Here’s A Fun Piano Game Printable For Teaching Intervals

Teaching your piano students to recognize harmonic and melodic intervals has many wonderful benefits.  Not only will they be more efficient note readers, but they also become better sight-readers and more fluid players.  If we could all have piano students who could immediately point out a perfect 4th or a minor 2nd on their sheet music, the world would be a happier place.  So, here’s a piano teaching game with a free printable to designed to help piano students to recognize intervals.

Reinforcing Intervals With Pursuit of Happiness

As with all of our piano teaching games, setting up is a piece of cake! You’ll need to download the Pursuit of Happiness game board. Then, you’ll need a pair of dice, a couple of pieces of candy to serve as “players”, and a piano piece your student is currently playing.

At the start of the game, you and your student place your “players” on the angry face. Your goal is to gradually move along the emoticons until you have reached the super-happy face at the top of the piano game board.

Who knew that theory could make everyone so happy?!

But how do you get happy?… Well, it’s quite simple.

During each turn, the player chooses to roll one die or two. The number rolled indicates the measure number to be examined in the student’s current piano piece. The same player rolls again… but only one die this time! 

If the player rolls a:

One: Move ahead one space.

Two: Search the selected measure within the piano piece for a 2nd. If a 2nd is found, move one space. If not, stay put!

Three: Search the selected measure within the piano piece for a 3rd. If a 3rd is found, move one space. If not, stay put!

Four: Search the selected measure within the piano piece for a perfect 4th. If a perfect 4th is found, move one space. If not, stay put!

Five: Search the selected measure within the piano piece for a perfect 5th. If a perfect 5th is found, move one space. If not, stay put!

Six: Go back to the start!

*Note: intervals you search for can be either major or minor (a good opportunity to discuss the difference with your student!) and can be either a harmonic or a melodic interval.

And that’s the game! Switch back and forth between piano teacher and piano student until one person reaches the super-smiley face at the top of the board.

You know what else is fun? Our Piano Party Pack, Happy Birthday Bach! If you’re looking to host a super-fun piano party for your students and benefit from the bit of extra income group lessons provide, you’ll definitely want to check out this piano teaching resource.