Feed the Music Monster Sight-Reading and Ear Training Game for Piano Lessons

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Feed the Music Monster Sight-Reading and Ear Training Game for Piano Lessons

This adorable beginning piano game can be used to review both sight-reading and ear training. It includes five notes of the treble staff: Middle C, D, E, F, G. Feed the Music Monster can double as a game AND sight-reading achievement if you’re doing a sight-reading challenge in your music studio.

Perfect for in-person instruction, and adaptable for online piano lessons. Plus, this printable game is a free gift if you sign up for my newsletter.

 

Supplies:

  1. The PDF file, including the monster and monster melody cards, which you can get for free at this link.
  2. White card stock (or printer paper is fine)
  3. Scissors or a sharp craft blade
  4. Laminator and laminating sheets (optional)
  5. Tape
  6. A gift bag, cereal box, or paper grocery bag approximately the height and width of the monster
  7. A second bag/container

 

Assembly:

Print the monster and melody pages.

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Cut an opening for the monster’s mouth. 

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Laminate the pages (optional).

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Cut an opening in the monster’s mouth that is wide enough for the melody cards to pass through.

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Cut out the monster and the melody cards.

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Trace the monster’s mouth onto the gift bag, cereal box, or paper grocery bag.

Cut out the mouth shape from the gift bag.

Attach the monster to the gift bag, cereal box, or paper grocery bag, aligning the openings for the mouth. I use clear tape, rolled into small loops.

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Helpful hint: If you don’t want to cut your gift bag, tape the monster onto the bag so that his mouth is above the rim of the bag. Then you can save and reuse your gift bag. 

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How to play Feed the Music Monster piano sight-reading game

YouTube video

 

In-Person Game Option #1: Teacher and Student: Ear Training

  1. Place the cards into the second bag (the one without the monster on it) and shake to shuffle.
  2. The student draws 2 cards.
  3. The teacher plays the melody on one of the cards.
  4. If the student correctly chooses which melody the teacher played, the student feeds that card to the monster and puts the other card back into the shuffle bag. If the student chooses incorrectly, both cards go back into the shuffle bag.
  5. Continue playing until you run out of time or all the cards have been fed to the monster.
  6. For more ideas, read 4 Reasons to Use Feed the Music Monster Treble Clef Ledger Lines Sight-Reading Game.

 

In-Person Game Option #2: Student Only: Sight-Reading

  1. Place the cards into the second bag (the one without the monster on it) and shake to shuffle.
  2. The student draws a card and plays the melody.
  3. If the student plays the melody correctly, the student feeds the card to the monster.
  4. If the student plays the card incorrectly, the card goes back into the shuffle bag.
  5. The student continues playing until all the cards have been fed to the monster, or until you run out of time.

 

Quick and Easy Online Option #1: Ear Training

  1. Open the PDF file on your computer.
  2. Start teaching your online piano lesson in Zoom.
  3. Screen share the PDF file, then play one melody for your student.
  4. The student guesses which melody you played from the cards visible on the screen.
  5. If the student guesses correctly, the student gets to say “I fed the music monster!” or you can say “You fed the music monster!”.
  6. If the student guesses incorrectly, the teacher plays the melody again.

 

Quick and Easy Online Option #2: Sight-Reading

  1. Email the PDF file to your student.
  2. The student sight-reads one melody.
  3. If the student sight-reads it correctly, the student gets to say “I fed the music monster!” or you can say “You fed the music monster!”.
  4. If the student sight-reads it incorrectly, the student sight-reads the melody again.

 

Online Option #3: Boom Cards Version

  1. Read more about using Boom Cards here.
  2. Preview the first 4 cards of the deck here. Click “Full-Sized Preview” for best results. Purchase the Boom Cards version that you see in the image below here, here, or here.
  3. Other levels of Feed the Music Monster are available here.
  4. Check out all of my Boom Cards here.
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Melody Payne

Dr. Melody Payne is a pianist, teacher, and educational resource author who believes that all piano students deserve the best musical experiences possible, in every single lesson. Melody self-publishes pedagogical materials for piano students as well as piano teaching articles for piano teachers. She holds a Doctor of Philosophy in Music with emphases in music education and piano pedagogy and a Master of Music in Piano Pedagogy from Louisiana State University, and a Bachelor of Music in Piano Performance from William Carey University in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. She is a Nationally Certified Teacher of Music through the Music Teachers National Association. Melody and her husband Greg live in Marion, Virginia, a small town nestled in the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains, where she teaches children and teens both in person and online.

This Post Has 5 Comments

  1. Debbi

    Just a logistical question. How do you get the clean lines from cutting out the monster’s mouth? Mine look really jaggedy and lopsided. I love the game, though! I just wish it looked more professional. lol

    1. Melody Payne

      Hi Debbi, I used sharp scissors to cut out the mouth before I laminated the monster. Then after I laminated, I cut out the mouth again. That makes it much easier and gives cleaner cuts than waiting to cut out the mouth after laminating. I have also used sharp craft blades to cut some of the monsters, especially around the teeth. But if you prefer, you could cut a slit in the monster’s mouth just wide enough for the card to slip through, then you wouldn’t have to worry about cutting out the details 🙂

  2. Diane Engle

    I just submitted a request to join your Facebook group. I love the “Feed the Monster” activity.

    1. Melody Payne

      Thanks so much, Diane! I hope your students enjoy the game as much as mine have! I’ll see you in the Facebook group very soon. Looking forward to it!
      Melody

Leave a Reply

Welcome!

Hi! I’m Melody Payne, a pianist and piano teacher, educational resource author, a fun-loving wife to the most wonderful and talented hubby I could ask for, and a lifelong learner who loves to share. I want to make your life as a music teacher easier by writing and sharing helpful and relevant music teaching articles, and by creating educational resources with your very own students in mind. If you are a parent who wants to enroll your child in piano lessons, I’d love for us to get started building those skills that can give your child a lifetime of musical enjoyment!

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