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Flip and Gamify Landmark Notes for Swift Note Reading Success

Landmark note names are one of the most reliable ways for students to navigate the grand staff. I introduce the landmark notes pretty much as soon as my piano students are starting to read on the staff. These guideposts fast track them to note reading success so they can read faster, and ultimately, explore more music more quickly.

Teaching music using landmark note names

Even if your preferred method book doesn’t take a landmark note approach – you can still incorporate this way of learning the note names yourself. Using the video and game below, plus the Thinking Theory workbooks your students will be landmark note ninjas in no time.

Landmark Notes Video

In this week’s flipped Thinking Theory video students can learn quickly and efficiently about the 5 landmark notes. The video provides a straight forward introduction to the landmark notes so that you can spend your valuable lesson time consolidating that knowledge.

The flipped Thinking Theory videos are designed for you to watch in lessons, send home to parents or use in group lessons. My students and I have loved flipping their learning so far, check out my original post on this idea by clicking here.

More Flipped Thinking Theory Videos

Landmark Landmines

We’ve had a ton of fun with my Landmark Xs and Os game in my studio. But while I was putting together this post I thought it was high time for a new landmark notes learning game.

Landmark Landmines is a super fun way to make sure those guide notes are absolutely 100% clear. After all – if the student gets one wrong he hits a landmine and has to start over again! How’s that for encouraging note name certainty? 😉

Landmark landmines piano teaching game

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Vibrant Music Teaching members, you can access this resource inside the VMT library. Not a member yet? Find out more about becoming a member here.

How to Play

  • Each player places a counter on one of the coloured start line notes.
  • Players take turns to role/draw step or skip and move up the grand staff.
  • If a player lands on a “landmark landmine” they must correctly name the landmark note or they are sent all the way back to the start line.
  • The winner is the first to land on the finish line.

Optional Extra: Players can choose to answer a flashcard when they are sitting on the landmark space to win an extra turn. Include this if you want to drill another concept alongside the landmark notes.

Assembly

This game is very quick to assemble, all you need to do is:

  • Download the game by filling in the form below.
  • Print out the game board (page 2).
  • Print out the step and skip cards (page 3 & 4) OR get a spinner app (like DecideNow) ready OR use step/skip dice if you have some.
  • Find game counters such as erasers, paperclips, buttons or small toys. You need one counter per player (max. 5).
  • Laminate the game board and cards if desired.
  • If using the optional extra you will need flashcards that are appropriate to the student level.

This game would be a great fit for private lessons, partner lessons, group classes or overlapping lab time. After students have played this game in the lesson assign them some extra review using pages 4 & 5 of Thinking Theory Book One.

Click here to see the full Thinking Theory workbook series.

Landmark landmines piano teaching game

Subscribe to the newsletter and get the Landmark Landmines game

Enter your details to subscribe to the newsletter for piano teachers with information, tips and offers.


I hate spam as much as you do! I will only send you emails related directly to piano teaching and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Vibrant Music Teaching members, you can access this resource inside the VMT library. Not a member yet? Find out more about becoming a member here.

More Flipped Thinking Theory

If you liked the approach of this video, you might also like these others:

Do you teach using landmark notes?

What creative ways have you found to drill these notes? Do you have other favourite games that you like to use?

I’d love to hear your suggestions in the comments or in the Vibrant Music Studio Teachers group on Facebook.

A quick, fun game and video tutorial all about the landmark music notes Landmark notes are the surest way to successful note reading

10 thoughts on “Flip and Gamify Landmark Notes for Swift Note Reading Success”

  1. Thanks! I’m excited to try this game with my students in their lessons. It looks fun! I also like that it can be played with a group; another group class option! Hooray!

    Reply
  2. Hi Nicola,
    I seem to be having trouble downloading your landmark game. I have tried several times and it doesn’t send an email like your other links do. Maybe I’m doing something wrong…

    I am really enjoying your website and wonderful teaching ideas! Thank you!
    Karen

    Reply
  3. This game looks great, but I can’t seem to download it! I filled in the form, but did not receive an e-mail…maybe I entered the wrong e-mail? But now the form does not appear when I load the webpage…what should I do? Thank-you for your help!

    Reply
    • Hi Meg, can you try deleting your cache? I think you’re probably seeing an old version of the page as the form is now fixed. If this doesn’t work, shoot me an email and I’ll sort it out. 🙂

      Reply
  4. I use Piano Safari and they include high G in the treble clef and low F in the bass clef as landmark notes. It would be nice if your game included these as landmark colored notes as well.

    Reply

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