Using Games in Music Practice

On this week’s episode of the Time to Practice podcast, recurring guest Barbie Wong is back to discuss using games in music practice with kids. We discuss why including games can help with practice and three different kinds you might consider incorporating into practice at your house. We’re both very passionate about this topic and can’t wait for you to listen and tell us if you try any of these ideas!

You can find past episodes where Barbie and I have spoken on the Time to Practice Podcast here and here.

To Listen to the full episode, you can find the Time to Practice Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Audible or your favorite podcast platform. You can also listen directly from the link below: 

Highlights from my discussion with Barbie Wong:

*Games can make our music practice more fun and effective – for both young students and adults practicing with them.

*Play helps children learn and games are a great way to incorporate that into our practice sessions. They can also help lighten the mood of practice sessions.

In this conversation, we discuss three types of practice games:

1. Games that structure practice, like using note cards with tasks or rolling dice to choose the next activity.
2. Repetition games that use physical objects to visually track progress, like moving objects pieces across the music stand.
3. Imagination games that encourage students to create stories based on the music they are playing.

Games can help students feel a purpose to what they are practicing long before they understand long-term goals and planning. They help many students feel motivated and are a great way to improve motivation to practice.

We encourage you to try our ideas from this conversation, incorporate your own and make practice a little more playful and fun by adding in games. We can’t wait to hear what you try!

*To read our whole conversation in text form, you can find the transcript below.

Links in this episode:

The launch event for the Musical Nest Community is this Saturday. Sign up to attend here

Barbie Wong’s website: https://Barbiewong.com

The Games Online Class can be found here: https://barbiewong.com/class/

Learn more about the community that Christine & Barbie are starting and/or join the waitlist: https://barbiewong.com/community/

Connect with Christine on Instagram: https://www.Instagram.com/suzukitriangle

Transcript of Our Conversation