Musical Games
MAKE YOUR OWN MUSIC
You will need:
Sheets of paper
Color pencils.
How to play:
Create symbols and assign a sound to each of them. For example, a star symbol can mean “clap,” a circle can mean to “stomp your foot,” a triangle can mean “hit the desk,” and a square can mean “snap your fingers.”
Put these instructions on a bulletin board or piece of paper and display it so the children can see. Then have the children compose their own music, using combinations/patterns of the symbols.
Then let the children each present their own music on the board and have the others perform their music following the combination/pattern of symbols.
They will clap, stomp their feet, hit the desks, and snap their fingers…! And all of this will be music to their ears!
YES/NO GAME
How to play:
The parent is the conductor who will say a few musical or rhythmic phrases to begin with and the children will have to repeat (Quarter notes, Half notes, Dotted-Half notes, Whole notes)
Quarter note = 1 beat
Half note = 2 beats
Dotted-Half note = 3 beats
Whole note = 4 beats
Then replace the notes with “Yes” or “No.” The children will have to say the opposite of what you say, in the same rhythmic fashion.
For example, if you sing, “No, no, no, yes, no, yes, no, no”, then the kids will have to sing “yes, yes, yes, no, yes, no, yes, yes.”
You may mix up the words to make it confusing and fun for the kids, but try to keep it at one or two words to not make it too difficult.
MUSICAL HIDE AND SEEK
This musical hide and seek is played with objects and is an excellent tool to help the child improve his/her listening skills.
You will need:
A musical toy or device
Hiding places
How to play:
The objective of the game is for the child to find a toy by listening to its music.
Turn the toy’s music on and hide it somewhere the child can find.
Keep hiding the toy and make it a little more complicated each time.
The more the child plays it, the better his listening skills will get.
MOOD MUSIC
This is an excellent way to introduce children to different genres of music and the many emotions linked to them. This will also help children connect actions with emotions.
You will need:
A collection of songs depicting different emotions – For example: anger, happiness, sadness, silliness, etc.
Music player
Space to dance
How to play:
Make sure you pick songs that are appropriate for the child’s age.
Ask them how they would behave when they are happy, sad, cross, etc.
Then tell them that they have to dance according to the mood of the song, which you will mention before playing it.
For example, you want the children to jump or move energetically for a happy song or have them sway slowly to a sad song.
Use recordings from our Youtube channel!
Remind them to be safe and make movements within their personal space to prevent injury.