Learn Sharps and Flats with Don’t Swipe My Sharp

Today Throwback Thursday is Don’t Swipe My Sharp, one of the best games to teach sharps and flats. The thing about this game is that it works, and it works very well to help students with the tricky problem of accidentals and enharmonic notes. (For my readers who are parents helping their children learn piano, enharmonic notes are the ones that sound the same but have different names, such as B and C flat.) Plus, the very best piano games are the ones that are actually at the piano, like this one. So if this game is new to you, it is worth your time to learn how to play it. It is a short game and set up is really easy. 

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The other day a student was working on accidentals while his sibling was waiting. “Why don’t you play the Don’t Swipe My Sharp game?” he asked. He told me that it was one of his favorite games and it really helps to learn sharps and flats. Everyone likes this game up and if you don’t use the cutesy game pieces, it makes a good game for older students.

Even if you don’t have much time in your lesson for activities, I think this one is worth it. It is really lots of fun, with players swapping playing pieces back and forth, but learning while they play.

I  totally remade the playing cards with new graphics that fit a business card template, and I added a lot more “Swipe” cards, which has made the game so much more fun. There is also a page of instructions, so don’t use your business card stock on that. I included the instruction page so you can store it with your cards in case you forget how to play.

It is hard to explain this game even though it is easy, so I made an infograpic instruction bonus download.