Slap Game from Cecilly
You’re sitting at the piano bench with a student saying “up a second, down a second”, on and on and it’s getting kind of tedious. So just get off the bench and go over and play the Slap game for a few minutes, just enough to add some vitality to the lesson.
This is another game from Cecilly. It is a game for students who can’t seem to “get” intervals. I think it can also be successfully used for students who are just learning intervals in their primer level book. If you use my alphabet cards,  you will have to print out more than one page unless you want to stay within an octave. I went ahead and laminated mine, so they are going to be slippery. It was suggested by other teacher to used removable putty on the back to help them stay in place. It was also suggested to use a fly swatter and swat the interval rather than slap. Like all of Cecilly’s games, you can modify it to work for you. If you play it, let us know how it worked out!
Interval path “Slap” Game:
Either on a table or on the floor, lay out 2 sets of ABC cards in a
straight line, Â row, or slightly curved (like a rainbow). Have the
student stand or sit facing the cards.
Much of this activity is “silent”. The teacher calls out “Starting
note” followed by a letter (ie “Starting note: C”). The student
places his pointer finger just below one of the C’s. Then the
teacher dictates a simple 5 or so note interval path saying the
direction and interval (ie up a 2nd, up a 2nd, up a 2nd, down a 2nd,
etc.). The student may follow the path with his finger after each
interval. Then the teacher, when the path is completed, calls
out “Slap!” The student then slaps the final note as fast as he can
(ie “Starting note:C, up a 2nd, up a 2nd, up a 2nd, down a 2nd,
SLAP!”) AT THE SAME TIME, you, the teacher, also go to slap the
correct letter card. Whoever slaps first earns a point.
You can make the path as complicated as you wish depending upon the
student’s level. Also, you can play it as a SECRET Interval Path
game where the student CANNOT use his fingers to mark the path as you
dictate but must follow the path with his eyes only in silence. When
you call “SLAP!” you both go for the letter.
You could also require that the final letter name be called out along
with the slap.Â
I want to try this now as a follow-up to the steps and skips game. Any chance of having an extra German H made? Thanks, S & C.
Glad my game has been a hit for you Joanne. I’ve played it with several students this week too and they’ve all done well and enjoyed it. I played it the “silent” way and didn’t use flyswatters yet. I just had the kids slap with their hand. I have a table in my studio and have just kept the letter cards “poster puttied” in place all week long. I’ve got 2 kids up to play it this afternoon.
The slap game has been a ‘hit’ this week ! With my more rambunctious boys, I have had to call it ‘tap’. It is great fun. This week I moved by seconds, but I may try thirds next week and see how they do. Thanks, Cecilly and Susan.