Learning music is a lot more fun if you can make a game out of it. Here are some music games for having fun while you practice!
On Tour
Variety is the spice of life. If always practicing in the same room is getting boring, go “on tour”!
Play a different song or exercise in each room of the house. Notice how different your instrument sounds in different places.
You could even extend the tour to locations outside if the weather is nice. (Stay in the shade though. Direct sunlight is not fun for your instrument!!) Perhaps you can stop by a neighbor’s house and play them a song.
Loopy Loops
Playing something over and over is known as a repetition or a loop. Loops are very important for training your fingers and your muscles.
Here are ways to make your repetitions fun:
1. Play each repetition while also doing a funny trick like: sticking out your tongue, standing on one foot, closing both eyes, closing one eye, doing a fish mouth, laying down on the floor, or wiggling as you play. For a bonus, see if you can do more than one of these tricks at the same time!
2. For each repetition, place a random object on top of your head. See how many you can fit. This will probably look pretty silly, but with each new repetition, you get to put something new on your head. In addition to being fun, keeping things balanced on your head can be a great way to improve your posture!
3. Sometimes moving to different locations makes practicing more fun. Make numbered cards and place them around the room or around the house and stand by them or on them, in order, for each repetition. Number your cards 1-5 or 1-10 depending on how many repetitions you’re going to play. Save the cards for future practicing.
4. Roll one or two dice to see how many times to repeat a passage. You can also use this idea to see which song to play during review sessions. (The number on the dice equals the song number in the book.)
Music Director
Have your parent video tape you while you play. Then, watch the video to see what improvements you can make. If you were the teacher, what would you say was good about your performance and what needs improvement?
Mr. Chips
In this “chips” game, start with ten chips (pennies, marbles, some kind of token, or even potato chips!). You and your parent each get 5 chips.
Set a goal. For example, keeping your thumb bent while playing a song or keeping a good violin posture for an entire piece.
If you meet the goal, you get a chip from your parent. If you miss the goal, your parent gets a chip from you. Keep playing until you have all the chips.
Happy Birthday
Have your parent light a birthday candle, and your practice session lasts as long as the candle burns.
Hidden Treasure
With your mom or dad out of the room, hide your rosin, pencil, or metronome. When your parent returns, tell them what you hid. (But, don’t tell them where!!) Their goal will be to find the hidden item.
Start playing repetitions of your song. Play louder when your parent gets closer to the hidden object and play softer when they get farther away from it. Keep up this pattern until they find the hidden object.
This is a fun way to review pieces and to practice playing different dynamics!
By Invitation Only
Invite an audience of stuffed animals or other toys into your practice room. Quickly put them in place so they can listen to you play. Perform for them.
You can even make a recording or video of this concert and share it with your brothers and sisters, parents, grandparents, and friends.
This is a really good way to get ready to perform for a recital.
Five Pairs in a Row
Find five pairs of matching cards. Line up one card from each pair on a table or on the floor. Keep the other cards.
Each time you play through a song successfully, put down a matching card to make a pair. You win the game when all five pairs are matched.
