PRACTICE TOYS
Because I believe practicing can be FUN!! And when you're having fun, it feels EASIER!
You'll see some familiar toys, but presented with my ideas for adapting them into practice games.
Now, I hope you'll go have some serious FUN!
You can find all these toys on Amazon - links in the images & titles.
Barrel of Monkeys
Practicing involves a lot of repetition ... playing something over and over again is ONLY helpful if the repetitions are CORRECT and performed thoughtfully.
Prevent boredom and careless practice: Barrel of Monkeys can add some fun to counting repetitions AND reinforce the value of CORRECT and CONSISTENT playing!
Add a monkey for each correct repetition, and take one away for each incorrect repetition. Use it for one hand, one measure, a phrase, a page, or a whole piece!
See my student Josh using them in the PHOTO GALLERY.
Monkeying Around
It's like a super-deluxe version of Barrel of Monkeys. Perfect for a practice game: even has a built in "spinner" to tell you how many monkeys you need to put on the tree (how many times to practice in a row correctly!).
Puzzle Erasures
These are super cute and fun, and they're a perfect prop for endless music games and practice counters. Use them to play note naming and chord naming games on the piano keys, or to keep track of counting repetitions. They would make a fun musical gift for a student. I borrowed this wonderful idea from Diane Hidy. Find them online at AMAZON.
Ladybug Squeezie
I teach students to play with beautiful hand shapes from the very beginning - this is essential for developing healthy, relaxed movements and for playing expressively.
There are many, many ways I teach proper technique and hand position, but I have to say - using the ladybug is like MAGIC! And students ADORE them!
I use these frequently in the lesson, and encourage young students to have their own at home for practice. Another fabulous idea I borrowed from Diane Hidy.
You can find them online at Amazon or MusicTeacherWarehouse.com.
Number Dice
These polyhedral dice are a little more fun than just the standard 6-sided cubes - with a variety of colors, sides, shapes, and numbers, students love using these to randomly assign practice repetition amounts. Lots of possibilities for use: roll the dice for number of repetitions, for random measure numbers or section numbers to practice (this would be fantastic for testing memory in random order!), or for assigning a number of minutes to practice something.
Incentive Charts / Sticker Charts
Young children often need a little extra boost, and some external motivation to help them stick to daily habits, and achieving long term goals.
Most young students love stickers, so these are appealling, visual aides that you can use to motivate students and reward achievements.
BONUS: creating a reward for completing the chart can give an extra boost of motivation - maybe a favorite food, movie, activity or prize.
Number Spinners
These can be used just like the dice to generate random practice numbers - use for repetition, selecting measures/sections, or number of minutes to practice.
OR ... use your iPad or iPhone and spin the wheel with this app: Decide Now!
See my Music Apps page for more ideas.
Marbles
Yet another fun way to keep count ... Just don't let them fall inside the piano!
Get some cups or bowls to collect the marbles in, then set up a challenge to move all the marbles from one bowl to the other, or create your own game for counting repetitions!
Check out Amazon for some really cool options.
Legos
What kid doesn't love legos? Any kind of legos will work .... create a "tower of practice", and see how high you can build! Add pieces for each correct repetition - and take pieces OFF for incorrect repetitions!
Bead Counter
Your child will love these cute bead counters - giving them motivation to practice again! This is a great way to visualize practicing things over and over. Flip a bead for every time your child plays a small section in a new piece or for each piece she is to play during a practicing session. Use your own creative imagination to help motivate your child. Even the youngest children love flipping the beads. The Practice Shoppe has about 130 different fun designs!
Music Dice
There are a wide variety of sets with Bass & Treble notes, rhythms, dynamics, key signatures. Mix and match to create your own "Name That" game, reinforce concepts from the lesson, or you could turn it into a really fun composing tool ... roll the dice and create a tune using what you see! Check out The Practice Shoppe website for more dice options and other practice toys.
Connect 4
Following the rules of the game: connect 4 discs in a row to win = repeat 4 times in row before practicing the next thing. Assign one color for correct repetition, and the other color for incorrect - the student will then have a clear visual of how many times they played something correctly vs. incorrectly. Always aim to have MORE correct times than incorrect! And of course the fun part - pulling out the bottom lever to let all the discs drop out!
Cat Metronome
Made by Wittner. They also have a penguin and an owl. It's not really a "toy", but it certainly does make it more FUN to practice with a metronome! I have an 8 year old student who LOVES his owl metronome - he looks forward to using it whenever he can!