New Zoom Group Class Game!
Combine «drop the needle» with «pass the piece» and hilarity and fun ensue. Tried this today with my students and they all loved it!
- Establish your order of names so you can get around the class smoothly
- Each student «drops the needle» somewhere in a piece – beginning, middle, end – and then stops on whatever note they choose.
- The next student picks a different piece, either beginning, middle, or end, but has to START on the note the previous student ended on. (ex: someone plays the «cheese» of Twinkle and ends on B. Next student has to start on B somewhere else in a different piece.)
- Pass around the room, dropping the needle in various songs and picking up a different song from the same pitch.
- Kids suggested a penalty if your turn times out before you start playing.
- Bonus points if you play a segment of a piece transposed to start on the note you were given.
- Bonus points for taking the pitch you were given and starting your segment an octave displaced.
- Ways to make it harder? Try stopping your segment before the cadence, or on a tricky note out of context. Ways to make it easier? Pass the piece after you’ve cadenced on an open string.
Skills reinforced through this game: Fingerboard geography, transposition, review, quick thinking, starting mid-way through a piece, taking turns
Have fun!
Carrie Stoddard Salisbury
Group class ideas
- Teacher makes a play-along video at the appropriate level and the students play along at home.
- Students play, one at a time, and other kids give positive feedback or teacher works with the student
- in order to play along with the teacher, students need to be muted. Use variations on “my turn, your turn our turn”. Students can also do this (one person could play and the rest could play along with mics muted)
- Make sure to cue as the leader in our turn and count in, giving time for the student to prepare
- Give time after talking before playing (this can help reduce sound issues)
- Note-15 minutes of pre-recorded material takes 60 minutes of energy/time/planningHow to pre-make a videoVideo on either zoom download/cloud (sound quality issues may not be as good) or youtube privateNote:It will be difficult for your students to hear you when playing along with the computer. Suggestions are either to experiment with an external speaker on the student’s end, have students use ear pieces or to make sure that student knows to watch you for play alongs (watch your bow, cues, fingers etc. if they can’t hear you).Test the skills by muting your students and turning on a metronome (or moving your hands/bow). Clap your hands with the metronome and see if they students can follow. If you are a string player, try moving the bow in the air and see if they students can follow the motion. Note that they will move a split second behind you. Don’t try to move with them.