Today was our first day back to piano lessons in 2016. I knew my kids hadn’t practiced much, and we needed a fun filled music theory game to remind them of their notes. My son has a large tub of nerf guns, so I tried a few different ideas until I came up with Music Theory Target Practice.
The game is simple to assemble if you have the needed items, so why not give it a go, and get your little beginners having fun (cough…I mean learning) again!
1. Assemble items for Music Theory Target Practice Game
You will need: nerf gun with several bullets, sponge, scissors, printed template, glue gun, washable paint.
2. Cut sponge
Cut the sponge into small squares roughly the size of the bullet head.
3. Glue Sponge to bullet.
Using hot glue gun, carefully (try not to burn your fingers!) glue the sponge to the rubber tip of the bullet.
4. Print Template
Print treble cleff template and bass cleff template and tape to wall. (In a pinch you could draw the lines on a piece of paper.) You may want to do this outside unless you want to risk getting paint everwhere. In either case, please use washable paint. I used the rest of the sponge to wipe the paint off the wall, but this is a little risky!
5. Paint
Squeeze some paint onto a piece of cardboard from your recycling bin. Dip the sponge of your bullet into the paint. My 10 year old had the idea that you could dip the bullet in water and see if it left a mark on the target. I didn’t try this, but maybe you would rather try water instead of paint if you are doing this inside.
6. Play Music Theory Target Practice!
Load your gun, aim, and fire at your music staff target.
Name the note where your bullet hit the target. If you get it right, your team gets a point. If you hit the wall, then the teacher or opposite team gets to point to a line or space for you to guess.
The team with the most points wins!
We tried this today with my 5 piano students, and they were begging me to play longer. I’m sure you could try this music theory game with any number of different printouts, so be creative! I’d like to try a velcro target using black and white Velcro tape for the staff. If I get around to it, I’ll be sure to post photos!
I’m sure you can think of more variations of Music Theory Target Practice, so be sure to write them in the comments below so we can try them!