January is the perfect time to review important music theory concepts with seasonal winter online music games.

I love using themed music games to teach and review important concepts in a diverse way that keeps students engaged while learning.

The Color By Music Winter BOOM™ Cards Piano Lessons Bundle is a very easy way to teach and review music math, treble clef notes, bass clef notes, and music symbols through a variety of winter online music games.

Each digital theory game is infused with the fun of color-by-music; students will have so much fun making the colorful picture appear that they will enjoy learning!

(for printable color-by-music ideas, check out 12 Fabulous Springtime Color by Note Worksheets for Your Young Musicians)

In this blog post, I’ll give you a look inside each of the Music Boom™ Cards winter online music games, give teaching tips for how I use them in my own piano studio, and present some guidance if you’re brand-new to Boom™ Cards.

A Look inside These Creative Winter Online Music Games for Piano Lessons

There are four unique color-by-music digital music games included in the Color By Music Winter BOOM™ Cards Piano Lessons Bundle (if you’re new to Boom™ Cards, look at the bottom of this article for a few tips on how to get started).

As the student answers the music theory questions, a picture is automatically colored, finishing with a completed digital artwork.

1. Color by Music Symbols

Winter online music games like this one are perfect for your students who need a refresher on all the basic music symbols: notes, rests, clefs, dynamics, and more!

Once finished, the student will have a colorful cardinal picture to show off!

• Test the deck for yourself here
• Get Color by Music Symbols Online Music Game here

2. Color by Music Math

Rhythm is one of the top struggles for many piano students.

Doing a little music math is a fun way to review note values with the goal of unveiling a fun penguin picture, and a student favorite among the winter online music games!

Features paired eighth notes/quavers (notes only), quarter notes/crotchets (notes and rests), half notes/minims (notes and rests), dotted half notes/dotted minims (notes only), and whole notes/semibreves (notes and rests).

If your students love music math, check out 7 Ways to Use Music Math Worksheets in a Variety of Music Classes.

• Test the deck for yourself here
• Get Color by Music Math Online Music Game here

3. Color by Treble Clef Notes

Students will enjoy reviewing their note names with this happy snowman! Each slide presents one word spelled with 3-4 letters in the treble clef, giving your student a thorough note review.

• Test the deck for yourself here
• Get Color by Treble Clef Winter Online Music Game here

4. Color by Bass Clef Notes

Like the Treble Clef winter online music game, this Bass Clef Color by Note deck will have your students reviewing 3-4 notes each time as they color the adorable polar bear.

• Test the deck for yourself here
• Get Color by Bass Clef Winter Online Music Game here

Learning and reviewing music theory topics in January will be lots of fun with these four winter online music games

Get the Winter Online Music Games Bundle for Cheaper!

If you have students who will use all four of these Boom™ Cards, save when you get the bundle of winter online music games here!

How to Use These Winter Online Music Games for Piano Lessons

Each of these decks can easily be used for either in-person or online lessons (internet required).

If you are using these winter online music games to teach your student new concepts, you can walk them through the answers with prompts.

Here are a few examples:

• Teach the music symbols by explaining what each symbol is as the student is presented with them.
  • Some of the symbols are common, that all beginning piano students should know (whole note, half notes, forte), while others will need to be taught (alto clef).
  • Color the picture together a few times before you send it home for the student to try on their own.
• Do music math together with your student.
  • Use a whiteboard if necessary to help them puzzle out what each rhythm adds up to.
  • They should pick up very quickly how to recognize what note gets what value and soon be able to color the picture on their own.
• Spell together with your student.
  • If you need to, use a grand staff chart with the note names on it for the notes your student doesn’t know yet.
  • This will be an easy way to expand their knowledge of the musical staff while having fun.

If the student already knows the concepts in the winter online music games, then you can use these music Boom™ Cards as solid music review.

• Use in preparation of music exams
• Use for your students who struggle with remembering note names
• Use for students who need extra rhythm awareness
• Use when your student is overwhelmed with newer concepts and needs a fun way to review them

There are so many fun ways you can use these four winter online music games to teach and review music theory!

How do you use online music games in your music studio? Comment and share!

If You Have Never Used Boom™ Cards in Piano Lessons, Start Here

It is not hard to use Boom™ Cards in either in-person or virtual piano lessons. But there are a few helpful things to know to get started.

1) You Need to Have a Boom™ Learning Account

You can sign up for a free Boom™ Learning account here which allows you to assign Boom™ Cards for up to 5 students (more students is a paid plan).

We love this quick, 5-minute walkthrough video by one of our music Boom™ Cards creators, Kelly.

2. You can get a free app for Boom™ Cards

Boom™ Cards can be played on desktop computers, laptops, or even iPads, tablets, iPhones, and other smartphones. 

Search for the Boom™ Cards app on your device to use anywhere!

This makes it especially easy for students to play at home on any setup they have.

3. You can Screen Share Boom™ Cards for Virtual Lessons

If you use Zoom or any other app that allows you to screen share, then Boom™ Cards are a great option for virtual lessons because they can see the screen.

4. You can Play Boom™ Cards at the Piano!

While Boom™ Cards are excellent for off-bench piano lesson options, you can also couple the Boom™ Cards with the piano.

For example, if you’re playing a note reading card set, have the student play the note on the piano before clicking the answer on the Boom™ Cards.

5. Boom™ Cards Require Internet Access

While they can be used on any device anywhere, Boom™ Cards do need internet access.

6. We Have a Blog Post Even More In-Depth About Boom™ Cards

Hopefully this is enough to get you started.

But if you like to learn even more (such as how to assign Boom™ Cards and be sure they’re shuffled), read our blog post, Getting Started With Boom™ Cards In Piano Lessons.

Even more Creative Teaching Ideas…

• 10 Online Music Games for Fall
• 3 Interactive Dinosaur Music Activities for Piano Lessons
• Save Time With Over 200 Print-and-Go Music Theory Worksheets!