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Offering occasional group lessons is a great way to boost your teaching income. In my studio, I offer rhythm & ensemble classes once a month. I leave the groups open to students of any level.

Although teaching group lessons with students of various ages can be tricky, I’ve found a few activities that work well for them.

Here are my favorite five activities for multi-age group lessons:

  1. Rhythm Bingo
look inside Rhythm Bingo – Level 1 Composed by Cheryl Lavender. Music First Express. Elementary, Classroom Resources, Games/Activities. Game. 64 pages. Hal Leonard #14500. Published by Hal Leonard (HL.44218016).

My students absolutely love playing this game! The cards have two sides- one is harder than the other.

For multi-age groups: When there are older students in the group, have the older student clap the rhythm for the others. Giving older students this task makes them feel special and advanced.

I also change the markers used for Bingo throughout the season. For example, we used little spiders as markers in our Halloween group lesson.

2. Piano Ensemble Music – This is one of my favorite activities for students in multi-age groups. I arrange the music for this exact purpose. There are individual parts for melody, bass, and harmony. Each part has variations that range in difficulty so that students of various levels can play together.

3. Flashcard Race – I divide students into two teams and then put them into two separate lines. I flash a note-naming
or interval card in front of students and the first student to name it correctly gets a point for their team. Once a student guesses a note, he moves to the back of the line.

In a multi-age group, an older student could administer the race. There could also be two different races, one easier and one more advanced.

Here are my favorite flashcards:

look inside Bastien Music Flashcards Composed by Jane Smisor Bastien. Bastien Teacher Aids. Stocking Stuffers. Teacher Aids (flashcards). Neil A. Kjos Music Company #GP27. Published by Neil A. Kjos Music Company (KJ.GP27).
look inside Bastien Interval Flashcards Composed by Jane Smisor Bastien. Teacher Aids. Bastien Piano Library. Stocking Stuffers. Flashcards. Neil A. Kjos Music Company #WP247. Published by Neil A. Kjos Music Company (KJ.WP247).

4. Rhythm Concerto Cards – These cards can be used in different ways. Some notes are green, red, or blue. I typically have the students clap the entire rhythm together (all colors). Then I assign one group the green notes and another group the red notes. This requires students to listen to the beat and come in on time. The blue notes can be used for a soloist. The other students would clap the black and white notes, but not the blue notes.

group music lessons activities

For multi-age groups: The soloist could be an older or advanced student. Older students could lead the group or help teach younger students.

5.  Upgraded printable rhythm cards

These cards can be used in so many different ways. Students can create rhythms, math problems, complete measures, add bar lines, etc.

upgraded printable rhythm cards

For multi-age groups: Have an older student act as a teacher to create a problem for the younger student. For example, an older student could create a measure that is missing a note and the younger student could fill in the answer.