Let's Play Music

Kids music activities and free printable resources | Children's music, lesson plans and teaching resources for babies and children

  • Store
    • Digital Downloads Store
    • Lesson Plans
    • eBooks
    • My Account
    • FAQs
  • Activities by Age
    • Baby
    • Toddlers
    • Preschool
    • 5+
  • Activities by Season
    • Spring
    • Summer
    • Autumn
    • Halloween
    • Christmas
    • Winter
  • Activities by Type
    • First Piano Lessons
    • Weekly Lesson Plans
    • Rhythm & Percussion
    • Musical Movement
    • How To Read Music
    • Literacy
    • Classical Music for Kids
  • Free Sheet Music
    • Free Sheet Music
    • Free Printables
    • Song Directory
  • Subscribe
    • Newsletter Sign-up
    • Contact
  • About
  • My Cart
You are here: Home / Musical Activities For... / Preschoolers / A Fun Way to Teach Kids Musical Note Values

A Fun Way to Teach Kids Musical Note Values

June 12, 2021 By Sara Mullett 30 Comments

Sometimes music theory can be a bit scary, and it can have a reputation for being a bit boring and difficult. But this can be easily overcome this by making it fun through games and rhythm & movement activities.

Children always find it much easier to accept basic theory concepts by playing games. Then the lesson becomes a fun activity, and kids will always learn more effectively when they are having fun!

When teaching note values, I introduce the notes as a family. Kids love the characters and giving the notes identities like this makes the lesson much easier to grasp.

Fun way to teach kids note values

Magic Feet Follow the Beat is a brilliant way to have some fun and blow off a bit of steam while learning and practising the concept of note values.

It goes down so well with the kids that it becomes a regular activity and this makes it even more effective as a teaching tool.

A Fun Way To Teach Note Values : Magic Feet Follow The Beat

  • This game is ideal for music classes or played with a group of friends.
  • You need a tambourine or drum, and a bit of space.
  • ‘Blowing some magic’ into the hands is a very good way to get everyone joining in and engaged. Then tell them to rub the ‘magic’ on their feet, and then they’re ready to stamp around with gusto!

Take One Step at A time

  • Introduce each note in turn by demonstrating the beat on the tambourine .
  • Slow beats like Daddy Semibreve(Whole Notes) to the count of 4 with giant steps.
  • Middle sizes steps for Mummy Minim (Half Notes) which last 2 beats.
  • Marching like a soldier for Big Brother Crotchet (Quarter Notes) which last 1 beat.
  • Trotting along with small steps for the Little Quaver Twins (Eighth Notes) which share 1/2 a beat together.
  • When they’ve got the hang of each different note and the sound and action it makes, you can ask them to guess which one you are playing and trying to catch them out!
  • Use the printable below to hold up and show how each note corresponds to an action. There’s an American version (with whole notes, half notes, quarter notes and eighth notes) and a European version (Semibreves, Minims, Crotchets and Quavers). The concept of the note family applies quite easily to both.

Fun Way to Teach Music Note Value Theory Worksheet

The children can take it in turns to have a go on the tambourine and then you can call out the notes by name (Mummy Minim etc) to see if they can make the correct beat to match the notes. They are so busy having fun, they don’t realise that you are testing them!

I’ve always used this method because I find that children understand it easily and it works. But if you feel that using the traditional family roles isn’t appropriate for you then you could easily substitute the characters with animals of varying size. For instance: an elephant for the whole note, a giraffe for the half note, a pony for the quarter notes and little rabbits for the eighth notes.

If you are new to music theory, read my Introducing the Note Family post, which explains basic note values in a child friendly way, and check out my How To Read Music Made Easy ebook which is accompanied by lots of handy printables and worksheets.

Follow Sara @ Let’s Play Music’s board Teaching Kids to Read Music on Pinterest.

NOTE VALUES

Filed Under: First Piano Lessons, How To Read Music, Musical Activities For..., Musical Movement, Preschoolers, Rhythm & Percussion Activities Tagged With: Easy Music Theory, Free Printables, Note Recognition, Rhythm Games

Please note, the posts on Let’s Play Music include affiliate links for your convenience.

Explore our digital downloads!

