Wednesday, February 8, 2017

Day at the Races Piano Challenge

We started a new incentive to challenge piano students to go a little above and beyond in their piano lessons. It's amazing how a little bit of competition really motivates a student!

I printed out paper horses from clipart that I found and wrote each student's name on a horse.  Then i made a "racetrack" using long paper across the wall and drawing lines on it. 






Here were their criteria for this challenge:


A Day at the Races
Piano Challenge


Gain Yards on the Track:
Attend a workshop = 2 yards
Perform in a recital = 2 yards
Attend a concert or musical = 4 yards
Memorize a song = 1 yard
Compose & notate a song (8 measures or more) = 4 yards
Perform a piano solo on your own (church, nursing home, school, etc.) = 4 yards
Show your teacher a YouTube video that you enjoy with a piano part in it = 1 yard
Learn & master a song independently = 3 yards
Complete theory pages or worksheets = 1 yard
Do a mini report on a composer = 2 yards
Play at least 20 minutes of Piano Maestro at home in one week = 2 yards


Lose Yards on the Track:
Forget your sheet music or lesson books = -2 yards
Make a negative comment (“I can't do this” “This is too hard” etc.) = -3 yards



Prizes:
First 25 students to finish the race will be entered into a drawing to win a king-sized candy bar (10 available).