Hello Friend,

I made up a new ensemble game today with my beginner group of 3. It was one of those spontaneous moments that actually worked and I want to share it with you.

The game is designed for them to listen carefully to those around them and to solidify low to high, high to low and string names. This can also be extended to large ensemble settings playing scales. You could also play this in individual lessons, just you and your student.

I asked the children if they are comfortable closing their eyes. (This is an important step to allow for inclusivity for kids with trauma who may not feel safe to shut eyes.)

The four of us (me included) had to play our open strings from low to high in order, one person at a time. The only thing was, no one knew who was going to play the string or when. If two people played the string at the same time, we had to go back to the start.

We did this game from low to high, then high to low and finally we could play in any order but only each string could be played once - a wonderful way to really listen to pitch carefully and build the inner ear!

Let me know your thoughts? Would you use this game and what would you do?

Warmest regards,

Laura xx

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