This is a fun little game to reinforce note names that I sometimes do for group class or young musicians.
I keep a bowl of small items that I’ve collected from around the house. Things like a rubber band, a screw, a clothespin, a paper clip, a dog biscuit, a piece of gum, or anything else that I think might fit onto a piano key.
I will then lay out the items on the piano across several octaves. When the child comes into the lesson, they are fascinated by the decorated keys.
I’ll say, “I spy a dog biscuit.” They look around, and when they find it, they call out the note name. Perhaps the child will take a turn spying something, and they will need to tell me if I name the correct note or not.
This is a great opportunity to test not only your student’s understanding of note names, but also how they identify notes. Perhaps they erroneously name a B as an E. I’ll ask, “How do you know that that is an E?” They might examine it and self correct, they might say “I don’t know,” or they might say something like, “It’s sitting next to some black notes.” Based upon their answer, I might make a note to drill some more, or I might reemphasize the grouping of 2 versus 3 black notes.
Even if they get the note correct, it is worth asking how they know the answer. Not only do you make the question unpredictable in terms of indicating whether or not their answer was correct, you can also learn something. If the student points out that F sits to the left of three black notes, then I’m confident in their developing fluency. If the student says that they counted up from C, then I will reemphasize the topology of the keyboard.
One word of caution in setting up Eye Spy: make sure you do not allow items to slip between the keys. I try to avoid items that might slip through easily (like small paper clips), and I ask the students to use their eyes when looking, not their hands.
Have fun!