16 wonderfully creative ways to teach children music theory
2 April 2020, 17:38 | Updated: 22 October 2020, 08:56
Beethoven's 5th, conducted by a 3-year-old boy
Put those dull pencils and boring manuscript paper away: here are some fun and creative ways of teaching the basics of music.
From note values and rhythm, right through to time signatures and enharmonics, these activities will get budding musos thinking and learning...
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Music theory cars
Does your young one love all things four-wheeled? Use it to their musical advantage with this car and staff-line matching game.
Music theory cars. Picture: And Next Comes -
Music theory blooms
In this game, flowers, stems and leaves stand for notes, definitions and meanings - match them up and watch the musical knowledge grow.
Music theory blooms. Picture: Social media -
Watch them grow...
Matching the terms and symbols, to help them learn rhythm and solfĆØge.
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Musical dominoes
A rhythmic variation of the classic game. And of course you can make these yourself!
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And the circle of fifths dominoes...
Musical dominoes again, this time with key signatures and keys, to really get your head around all those sharps and flats.
Musical dominoes. Picture: Social media -
Outdoor percussion
Get those budding percussionists to head into the garden with these pitched and unpitched instruments to be thumped and whacked in time. Might want to warn the neighbours first...
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Musical cupcakes
Matching musical notation to their meanings has never been more delicious.
Musical cupcakes. Picture: Social media -
The lyrical treasure hunt
Composition and a good run around the back yard. Hidden eggs each contain a phrase ā find them, open them and then construct a melody in the order they were discovered. And then (like every Schubert minuet) repeat.
Lyrical treasure hunt. Picture: Social media -
The piano peg
Today, hang the tea towel on D#. Learn the keys and enharmonics, and keep your kitchen clean. (though it's a strange looking keyboard in this one - we're sure you can do better)
Piano peg. Picture: Social media -
Pit ā with music
A music theory version of the very popular Pit card game, helping you learn notes, clefs and the keyboard.
Pit with music. Picture: Social media -
Rhythmic tops and bottoms
Tops and bottoms ā mix up the tops and bottoms, and then match them! Great for getting that understanding of rhythm and subdivision.
Rhythmic tops and bottoms. Picture: Social media -
Ping pong rhythmic
Imagine dozens of these flying around the room. Get someone to call out the time signature and then try and find the balls to match (and throw any you don't need). Bonus - you get to throw ping pong balls around a room.
Ping-pong rhythms. Picture: Social media -
Make it pretty
When teaching the musical alphabet, colours and animals help...
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Make the instruments beautiful...
Bring some magic to your childrenās practice sessions with beautifully coloured musical instruments.
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Colouring, rolling dice and fun!
These are fantastic resources from the Instagram page @musicpluscoffee (yes to the coffee too, please).
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Sit down and listen to a wonderfully entertaining classical music podcast
If you're after a moment of music and entertainment for the kids, you could get them listening to David Walliams' Marvellous Musical Podcast on Global Player. Here's a taster...
