Out of interest, do you use educational aids in your lessons?

I have-

musical dominoes - 2 sets, divided up into an easy game and a more challenging game.
musical snakes and ladders
flash cards.

What do you use and can you recommend any others?

For my theory I have some bingo games that are very popular- one for note naming and one for note values.
I also have some white boards with staves on.
I have pairs games I have made for chalumeau clarinet notes, clarion clarinet notes and beginner sax notes. I use those a lot.

I have just purchased the Kodaly rhythm cards- haven't used them yet- they've just arrived!

I use my phone- to time long notes and for breathing exercises...... "Let's see if you can beat your time next week?"

I have a lot of home made 'theory' resources- note value sets with name, note and time value on it, a box of notes to make up bars etc.

Ummm.... I have more than I think come to think about it!

I've had a lot of use out of an old playmat - I used duct tape to make the lines of a giant staff on the reverse side. Kids have used it to experience stepping and skipping around the staff and I've used it for a note recognition twister game I found on a teacher's website. I downloaded flashcards which ask the student either to put their hand or foot on a particular line or space and name it, or on particular notes. The kids love it and it definitely has helped them to learn the notes.

I also have quite a few sets of flashcards all downloaded for free from various websites.

Home made prompt cards for scale/arpeggio practice, one for every possible permutation of key, articulation, inversion and so on. The point is to avoid the situation of practising in any regular pattern - after all the selection in the exam will be random (from the players perspective!). So one card might say " F minor harmonic, two octaves", another "G major second inversion 4 octaves" and so on. By the time you get to grade 8 there are a LOT of cards!

Let me know how it goes or if you'd like any suggestions of ways to use them.

Can I pinch that idea? It's just struck me what a wonderful resource it could be when pupils first attempt the answering rhythm question in theory.

I have musical dominoes, musical snap, flash cards, a CD of musical games, a large magnetic whiteboard with staves on the wall, a bean-bag (for violinists who tilt their heads too much!), a chime bar (to make a change from clapping rhythms) and.....masking tape! This last was used to make a giant-size stave on the floor for a youngster who was a slow note-reader, and she would jump onto the right space/line as I called the notes out. Dolcevita's idea is even better, and I think I might lay claim to the kids' outgrown twister game and adapt it a little.

Also, a tiny wooden mouse (clad in tartan) for violinists who are grippers!

Of these, I would say that the whiteboard has been the biggest boon; the kids love practising their note-writing on it in coloured pens.

I've got a selection of Music Mind Games. It includes things such as rhythm games, melodic bingo cards, paper pianos and counters for rhythm dictation, do re mi cards, music alpabet cards and lots of other bits and pieces.

I would love ideas Cyrilla- always open to them!

I can't take credit for the idea though - I got it and the flashcards I use for it from the pianimation website. The website is well worth a look - lots of teaching tips and ideas for games.

Well, ClariNicki1, here's a few to be going on with...

1) Just reading them with rhythm names, preferably whilst keeping the pulse with tapping/clicking etc.

2) As above but change the pulse movement every bar (just use two alternating ones initially).

3) Speak the rhythm names but add body percussion (eg. clap the ta notes, tap the ti-ti notes on your head, touch your nose (ie a silent movement) for rests, tap then slide hands from top of thigh to knee for ta-aa, etc. Get them to make up their own body percussion.

4) As 3) but speak the rhythm names in your thinking voice. You may find you need to keep an audible pulse for this.

5) Prepare for a new piece/section of a piece by laying out 4 (or however many you need) on the floor. The student speaks the rhythm names. Turn over one card which the student now has to memorise - he then speaks all the cards again. Turn over another card and so on until the whole phrase has been memorised. The student could then write the rhythm down from memory.

6) Again this could prepare for a new piece/section of a piece. Place four rhythm cards on the floor but the third one is a blank one. The student reads the rhythm names, then in the empty bar just taps four quiet beats while speaking some rhythm names in his thinking voice. Repeat but this time he improvises the missing bar by speaking the rhythm names out loud. You could then dictate the actual rhythm that is in the piece - either for writing down what you clap, or finding the card for the rhythm you clap from a selection of cards. You could then discuss with the student the difference between their improvisations and the original melody (which may be the same!).

7) The student speaks the rhythm names of a pattern (can be any length from one bar) then improvises on his instrument to that rhythm, using a given toneset (group of notes).

I must hit the hay now but hopefully the above will be helpful and kick-start some more ideas!

Many thanks for this, dolcevita - what a wonderful site! I especially like the Crazy keys game, which would be perfect for some of my pupils.