Free Printable
Here are some free printable that I have created that will help make piano learning fun. I believe that learning piano doesn’t always have to be by the book, and sometimes using interactive games can be some of the most entertaining things about learning piano! Check back often for new printables!
Note to teachers: Hello! If you like my printable, you are more than welcome to use them in private or educational settings. I just ask that you give credit where it is due. If you put it on your studio website, please don’t remove the © mark and link the original source back to me. Thank you!
PRACTICE LOG
If your child is struggling with keeping up daily practice, we encourage you to download a practice log for your child. Put a small sticker on each day that they have had successful practice. This will give a lot of encouragement and incentive for them to keep up regular practice.
THE GRAND STAFF
This grand staff printable is a great way for students to quickly memorize all the notes on the grand staff. The notes are labeled with mnemonic devices to help students remember the note names. Print this out and place it on the piano next to the music so kids have a quick reference when needed.
RECITAL PREPARATION CARDS
When students prepare for recitals, they have a million things to remember, and sometimes it can get very overwhelming! This recital preparation card printable is great, because it creates gentle reminders for students leading up to the recital. Before their practice, students can shuffle the cards to remember what they need to do. There is also a blank card for students to be creative and create additional reminders for themselves.
KEYBOARD SCRAMBLE
When a student first learns the octave, he or she could often get confused on the order. The best way in teaching a student is to use the “3 white keys with 2 black keys in the middle” and then “4 white keys with 3 black keys in the middle”. But now, which ones goes first? This Keyboard Scramble is a great game to help students understand the placement of the keyboard. I suggest printing out multiple pages and have the student build multiple octaves.
How to play: print out a few pages of your preferred version of the Keyboard Scramble. Cut along the lines to separate the octave into two separate sections. Shuffle them and have the student arrange them in the correct order.
GEMS ON KEYS
This is a great game for young beginners to learn about where the notes are on the keyboard. Simply print out the Gems on Keys template on heavy-duty card stock or on plain printer paper and laminate it, get some gems, and we’re ready to play! (I typically buy decorative gems at Walmart or Dollar Tree in the floral section for about $1).
How to play: say a note name and have the child quickly place a gem on the corresponding key. This can be used when a child is first learning keyboard topography, but it will also come in handy when a child is learning about # and b in their music. As a bonus, parents can print out 2 sheets and put them side by side to make 2 octaves and have your child build chords and scales.
COLORFUL PIANO
When I worked with a student with Down Syndrome a few years ago, I found out that the student was synesthetic. People with synesthesia associate music with colors. For example, a person could see the note C as Yellow. Or maybe even the entire Key of C as the color Yellow. Of course, a synesthetic person probably will associate notes and colors differently from another synesthetic person.
How to play: color in the blank keyboard with different colors. At home, have the student use highlighters or colored pencils to mark up his or her music. Feel free to use the provided template for non-synesthetic learners to practice.
LEMONADE INTERVAL GAME
This game is great during the summertime, and well, anytime! Students will love playing using the cute lemonade cups and ice cubes. Simply print out PDFs for the lemonade cups and ice cubes on heavy duty card stock, and cut every thing out.
How to play: have your child spread out all the lemonade cups in order from Prime to Octave. Put all the ice cubes in a plastic bag and shake until everything is shuffled. The student will pull an ice cube one by one and place them in the appropriate cup, until all the ice cubes have been distributed
IMAGINATION CARDS
As a teacher, I encourage all students to not just play the notes on the music. Students should be able to live and breathe every note on the page and bring them to life. Of course, for a young student, this might be a bizarre way to view music. Using the students’ vivid imaginations, we can help them play their music with more meaning and sentiment.
How to play: when a student is processing a piece, the student will choose a “imagination card” that fits the “feeling” of the music. For example, if the piece is filled with legatos, maybe the student thinks this is describing a person swimming. He would choose the swimming card and put it on the piano. Using his imagination, he will play the piece with the sentiment of swimming. For a bonus, he can draw another card at random and try to play it with a new perspective.