More Music Dice Games

I've been lucky enough to attend the Suzuki Association of the Americas Conference this week and had a lot of success at my booth!  It was fun to meet so many wonderful teachers from around the world.  I was particularly touched when people THANKED me for being there.  What an honor to share my ideas with these wonderful people.  The music dice were such a success and I had a handout with a bunch of games and ideas for the music dice.  I promised to post them online so here they are!  (I should mention that these are compiled with the help of Dana Rice www.thefameschoolblog.com)

Roll 10

*Choice of music dice depending on what needs to be worked on.
*2 players (student and parent/teacher)
*Private lesson or home practice - any instrument
Put 10 playing pieces between the two players (dominoes, skittles, pennies, etc.)  The student rolls the die and names it.  If she can name it correctly she gets one of the game pieces.  If the teacher/parent needs to help the parent/teacher gets the game piece.  Continue to do this until all the pieces are gone.  The person with the most game pieces at the end is the winner.  Continue to play this each day until the student can get all 10 game pieces easily.

Grab A Chord

* Lines and Spaces Dice
* Great to play in a group or private lesson - especially piano and guitar.
The teacher rolls the dice and students search for dice to build 3-note chords. Students get one point for each chord. Play several rounds.  The student with the most points at the end of the final round wins.!

Roll and Clap 

* 4 Rhythm Dice
* Great to play in a private lesson - any instrument.
The student rolls the dice and claps the resulting rhythm from left to right. If the student is correct, the teacher claps back. If the student is incorrect, the teacher says, “Didgeridoo?” (This is a play on the Australian musical instrument because it sounds like you could be saying “Did you redo?”)

Oops! 

* Accidental Die
* Another great game to play in a private lesson- any instrument.
The teacher chooses a musical note from a song the student is playing to be the Oops note. Student rolls the die and uses that accidental whenever the Oops note appears in the song. For example, if the Oops note is A and the student rolls a #, the student must play A# whenever an A appears in the song. This game will help students hear how accidentals change the sound within a song.

Silly Phrase / Funny Word

* Dynamics Dice
* Group class or private lesson.
At the start of the game, the teacher and/or students choose a funny word or silly phrase.
Examples: “Cantankerous” “Didgeridoo”. When the student rolls the die they will say the funny word or silly phrase using that dynamic. In a group setting, everyone can take turns saying the funny word or silly phrase using different expressions like a question, exclamation, happy, sad, etc.

24 Beats

* Notes Dice (16th), Notes Dice (2-8ths), or Notes and Rests Die.
* 2-4 Players
Players take turns rolling the die.  The time value of the note is your score - write it down.  The first player to get 24 beats is the winner.  This game can be made more difficult by requiring that each measure be completed before starting the next measure.

The Write Rhythm

* Time Signature Dice and choice of Notes Dice (16th, 2-8ths, Notes & Rests)
*2-4 Players
*Staff paper
Roll the Time Signature Dice to determine the time signature of the passage you will play with.  Space 8 bars on your sheet of staff paper.  Select which Notes Dice you will roll.  Use the note or rest you roll to fill all or part of a measure.  If you cannot use the note or rest which appears, you must wait for your next turn.  The winner is the first player to fill up eight measures of rhythm.

Little Composer

* Time Signature Die and choice of Pentatonic Dice, Rhythm Dice.
* Great for home practice.
Students will start the practice session by writing a clef on their staff paper (treble or bass - if you are using another clef you will want to use the Lines and Spaces dice instead of the Pentatonic Dice.)  After the initial warm-up, the student can roll the Time Signature die to determine the time signature of her piece.  Write it on the paper.  Between each piece or activity during practicing the student can roll the Pentatonic Die and a Rhythm die and fill in the staff paper with her piece.  When practicing is over she can play her piece or have mom or teacher play it.  See what great music can come after a great practice session!

Treble Cups (for piano)

* Treble Clef Die and Lines and Spaces Dice
* 5 Paper or Plastic Cups
* Paper Keyboard or Giant Keyboard Mat
* Small ball or crumpled paper, bucket
* Ages: 6 and up
* 5-10 minutes
The student chooses a cup and tries to match the dice to the correct key on the
keyboard. For each one the student gets correct, he/she gets a chance at tossing
a ball or beanbag into a bucket.
For Group Play - Split into teams. The team gets a point each time their player
correctly answers and the team with the most points wins.

100 Beats

* 2, 3, or 4 Notes Dice (2-8ths)
* Any chart with 100 (or more) squares or spaces.
Roll the dice and clap the rhythms.  Then count the number of beats and move a game piece that number of spaces on the board.  A student can play this on her own or with a parent or other student.

Musical War

* 2 Notes Dice (16th Notes)
* 2 Players
* 20-50 game pieces (gems, chips, pennies, etc.)
Both students roll their dice at the same time.  The note with the higher note value gets a game piece.  If the note values are the same WAR begins.  Double the number of pieces and roll again.  The winner gets the game pieces.  If it’s the same value again double the game pieces again.  When all the game pieces are gone the winner is the one with most game pieces.

Sharps & Flats

* Basic or Advance Key Signature Dice
* Ages: 8 and up
* 5-10 minutes
The student rolls the die and places a small object like an eraser on the corresponding keys on the piano. This game can be played with a timer by having the student play up to 6 rounds trying to get faster each time. Record the fastest time and try to beat the record in the next lesson.

Tic Tac Toe Rhythm Dice

* 2-3 rhythm dice
* Needed: 2-3 minutes
Student rolls 2-3 dice together and the teacher plays one of the rhythms. The student
must identify the die that was played. The game is over when the student has guessed
correctly 3 times in a row

Name That Symbol

* Notes Dice Variety
* 5-10 minutes
This can be played in a group with any instrument.
The teacher rolls 1 die at a time and the student(s) must shout out the name of the symbol. The student who gets it correct first keeps that die. Play continues
until all the dice are taken. The student with the most dice wins.