SUSPENSE - NOTES WITH A SCALE

A new twist for GAME 17-10: SUSPENSE - NOTES from page 288 of Music Mind Games

In this game, students identify lines and spaces and simultaneously think of the tones of a scale. The game is intriguing and, of course, suspenseful, but not stressful. Thanks to the open setup of the cards, students identify each other's cards as well as their own. Turns come around often and small teams provide support.

Students should know their notes fairly well or the game won't be as fun. I have found that for many students it takes years to acquire the instant recognition necessary to become fluent with the staff. This game is ideal for reinforcing memory and developing this important skill.

The video:

A short video of my students playing this game during a MMG class, is at the YouTube site. This is a typical class of playful children with focused concentration, engaged in cooperative play. Their attentive parents sit on the floor and learn right along with their children, although the camera did catch one moment when the parents were talkative. At the very end of the video, notice the two girls on the left, Mia and Caroline. After they decide to switch one of their face down cards, watch how their fingers move. A longer video explaining the game will be on the site soon.

The setup:

Deal out one deck of grand staff cards in the formation shown in the book and in the photos. For the photos, I dealt only three sets, but the game flows best with four sets as shown on page 289. Each student (or small team) will have four cards, two face up and two face down. As with most card games, it's best to deal one card around the circle until each set contains four cards.

Next, write out a scale using one set of alphabet cards, one wild card and the appropriate sharps or flats. If your students are young or not too fluent with scales, it's still fine to use a scale; it will be a friendly preview of things to come.

The goal of the game:

The goal of the game is to have four grand staff cards with the fewest points at the end of the game. The scale is used to determine a point system for the grand staff cards. For the game shown in the photos, our scale was G major. The first tone in the scale, G (do), was worth one point. A (re) was worth 2 points, since it's the second tone in the scale, and so on. During the game I asked my students to refer to G as tonic, C as subdominant and D as dominant (familiar terms from their keyboard skills studies at the piano) to encourage familiarity with these terms. "Oh, look May, it's a tonic card!" says Delphine.

To play the game:

On each turn students draw one grand staff card from the center pile. If it's a good card (i.e. G, A or B or do, re or mi, in this game), they may switch it with one of the grand staff cards in their set. If it's not so good (C, D, E or F#, fa so la or ti) it should be tossed in the discard pile next to the center pile. However, if the card drawn is better than one of the face up cards, it should be switched. The idea is to gradually improve one's cards.

Once a student acquires two good cards (those face up) and draws a good card, it's time to make a switch with one of the grand staff cards facing down. The suspense is high as students decide which card to switch. Once the card is turned over, the switch must proceed and the (former) face down card is tossed in the discard pile even if it's a good card. "Oh, no! I needed that A!" says Isabel. Amid playful exclamations of "Oh, yes!" the good card is snatched up from the discard pile by the next player.

Players must maintain their cards so that two grand staff cards are facing up and two are facing down. During turns it's fine to switch cards again and again so that players can continue to improve their cards. Hopefully, memories are good and students remember which face down cards to switch.

The finish and scoring:

The game is over when players have gone through the center pile once and no one wants the last card in the discard pile.

Now it's time to score. Players place the correct number of magic notes on top of their grand staff cards, following the sequence determined by the scale tones. This music mind game has a clear winner, but because so many games are not based on one person getting the fewest points, winning is not taken so seriously and everyone has a good time.

A variation and two tips

Variation: Play the game as described above but rather than using a scale, use an interval sequence. For example:

• thirds - A C E G B D F. Thirds form triads.


• fifths - C G D A E B F. Fifths are useful since they show the order of flat or sharp scales (see the illustration to the right).

Tip #1: Place a cardboard keyboard with magic notes near the alphabet cards scale row to help students see the scale on a keyboard.

Tip #2: It's possible to make the scoring suspenseful, too. First players score their face up cards together using magic notes. Then one at a time, they turn over the face down grand staff cards to determine their final scores.

Other game possibilities:

These are other music mind games which can use a scale to determine points:

• Game 17-8: WAR WITH GRAND STAFF CARDS page 287 (The way the game is described in the book, the student who identifies his or her card the fastest wins both cards, but playing this way can be stressful. I now prefer the version described above which is similar to an idea suggested by a MMG teacher named Cindy Norton.)
• New game: FIVE HIDING WITH GRAND STAFF CARDS (description on how to play this game is coming soon!)
• New game: MEREDITH'S TOWER WITH GRAND STAFF CARDS (like 18-9: MEREDITH'S TOWER - page 310)