Large Group Games - for 2 - 8 people!

Musical chairs

This is a great game to help your child learn what whole notes, half notes, quarter notes, and eighth notes feel like. Put on your child's favorite song, and start clapping in 4/4 time. For the first round, tell them to only put down their feet on the whole notes. Count 1, 2, 3, 4 and only allow them to put their foot down on the 1. This helps them feel that a whole note is worth 4 beats! In the second round, tell them to only put down their feet on the half note. Count 1, 2, 3, 4 and only allow them to put their foot down on the 1 and 3. In the third round, tell them to only put their foot down on the quarter note. Count 1, 2, 3, 4 and allow them to put their foot down on all the numbers. For a real challenge, do the last round with eighth notes! 

123 Wooden Man

This is a popular Taiwanese children's game that all my students love!

Everyone except for the person who is "it" should line up in a horizontal line at one end of the field (or room), about 20-50 feet away from the person who is "it." The objective is to run towards "it" and be the first to touch him.
The person who is "it" faces away from the group, and shouts, "1, 2, 3 Wooden Man!" While he is shouting this, everyone should run as fast as they can towards him. However, once he finishes shouting, he will turn around to look at the group and everyone has to freeze like a wooden man! Anyone who moves even the slightest bit after he has turned around has to go back to the start line. The first person to touch "it" wins and becomes "it" in the next round!

I play this game with my students when I am teaching them how to hold the violin. I challenge them to run while holding the violin on their shoulder. If the violin drifts towards the front of their collarbone, they must go back to the start line. Then I challenge them to run with the violin without using their hands at all! This can be risky - only introduce this challenge if you're fairly confident that the child will not drop it! Any improper form means that the child must go back to the start line. 

Musical Hopscotch

Draw musical  notes on the squares instead of numbers - C through G, and have the kids jump on each square as they say the note aloud!

Hot Lava
Draw musical notes on pieces of cardboard and lay them on the floor. The kids are only allowed to stand on whichever note you call out. Multiple kids are allowed to stand on the same square of cardboard, provided they fit. The kids who don't fit/are last to jump on the square with the note you called out fall into the lava and are out! Last person standing wins :)  

You can have multiples of the same notes out on the floor to make it easier for the players. 

Troll Crossing

This game is a variation of hot lava. Kids must cross the bridge under which a troll lives by only stepping on the musical notes that you call out. If they step on the wrong one, they get eaten by the troll!
Simon Says
A classic game for warming up the body, I like to play this game with my students at the beginning of a lesson to test their bow grip, violin hold and stance. For example, I may start off with "Simon says put your violin on your shoulder," and then try to trick them by going straight into, "Now bow an open A." Playing a game at the start of the lesson helps to build rapport and relax the student!
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