If there is one game that my students ask for and can’t wait to play each and every year, it is our recital prep game! I bust out this game at our last lesson before the recital and we have a great time putting their recital pieces through the wringer (with a lot of laughter along the way!).
I’ve found this game to be a great de-stressor for my students. It shows them that they are prepared for the recital and adds some fun back into their pieces after having spent so much time preparing them.
I use it as a studio-wide game to see which student can score the most points (I usually announce the results at the recital and the winner gets a little prize). And since it is a game of chance and completely independent of skill level, a kindergartener and a high school student have the same odds of winning!
The game is called Slurs and Ladders – The Recital Prep Game and works a lot like the game “Chutes and Ladders”. It comes with a gameboard (2 sizes), 40 Challenge cards, 20 Chance cards, and instructions as well as a document explaining each Challenge card. Slurs and Ladders is available for purchase in the Toucan Piano Store.
How to Play
To play you will need:
- The Slurs and Ladders gameboard
- Deck of Challenge cards
- Deck of Chance cards
- 1 Die
- 1 Gamemarker
This is a single player game. The student will work their way up the board and collect as many points as they can before reaching the last space on the board. The teacher will keep track of the points the student earns and add them up at the end of the game.
The student rolls the die and moves their gamemarker the corresponding number of spaces on the gameboard. If the student lands on a Challenge card space, the student takes the top card from the deck, reads the challenge, then executes the challenge on their recital piece (for example, “Play your piece while doing squats”). Once the student has completed the challenge, the teacher writes down the number of points from the card and play continues.
Some challenges are musical, some are meant to get your student’s adrenaline pumping, some are meant to throw them off track and have them try to recover, and some are to remind them of recital etiquette. In the Slurs and Ladders download there is a document explaining each challenge.
If the student lands on a Chance card space, the student takes the top card from the deck, and reads the chance card. Chance cards can give students free points or move them on the board.
If a student lands at the base of a ladder, the student must first do the Challenge/Chance card before climbing the ladder. Once the student has climbed the ladder, they will then do the Challenge/Chance card at the top of the ladder before rolling the die again.
If a student lands at the top of a slur, the student must first do the Challenge/Chance card before sliding down the slur. Once the student has reached the bottom of the slur, they will then do the Challenge/Chance card at the base of the slur before rolling the die again.
This game has been a hit year after year with my students (we have been playing it for 6 years now!!!) and their eyes light up each time they see it waiting for them when they walk in for their lesson.
Slurs and Ladders is available for purchase in the Toucan Piano Store. I hope your students get a kick out of it as much as mine have!
- Positive Notes: Recital Encouragement
Spread some positivity and encouragement to your students this recital season with these adorable Positive Notes! They will help remind them of how hard they work and how much you believe in them. - How to Bow at a Piano Recital
You’ve just finished playing your piano recital pieces and now the audience is clapping, what do you do now??! It’s time to take a bow and enjoy the adulation for all the hard work you put into learning your pieces. Here’s the step-by-step on nailing the perfect piano recital bow! - Music Friendship Bracelets
Colorful friendship bracelets make great student gifts for your next recital or they could be a craft for your students to make at a group lesson or studio event! They are colorful, easy to make, and show off our piano pride!
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Toucan Piano 
[…] Slurs & Ladders: The Recital Prep GameIf there is one game my students beg to play year after year (and sometimes when we don’t even have a recital anytime soon!) is this recital prep game. It’s a great de-stressor and it shows students how prepared they are to perform while also injecting some fun and joy back into those recital pieces that may be sounding a little tired. […]
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[…] Slurs & Ladders: The Recital Prep GameIf there is one game my students beg to play year after year (and sometimes when we don’t even have a recital anytime soon!) is this recital prep game. It’s a great de-stressor and it shows students how prepared they are to perform while also injecting some fun and joy back into those recital pieces that may be sounding a little tired. […]
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[…] Slurs & Ladders: The Recital Prep GameIf there is one game my students beg to play year after year (and sometimes when we don’t even have a recital anytime soon!) is this recital prep game. It’s a great de-stressor and it shows students how prepared they are to perform while also injecting some fun and joy back into those recital pieces that may be sounding a little tired. […]
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[…] Slurs & Ladders: The Recital Prep GameIf there is one game my students beg to play year after year (and sometimes when we don’t even have a recital anytime soon!) is this recital prep game. It’s a great de-stressor and it shows students how prepared they are to perform while also injecting some fun and joy back into those recital pieces that may be sounding a little tired. […]
LikeLike
[…] Slurs & Ladders: The Recital Prep GameIf there is one game my students beg to play year after year (and sometimes when we don’t even have a recital anytime soon!) is this recital prep game. It’s a great de-stressor and it shows students how prepared they are to perform while also injecting some fun and joy back into those recital pieces that may be sounding a little tired. […]
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[…] Slurs & Ladders: The Recital Prep GameIf there is one game my students beg to play year after year (and sometimes when we don’t even have a recital anytime soon!) is this recital prep game. It’s a great de-stressor and it shows students how prepared they are to perform while also injecting some fun and joy back into those recital pieces that may be sounding a little tired. […]
LikeLike
[…] Slurs & Ladders: The Recital Prep GameIf there is one game my students beg to play year after year (and sometimes when we don’t even have a recital anytime soon!) is this recital prep game. It’s a great de-stressor and it shows students how prepared they are to perform while also injecting some fun and joy back into those recital pieces that may be sounding a little tired. […]
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[…] Slurs & Ladders: The Recital Prep GameIf there is one game my students beg to play year after year (and sometimes when we don’t even have a recital anytime soon!) is this recital prep game. It’s a great de-stressor and it shows students how prepared they are to perform while also injecting some fun and joy back into those recital pieces that may be sounding a little tired. […]
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[…] Slurs & Ladders: The Recital Prep GameIf there is one game my students beg to play year after year (and sometimes when we don’t even have a recital anytime soon!) is this recital prep game. It’s a great de-stressor and it shows students how prepared they are to perform while also injecting some fun and joy back into those recital pieces that may be sounding a little tired. […]
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[…] Slurs & Ladders: The Recital Prep GameIf there is one game my students beg to play year after year (and sometimes when we don’t even have a recital anytime soon!) is this recital prep game. It’s a great de-stressor and it shows students how prepared they are to perform while also injecting some fun and joy back into those recital pieces that may be sounding a little tired. […]
LikeLike