This is the game that I used all last week and everyone loved it!
Here are step-by-step instructions for how we played Interval Grab:
1. Dump out a bunch of scale blocks on the piano fallboard (or a table) and place a bell within reach of the student.
2. Instruct the student that you will call out a direction, an interval, and a starting note (e.g. “up a 3rd from F” or “down a minor 6th from B,” etc.). They must grab the scale block that represents the answer to the instruction, ding the bell, and then say the name of the note.
3. The goal is to see how many the student can correctly identify within an allotted period of time. I pressed start when I said the name of the key to start the interval from and stopped it when the student dinged the bell. All correct answers got moved to the right to form a pile.
4. Count the number of blocks in the “correct” pile at the end of the allotted time and then list the score on a white board in the studio.
5. Of course, this game can be easily adapted to all different levels even by just using steps and skips for the beginning students or by incorporating diminished and augmented intervals for the more advanced students.
For a fun variation, I played an Interval Grab/Spell-It! game with several sibling pairs who come to their lessons at the same time. I placed a board in between them and called out the various interval directives so that the final results would form a word. As soon as they had the designated number of blocks and could identify the word, they would ding the bell and call it out. A bit of a challenge, but they really enjoyed it!
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