Another teacher recently sent me an e-mail asking if I have a listening worksheet that I use with my students. Well, yes…and no. I have a listening worksheet that I used to use with my students. Does that count? 
I dug through my files and uploaded this free Music Listening Worksheet in case anyone else is interested in using it with their students. I developed it for use with one of my practice incentives several years ago where students could earn extra points for turning in a completed sheet.
Now that I think about it, I should do something like this again, because my students really got into it and probably listened to more music that year than any other! Actually, I’m tossing around the idea of doing a listening/music appreciation-themed incentive next year, and if I do, I’ll probably pull this out and incorporate it into the theme. It’s so important for students to be exposed to music of a high caliber, but this is an area that I often overlook in my emphasis on learning to play the piano. This was reaffirmed to me a couple weeks ago when I did our Super Fun Listening Activity and so many of my students exclaimed about how fun it was or asked if they could just do that for their whole lesson. It’s so inspiring to hear good, beautiful music; somehow I think this should be a regular part of our lessons as music teachers…I would welcome any thoughts or ideas on this topic!
I use this type of listening worksheet in my group classes, modified for each age/level of class, for all but the very youngest class. The students love filling it out and it keeps them engaged and attentive. It was revealing for me – so many couldn’t actually tell the time signature of so much of what they were hearing. It prompted me to pay more attention to the basic strong/weak beat patterns, which sometimes get lost in the phrasing and long lines. One result was more dance-like playing of baroque music in the studio!