Music Theory Games

Many People when you say the word "Games" these days instantly think of Computer Games. However, there is many more options for music theory games than just computer games. You can get all types of Music Theory Games from the local music store, starting with simple sets of flashcards going right up to boxed sets which can cost hundreds of dollars.

In this first part of this Squidoo Lens we're going to look at a few ideas for traditional music theory games, and then below we'll examine computer games in more detail and how they can be also used.

The traditional game with flashcards is one of the simplest and most effective. Particularly if you are a studio teacher If you have a large library of flashcards available you should be able to pick out some which instantly match the level of the student, which means you'll be able to tailor their learning experience.

You can do simple flashcard games in more than one way.

- You can do the simple match game, where you put two of each card on the floor and the students (or the student and teacher, if in a one-on-one lesson) take turns to match them

- You can play "Snap", where each player puts down one at a time

- You can play "Speed Name" or "Speed Play" where the student must name or play the note on the flashcard

You can use almost an infinite number and type of flashcards for these type of games. For Matching you can also match the cards in creative ways, not necessarily just with an exact match, for example:

- A rhythm note can match to the number of beats it has
- A pitch note can match to its Letter Name "A, B, C etc"
- A pitch note can match to its Solfege Name "Do, Re, Mi etc"
- A letter name can match to its Solfedge Name
- A time signature card can match to the number of beats in a bar or measure

As you can see, there are infinite possibilities for this style of Music Theory Games. For more information and Flashcards to suit, please consult the resources indicated below.

The computer is a great tool for music theory games, if used in the right way in the classroom.

Here are some guidelines if you are thinking of using music theory games with your students in the classroom or private music studio:

Keep the computer screen time short
Students if they are playing games need to keep the activity to just a few minutes, and then move onto something more effective and useful. The students will learn what they need to learn in a short segment, and more time than that on the activity will not really serve their learning any more.

Keep records of what games they play
If you make a couple of notes of which games the students enjoy and learn from, then you'll be able to direct students to the right ones immediately in the future.

Choose carefully
There are a great many online music theory games out there, but some are a little questionable in their music theory knowledge - they are made by game programmers, and not necessarily musicians. Therefore look for online games that are created by someone with a music education background, who not only knows the correct information to communicate, but also the way to communicate it in the most effective way.