Finger Piano

How to Play

1. Choose one or more people to be pianos and one to be the pianist.
2. Pianos! Hold up your hand/s and assign a sound to each finger. Your sounds can be as sensible or silly as you like. If you’re feeling tuneful, why not try musical notes?
3. Pianist! Press one of your piano’s fingers to find out what sound it makes. Play around with repetition, changes in speed, and stringing sounds together.
4. Switch places as many times as you like and try out different sounds!

 

Talk-it Tap-it

How to Play

1. Think of 4 words… any words!
2. How many syllables does each word have?
3. Clap the syllables as you say the words, and establish a beat, spreading out the words so each one starts on the beat.
4. Keep clapping your 4 beat pattern together til you feel confident to drop the words altogether.
5. Take time to enjoy your creation!
6. Now repeat the process with a different set of words – how about your favourite ice cream flavours, or the names of your friends or family? How does your new pattern compare? Which do you like best? Do they sound different when you change the speed or the volume? Keep playing around as long as you like.

Special thanks to Daisy and Emma for suggesting the home-office theme!

Extra Challenge

To take it to the next level, try clapping different parts at the same time. First, work out how the repeating pattern sounds if you start at a different point in the cycle. Then one of you clap this pattern while the other claps the original. If you have enough people and you’re feeling confident, you can add another two layers, with everyone starting from a different point at the same time. Keep your wits about you and see who can keep going the longest!

Sing-Song Ping-Pong

How to Play

1. Think of a song that has repeating lines – eg. “London’s Burning”
2. Divide into two groups and give your team a name
3. One team sings the first line (the call) then the second team repeats it (the response)
4. Carry on, singing the whole song in this way, with the call followed by the response
5. Now to add some fun! When your team isn’t singing, you have to dance on the spot. The team that’s best at switching seamlessly between singing and dancing are the winners!

Extra Challenge

Like “London’s Burning,” this traditional song from Ghana can be sung as a round. Take a few minutes to learn it together, then split into your two teams again. The first team should sing the first line and the repeat. Then, when they move on to the start of the second line, the next team starts at the beginning. Keep going, round and round for as long as you like.

Can you stick to your line while the other team is singing something different? What does it feel like? Why not try clapping the beat, or stamping to emphasise the start of each phrase?

Pass it On!

These games are easy to pick up and just as easy to pass on. Music is for everyone, so share the fun and pass it along!