), Music ABCs + Piano Keys, Staff Notes, Terms & Signs, Intervals & Scale Patterns, Multi-Concept & Intermediate.

Group Lesson Game Cards/Rhythm Strips

Garage Sale Find That Housed My Game Cards Until the Hanger Broke :(

Now my plastic tub holds the group oriented games that are used at monthly group lessons and larger rhythm cards.  I love having the game cards I use most often easy to see and find at glance.

Piano Game Boards

These handy file folders hold the larger game boards with similar tab labels as the vinyl pocket card holder. 

Related Posts:
Organizing Piano Books
Clever Music Book Storage Idea 
Piano Lab Structure
Organizing My Teaching Tools: Piano Teaching Binders

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

Spicing Up Piano Lessons

I recently shared some of my favorite creative teaching tools and ideas at a class I taught at my local music store. I compiled the following list of links to fun ideas and resources from this blog and other talented bloggers that I have especially enjoyed using with my students.  You can also access the link to this post at the top of my page for easy reference.
 Fun Lesson Starters

• Knock-Knock Rhythms(Tape a rhythm card to the door for them to knock to enter lessons)
• Trick or Treat (Layton Music)
• Magnet Melody Dictation (Music Matters)
• Don't Eat "Pete" (Piano Keys, Note Names, Theory Terms or Listening Bingo:Opposites )
• Piano Safari Rote Memory Technique "Challenges"
• Musical Minute to Win It Challenges (Sharp Stacking, Stepping up the Scale, etc.)

Teaching Theory Through Games

• Toss a Note
• Snackmats and Dice
• Whole/Half Step Scale Patterns 

• Major: We Were Happy When We Were Home
• Natural minor: When Harry Went West He Wore White
• Harmonic minor: We Have Watermelon With Harry WhenHe's Home)

• Bang!
• Many More....  Game Resource List Page (Organized by Concept and Level)

Technique and Rhythm the Fun Way

• Rhythm Cups (ComposeCreate)
•  Use rhythm cups to aid students in tricky passages in their music:  feeling rhythm in alternating hands (Snappin' Harriet), varying arm weights (forte left, piano right), etc.
• Silly Putty Beat Boards (Pianimation)
• Rhythm Bug/Candy Bar Circle Game
• Rhythm Aerobics (Sway, tap, stomp, rub... to the rhythms in your piece)
• Lego Rhythms (Pianimation)
• Tonic, Subdominant  to Dominant - "What Makes You Beautiful" Duet Improv

Practice Incentives/Group Piano Parties

• 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 Scale)
• Piano Quest for Virtues

Stretching Your Teaching Tools

•  Chord Progressions with Familiar Folk Songs or Pre-Time Fun Favorites 
• Use Teacher Duets with 2 siblings/students at different levels
• Adapt Game Rules for Multiple Purposes.   For example 1 deck of Interval Cards could be used for Don't Eat "Pete", Interval Towers, Over the Edge, War (Slow Paced Naming Intervals), Slapjack, Speed Sorting (Fast Paced Interval Matching), Interval Bingo (Slow Paced Interval Ear Training), Swat the Interval (Fast Paced Ear Training) BANG!, or Minute to Win it Sightreading Challenge (Notereading and Intervals)

Supplementary Book Recommendations:

Pattern Play by Akiko and Forrest Kinney (Link to Free Sampler online) (Listening Room)
Discover Blues Improvisation by Faber/Edwin McLean 

Alfred's Famous & Fun Series (Classic Themes, Familiar, Pop, Fun Favorites) by Carol Matz
Faber Gold Star Performance Books with CDs
Faber Pre-Time to Big-Time (Children's Songs, Favorites, Classics, Popular, Ragtime and Marches)

In Recital with Jazz Rags & Blues or Classical Themes by Helen Marlais
Piano Safari Technical Exercises and Rote Pieces by Katherine Fisher and Julie Knerr

Other Popular Posts
Piano Teaching Binders -(Notes in the Fast Lane, Sightreading Challenge Sets, Rhythm Drills, Picture Scales etc.)
Piano Online Lab
Piano Teaching 101

Climbing Piano Mountains

“There are great challenges ahead of us, giant opportunities to be met. I welcome that exciting prospect and feel to say… ‘Give me this mountain,’ give me these challenges.”  Spencer W. Kimball

 
Do you ever have students that avoid the technical skills assigned week after week, or are not so enthused about sight reading or rhythm drills?  Instead of doing my typical Ice Cream Piano Party checklist or Piano Olympics during the summer months, I was inspired to try something new this summer that could be flexible enough to use for all of my students at various levels and add some variety and challenge.  I was thrilled this week when one of my students walked in the door super excited to pass off some rhythm drills to get to the top of his "Rocky Ridge Rhythm Mountains"  while his brother was able to stay on task better than ever beating his Music Ace game scores during piano lab  for "Mount Killamanjaro."
I made this simple Mountains to Climb tracking sheet and slipped it into a sheet protector at the front of each students binder.

