Once your child is able to name all the notes on the keyboard, it is imperative to play games in order to reinforce the learning and also to ensure quick recall and build the foundation for reading music notes. 

Learning the names of the notes on the keyboard is the first step in learning to read music notes and once your child starts learning to read music notes, there are a variety of challenges he/she will face. However, one of those challenges should not be the inability to accurately know the name of the white notes on the keyboard. 

Therefore, working through this part of the journey, slowly and thoroughly will help your child in the long run. 

Unfortunately, when learning to play the piano kids are very eager at the start and therefore, slowing down the teaching can be hard. 

This is why when reinforcing concepts it is important to play games, as it will keep the enthusiasm levels high. 

Here are five games that you can play with your kids to keep the enthusiasm high, while also making them highly proficient in finding their way around the keyboard. 

Remember to download the music theory worksheet that I have made available with this post. 

Pre-requisites

– Kids have to know all the names of the white notes on the keyboard. If you haven’t taught them the note names, please go to my post, The Absolute Best Way To Teach Your Child To Name Notes On The Keyboard – Step 1.

Things You Will Need

– Paper/Whiteboard

– Pen/Erasable Marker

– Coloured Beads/Buttons/PebblesTokens/Mini Action Hero Figures

– Flashcards (optional)

Learning Your Way Around The Keyboard – Game 1

Call out the name of a note and ask your child to play it on the keyboard. 

Eg. You call out G and your child can play any G on the keyboard. 

Repeat at least 11 more times with different note names. 

Learning Your Way Around The Keyboard – Game 2

Another variation of the above game is to call out the name of the note and ask your child to play all the notes with that name on the keyboard.

Eg. If you call out D, your child should play all 7 Ds on the keyboard starting with D1. 

Learning Your Way Around The Keyboard – Game 3

Call out a specific note with a number and ask your child to keep a bead/pebble/button on the note. 

Eg. If you called out E4, then your child should leave the pebble on the 4th E (starting from the left of the keyboard). 

Learning Your Way Around The Keyboard – Game 4

Leave pebbles/buttons/beads on different notes on the keyboard and ask your child to write down the names on the paper/whiteboard. 

Learning Your Way Around The Keyboard – Game 5

Call out or write 3 – 5 different names in quick succession and ask your child to leave pebbles on the notes that you named in the order you called/wrote. 

Bonus: Reverse And Repeat

Reverse the above exercise. Ask your child to call out or write 3 – 5 different names in quick succession and you leave pebbles on the notes.

Ask your child to check your work. 

Tip: Deliberately make a mistake (but don’t overdo it), to give your child the opportunity to correct you. The confidence boost he will get from it is priceless. 

Fun aren’t they?

You can play these games even when you are in the middle of teaching them to find their way around the keyboard. 

What other games can you think of playing with your kids to help reinforce their learning?

Teaching notes and rests, their values and how they can be identified, and played is extremely easy if homeschooling parents have access to the correct tools and guidance. 

Therefore today I’m going to give you the necessary tools and also explain the exact steps you can use to easily introduce the Eighth Rest to your kids. 

So what are Eighth Rests? They are similar in value to Eighth Notes, but no note is played. 

They basically extend the silence by half a beat. 

If you haven’t already introduced the Eighth Note, do that first, you can find the steps, flashcard and printable in the post 6 ‘Shockingly Simple’ Ways To Teach Eighth Notes. 

And here’s how you can introduce the Eighth Rest to your kids in the homeschool.

Show The Note And The Rest

Yes, it is as easy as that.  

Show them the flashcard of the note and the rest side by side. 

Tell them that the Eighth Rest (point to it) is similar to the Eighth Note and consists of 1/2 a beat.

Explain The Difference

Don’t forget to explain the difference. 

With an Eighth Note, we actually play a note, but with an Eighth Rest we don’t play a note, rather, there is silence for 1/2 a beat, wherever there is an Eighth Rest. 

Ask Them Both Names

Yes, ask them to tell you the alternate name for the Eighth Rest. 

Since they know that the Eighth Note is called a Quaver, it is very likely that they will make the connection and tell you that the alternate name for the Eighth Rest is a Quaver Rest. 

Clapping

Now comes the interesting part. Ask them to clap the Quaver Rest. 

Remember, a Quaver Rest means there is silence for 1/2 a beat, so there is no clapping only counting. 

Understanding The Eighth Rest

To make the previous step less confusing, you draw or show a Whole/Half or Quarter Note before two Eighth Rests. Then ask them to clap. 

So, they should clap for the specific note you drew, then count the correct number of beats for that note, and finally count 1 beat to signify the two Eighth Rest. 

On The Keyboard

Repeat the above step on the keyboard. 

Have them play the note first and count the corresponding number of beats and then count an additional 1 beat to signify the two Eighth Rests. 

Writing The Quarter Rest

Now teach them how to correctly write the Eighth Rest. 

Please use the printable I have included for this exercise.

Identifying The Quarter Rest

Finally it is time to look at different sheets of music and identify the Eighth Rests. 

Again you can use the printable I have included for this post. 

Easy, isn’t it? 

So what are you waiting for? 

Grab the printable and the flashcard and go get started. 

If you’ve looked closely at a sheet of music, you have no doubt realized that it consists of a variety of different types of notes. 

Those that are noteheads with no stems, outlined noteheads with stems and solid black notes with stems , flags and beams. 

So what does this mean?

Each of these elements like stems, flags and beams signify the type and value of the note and learning to decipher the difference is very important. 

Therefore, today I will be explaining how you can introduce ‘Eighth Notes’ to your kids in the homeschool in just six shockingly simple steps. 

Don’t forget to download the printable I have included, so you can take your child’s learning to the next level. 

Show And Tell

It’s as simple as that. 

Just show a flashcard with an Eighth Note, or draw it out on a paper or white board or simply point it out on a piece of sheet music and tell your child that a solid black note with a stem and a flag is called an Eighth Note. 

Other Names

Now tell your child that while in North America we call this type of note, an ‘Eighth Note’, in other parts of the world, especially in Asia and Europe the note is called a Quaver. 

Clapping And Counting

Now that your child can identify the note and knows both its names, it is time to explain that an Eighth Note/Quaver consists of 1/2 a beat. 

This means when played on the piano, you play two eighth notes in 1 beat.

If there are two eighth notes beamed together or separate, then you clap both in quick succession in 1 beat. 

Writing The Note

Next, you can show your child how to write an Eighth Note on a line, and in a space, as well as over the stave, hanging from the stave, as Middle C and ledger line notes. 

This would also be a good time to teach your child the stem rules and the flag and beam rules.

Identifying Eighth Notes

Now, show your child some sheet music (if you don’t have any handy, use the sheet music in the printable I have made available) and ask your child to identify all the Eighth Notes. 

On The Keyboard

Next have your child play Eighth Notes. 

For this you can simply draw a treble or bass staff on a piece of paper and write out a few Eighth Notes on different lines and spaces and have your child read the notes. 

If your child cannot read music notes as yet, you can still have your child play Middle Cs. 

For this you need to draw about four Middle Cs on a paper (as Eighth Notes), have your child play two Middle Cs in quick succession for the 1st beat and the next two in quick succession for the 2nd beat.

Easy enough don’t you think?

Now, don’t forget to download the printable included so you can reinforce the concepts taught here.