Piano Land Game - keyboard navigation

This week's beginning piano game I've just always called "Piano Land." And it's one of my go-to games for working on keyboard navigation because it uses the actual keyboard as the playing field. So students are learning their way around all 88 keys, and having fun doing it. For piano parents, this is a terrific, and easy, game that you can play with your child, or that siblings can play together to enhance practice time.

The premise is a simple race to see who can reach the other side of the piano first. Game play is: flip over a card, read the letter and move your game marker to the corresponding key. (For game markers the cuter and more engaging the character, the better! I use keshigomu erasers and my students love them.) Over the years I've added some variations to the deck in the form of landmark notes so students who enjoy it can continue to play Piano Land beyond those first few lessons of learning key names. These also add a fun twist because they can sometimes end up sending you backwards! I also like to switch it up and race back down the piano when a student has mastered the notes names in ascending order. If you have an early beginner, just remove the landmark note cards from the deck before playing. 

This game is available individually here for $2 or as part of this $3 Beginning Piano Bundle where you'll get all 3 of the beginning piano games I'm featuring this month. All purchases are licensed for unlimited printing. (As always if you are a student in my studio, these resources are included, so if you'd like a copy, just let me know.)

And if your piano kid has trouble remembering where to put their hands, be sure to check back in next week for my game designed to help budding pianists get their fingers on the right keys with confidence!