Note of the Day Activities

When I first started teaching piano, I would introduce new notes to a student based on the pace of their method books. A few years in, I came to the realization that many of my students needed additional support in note reading.

I mean, just think about how much we support a student when they learn to read words, sentences, and then books. In a literacy rich environment, students are not only exposed to letter sounds, decoding skills and rules, sight words, etc. but they also are given opportunities for repetitive practice. This comes through writing & spelling activities, sight word flashcards, reading a variety of books, having an adult read to them, etc.

So how can we support our students as they learn to read music? Not to mention WHILE they learn many other elements of music!

I started incorporating “Note of the Day” activities with my Primer Piano students. Each week, a student will focus on 1-2 notes through activities that help them review and memorize it.

Here are 5 Note of the Day Activities that you can try in your studio:

Talk about the note

When first introducing a new note, ask our student to describe what it looks like. I find it helpful to describe it as specifically as possible. Have your student recite the description a few times from memory while tracing the note on the page with their finger.

Example: Middle C lives between the grand staff. It has it’s own line through the middle. The note head is floating and does not touch the staff.

Flashcard Memory

This game can be played on a table or on the floor. You will need any set of music flashcards.

• Place several flashcards face down and mix them up
• Teacher and student take turns flipping a card over
• If the card is the Note of the Day, the person who flipped it over gets a point
• Re-shuffle and play again, the first person to get 3 points wins (you can also adjust the round length)

Scavenger Hunt

Choose a song your students is currently working on and go on a “scavenger hunt” for the note. Each time it appears in the music, either highlight or circle it.

For an even more fun activity, turn the lights down and give your students a small flashlight to search for the note.

Note of the Day Worksheets

These worksheets are available in my TPT shop and are used to introduce or review note names on the staff.

Each time the student completes a note, they can color a star on the recording page. I would not recommend doing more than 1 sheet per lesson, to give students the opportunity to really focus on memorizing the Note of the Day.

Boom Cards

Play boom cards that target the note and previous notes the students have reviewed. If you’re not sure how to get started using Boom Cards, I have a blog post you can read here.