  • 5 Senses pack Five Senses Multi-Lesson Pack $9.99
  • What is The Weather Today? lesson plan What Is The Weather Today? Lesson & Activity Plan $4.99
  • Summer Term Music Lesson Bundle - 12 Weeks of Lesson Plans Summer Term Music Curriculum - 12 Weeks of Lessons $49.99

Follow Let’s Play Music

Comments

  1. Karen Nutt says

    August 15, 2022 at 5:32 pm

    We gave our now 11 yo triplet granddaughters a family piano, hoping they would learn to play. Their mom owns a dance studio, where they are involved in competition dance. One of the girls is really not a great dancer & not that interested. She has very long fingers & a beautiful singing voice. I was wondering if she could learn the piano by teaching herself with your method? We offered piano lessons, but their parents say they are too involved and busy to take lessons. She gets up early in the morning before anyone else so I hoped she could practice then. She is ADD, NOT ADHD. Thanks, I would appreciate any information or resources you could recommend.

    Reply
    • Sara Mullett says

      August 18, 2022 at 6:04 pm

      Hi Karen, I’ve emailed you with some suggestions that I think could help your granddaughter. 😊

      Reply
  2. 10 Ways to Make Learning Music Fun For Kids | KidsMusic.Me says

    April 20, 2018 at 3:10 am

    […] Kids Music, nursery rhymes, kids songs, and baby songs can also be used to enhance and improve the child as a person. It can develop their various social-emotional skills. The children become more confident and music also enables them to control their emotions and different critical situations well. Navigating the kids music teaching material can be easier when using dynamic changing lesson plans that can adapt to the child and the current mood […]

    Reply
  3. Katie says

    February 22, 2017 at 1:54 pm

    This was a very helpful idea, and I’ll definitely be trying this out with my student tonight. He’s always so restless during practice, I’m sure he’d love to get up and get moving!

    Reply
    • Sara Mullett says

      February 22, 2017 at 7:32 pm

      Yes, some kids find it so hard to sit still! So I find it really helps to channel the energy into part of the lesson!

      Reply
  4. gladys says

    June 11, 2015 at 2:04 pm

    Is amazing helped a lot , would like more updates on it

    Reply
  5. Mbadzo Stenford says

    January 13, 2015 at 8:06 am

    This is so good keep on giving us such useful information.

    Thank you so much.

    Reply
    • Sara Mullett says

      January 13, 2015 at 11:35 pm

      Thanks Mbadzo and thank you for stopping by!

      Reply
  6. max says

    January 7, 2015 at 2:58 pm

    I found your site so interesting and I love to join your fb page.Also,I want to ask if I can get some interesting materials,music teachers guide DVD’s and CD’s to teaching the kids music from you?I’ll love to hear back from you. Thanks.

    Reply
    • Sara Mullett says

      January 7, 2015 at 3:19 pm

      Thanks for your support Max! We will soon be publishing our very first ebook, which will include lots more music teaching ideas. If you subscribe to our newsletter, we will be announcing it soon (you can do this from the subscribe button on the home page of the website.)

      Reply
  7. Chloe Ryan says

    December 2, 2014 at 5:57 pm

    I have just started year 7 this year and have started music lessons. I understand the general stuff to do with music ,however i find it all quite tricky and remember the note names and how many beats is possibly the trickiest. we have a music evan coming up and i need to revise this is order to do well and at this stage i have passed by exam thanks to this website it is amazing. Thnak you ever so much x

    Reply
    • Sara Mullett says

      December 2, 2014 at 7:23 pm

      That is so great Chloe! I am so pleased you are finding our site so helpful, and I’m sure that you will do really well with your music lessons with such a positive attitude! Well done!

      Reply
  8. Clive Simabisi says

    February 4, 2014 at 11:35 am

    this is very good for us music educators specially to some of us that train teachers to go and teach music to young ones at primary school level. thank you so much for this infor.

    Reply
    • Sara Mullett says

      February 5, 2014 at 12:06 am

      Thanks Clive! So glad you’re finding our resources useful:)

      Reply
  9. Amy @ Wildflower Ramblings says

    October 19, 2013 at 7:15 pm

    I’m so happy I found your site!! I will be looking around for some time — just now starting to teach music to my son 🙂

    Reply
    • Sara_LetsPlayMusic says

      October 19, 2013 at 8:18 pm

      Hi Amy!

      So pleased you’ve found us! Very exciting that you’re just starting to teach some music! Let me know if you’re looking for anything in particular! I’m a big fan of your blog – so many lovely ideas!

      Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Looking for something specific?

Cart

First Piano Lessons eBook

Discover our best-selling eBook, with over 2,000 copies sold. Our First Piano Lessons is a fun introduction to piano for your little one.

View Product

Copyright Let's Play Kids Music © 2023 · Privacy Policy