The Die of Destiny!

Sometimes, when the weather is miserable or after a tiring day at school, a student will walk into my studio without their usual bounce in their step. I’ve found that a little silliness and a dash of chance gets them in the mood to pull out their piano books and play music. And best of all, it only takes a minute!

When this is the case, I look at our list of assignments from the previous week and ask, “Should the Die of Destiny decide what we should look at first?” You’d be surprised at how the idea of a simple roll of a die perks them up! It removes any pressure of trying to make a decision (even one as simple as picking a piece to play first) in a fun way.

The Die of Destiny can be any die you have on hand (this one is like mine), an app (I use Dice Dice), or a die you have specifically for this purpose. Next assign each piece they were working on a number. For example, if a student was working on two pieces, Piece A and Piece B, we could say that if we roll an even number (2, 4, or 6) the student will play Piece A and if we roll an odd number (1, 3, or 5) the student will play Piece B. You can distribute the numbers of the die however you wish!

After the Die of Destiny chooses a piece, the student is always happy to play the piece determined by the die! And usually their mood is better and the lesson just flows from there.

Even on days when they are feeling great, I have students walk into my studio and request that the Die of Destiny choose our piece! It’s super simple and the kids love it.

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