In previous posts I wrote about the importance of learning the circle of thirds and using fingers as a learning mechanism for the circle of thirds and reading. Here’s a quick and easy floor game suitable for individual or group classes that involves traversing staff and ledger lines. You can play this game with or without fingers, depending upon the level of your student(s).

To play the game, you need to mark on the floor a staff (grand or 5 line) and any optional ledgers. You’ll also need markers or cards that have diatonic note names written on them.

I lay on each line of the staff the corresponding note name. A student then takes a bean bag and tosses it to a line. The bean bag is repositioned to the line nearest to where it lands. The student then walks or hops from line to line, naming the note that line represents, and upon arriving to the bean bag, picks up the note name from that line, and continues the hopping & naming to the far end of the staff. We typically start at the lowest note of the staff and work our way up.

Each student takes turns toss, hopping & naming, and picking up their card. They must remember the names of the lines on which there is no card left.

Along their musical education, most piano students learn the circle of fifths. They probably develop some fuzzy connection between the circle of fifths and keys: G Major has one sharp and its tonic is a perfect fifth above C; D Major has two sharps and its tonic is a perfect fifth above G; etc. Perhaps they will learn that the order of sharps is an ascending circle of fifths, and the order of flats is a descending circle of fifths. If they are very lucky, they will begin to understand the human ear’s affinity for the circle of fifths and its implications on tonal harmony (think ii V I).

But, for all the glory that the circle of fifths deserves, I believe that the circle of thirds should be taught to our music students long before the circle of fifths, because the circle of thirds is the foundation of reading music and building harmony.

This is a fun little game to reinforce note names that I sometimes do for group class or young musicians.

I keep a bowl of small items that I’ve collected from around the house.  Things like a rubber band, a screw, a clothespin, a paper clip, a dog biscuit, a piece of gum, or anything else that I think might fit onto a piano key.

I will then lay out the items on the piano across several octaves. When the child comes into the lesson, they are fascinated by the decorated keys.

A few years ago, I took the weekend course Suzuki Principles in Action (SPA), a continuing education course for experienced Suzuki teachers. Rather than being a “here’s a bag of tricks you can use in your studio” kind of course (what I had expected), it was a “let’s look at the bigger picture” kind of course. It significantly changed how I approach teaching.

In the course, the concept of The Accomplished Learner was presented. The term “Accomplished Learner” gives a concise label to what we all want our students to become: Accomplished musicians who have become active and independent Learners.