Musical Dice = Rainy Day Fun

Lightening strikes and thunder claps. It is a very dreary, rainy day today. Weather like this calls for an extra special lesson or practice time. Here are a couple of items I pulled out to use in the lessons I teach today and how I plan to use them: a chalkboard and some rhythm dice. 

A Chalkboard and Rhythm Dice

The circle chalkboard and some chalk are great for students to be able to write out notes or rhythms. The options for using a chalkboard in a lesson are pretty much endless. You could practice note names, rhythms, or intervals. You could have them compose a short melody or rhythm pattern. 

The wooden blocks are another fun tool to use to bring variety to the lesson or practice session. I made these by covering some wooden toy blocks with colored paper that I had drawn symbols on. They are not perfect, but they are bright and fun! (If you would like to make some rhythm dice that look much nicer, you can download a printable here.)

I have a few students who are working on expanding they rhythm pattern knowledge so I pulled out these blocks to use in their lessons. I drew two blank measures on the chalkboard that they filled in, using the notes on blocks as a starting place. Then we clapped and played the rhythms they created. It was a fun way to practice figuring out some rhythmic puzzles. 

Rhythm Dice