Don’t Miss a Beat

Rhythm and meter are fundamental components of music that all students need to continuously work at… even though they more often than not complain about it. As teachers, it can be hard to find a game that grows with a student or can be played by multiple students at different levels at the same time (in the case of a group lesson or piano party).

Don’t Miss a Beat! is a fun multi-level rhythm game that you can play with ALL of your students in your studio. With 136 rhythm cards in the deck, it covers the basics from quarter, half and whole notes all the way up to more complicated rhythms such as triplets, sixteenth notes, dotted eighth notes and their combinations. It also covers three different time signatures: 3/4, 4/4, and 6/8. It can be purchased in the Toucan Piano Store.

All you need to play are the Don’t Miss a Beat! cards, dice (one for each player), and a white board and dry erase marker (or paper and pencil). Players take turns drawing a card from the deck and try to figure out how many beats are missing in the measure.

Students must analyze the time signature and figure out how to successfully complete the measure using their knowledge of rhythm note and rest values.

Check out the game in action:

If students need an extra challenge, Don’t Miss a Beat! comes with two printable challenge dice. When using the dice in the game, the player must use the rolled rhythm to help complete the measure. This helps to keep students from resorting to the same rhythms over and over again.

Variation of the Game for Students at Different Skill Levels

Don’t Miss a Beat! can be adapted to students at different skill levels. Simply create a deck of rhythm cards for each student based on the rhythms they know and what you would like them to drill.

To play, player 1 draws a card from his/her deck, analyzes the measure and determines how many beats are missing. Both players try to roll that number. For example, if the measure is missing 2 beats, the players must roll a 2.

If player 1 rolls a 2 first, then player 1 will complete the measure by writing out a rhythm sequence that satisfies the time signature. Then player 1 will clap and count the measure to earn a point.

However, if player 2 rolls the 2 first, player 1 has been blocked and the round is over. Player 2 now draws a card from his/her deck and the same procedure is repeated.

Whoever collects 5 points first wins.

Don’t Miss a Beat! is available for purchase in the Toucan Piano Store by clicking here.

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