Piano Game Resource List by Concept & Level

It's not all black and white...a colorful approach to teaching!

I love playing games with my students and have accumulated quite a few over the years.  I love using them as quick lesson starters, group lesson fun or as a "treat" at the end of the lesson if we have a few minutes to spare.  Unfortunately some of them get "lost in the cabinet."   In an effort to better utilize all of my games, I've created this leveled game resource list with links to the sources so I can refresh on how to play them if needed.   I like how it makes it easier for me to browse my games by concept (notereading, rhythm, intervals, terms, etc.) and select the perfect match for my student's private lesson or group lessons.

Piano Lab Free Online Resources- Level 1

 In addition to the music software programs I've purchased for my lab (Music Ace, Midisaurus, Ear Training Expedition,  PBJ, etc.) the following free online resources add a fun variety of activities for my elementary music students to do independently during piano lab time.
SP-Susan Paradis
CC-Compose Create (Teaching Resources & Students Web Rewards Tabs)
CIMP- Color in My Piano
MLC- Music Learning Community (Free Games)
Piano Discoveries
MMB- Music Matters Blog
Tonic Tutor
Theta
Happy Note
Classics for Kids (I typically have students listen to "This Week's Show")


Following is a list organized by concept. Do you have any other favorites to add to the list for this level?

Concept	Activity
LH/RH  & Finger Numbers	SP Colorful Fingers printable
	Tonic Tutor Finger Puppets
Same/Diff. Melodies	MLC Smiley & Friends
Going Up/Down	MLC Storm Chasers
	Tonic Tutor Stick People
Note Names QH	MLC Meteor Match
Note Names QHW	Happy Note Space
Rhythm QHWqr	CC Note Value printable
	SP Drawing Notes printable
Ear Training Rhythm	Tonic Tutor Dancing Jelly Beans
White Key Names	Tonic Tutor Piano Keys
	YouTube Frog Video
	MLC Letter Fly CDE
	MLC Letter Fly FGAB
	SP Hide the Pumpkin printable
	CC White Key Notes printable
	Emusictheory.com Piano Keys Quiz
Up/Down on Staff	WPS Moving Up and Down worksheet
	SP ABC;s on Staff Worksheet
Bass Clef F &G	Happy Note Bass Clef F & G
	Candy Corn Note Puzzle Bass FGAB
	CIMP Bass Clef Dot to Dot printable
Bass & Treble Clefs	CC Drawing Clefs printable
	Piano Discoveries Barnyard Video/Wkst/Online Games
	CIMP Treble Clef Dot to Dot printable
	SP Guide Notes Worksheet in order
	SP Guide Notes Worksheet random
Staff Treble CDEFG	Happy Note Treble Clef CDEFG MLC Page Turner Treb CDEFG play 2x
Treble Staff	MLC Page Turner Treble FACE play 2x
	Pedaplus.com Treblebeg
Guidenotes	Tonic Tutor Lasers
	CC Landmark Notes Crossword printable
Notes on Staff	Tonic Tutor Note Bird
Steps and Skips	Tonic Tutor Jungle Journey
	CC Steps and Skips Worksheet
	Theta Chord Spells Level 1 (40)
E.T Melody	Tonic Tutor Robot
Rhythm Recognition	Tonic Tutor Piggybank
Theory Terms	Tonic Tutor Boxing Glove
Hearing Steps/Skips	Big ears Intervals-:P1(repeat), M2(st), M3(sk)
	Theta Paddle Pitch Level 1 (40)
Hearing W H Qt	emusictheory.com easy whole,quarter,half
	Theta Flash Rhythms Level 1 (40)
Half Steps Whole Steps	CC Half Steps/Whole Steps Printable
	MMB Half/Whole Step/Skip Printable
Review	Level 1 Practice Test (for purchase on Compose Create)
	CIMP Review Test A
	CIMP Review Test B
	CC Web Rewards Level 1