Piano Mat Graded Activities Guide - Get Your Students Moving!

Designed to be used with a piano mat, these activities help develop key recognition, coordination, and musical understanding through movement. Great for private lessons and group activities.

Level 1: Complete Beginner

• Identify groups of two and three black keys.

  • Student either step on the correct group of notes, or places markers.

• Step only on white or black keys. Then step between them.

  • Add music and freeze on the note you land on when the music stops.

• Step smoothly (legato) or jump (staccato) to the next note.

• Mark a single note and find the matching one somewhere else, on the mat or at the piano.

  • Use a bean bag to toss on the mat to choose the note.

Level 2: Late Beginner

• Review half steps, whole steps, and skips through stepping across

• Call out a note name and find that note on the mat.

  • Use a bean bag to toss on the mat to choose the note.

    • Use this as a “turn” for any team or board game. Get it right, take your turn, get it wrong, lose a turn.

  • Do the same freeze game from Level 1, call out the note name of the note they freeze on.

• Have students play their repertoire on the mat by stepping on each note.

  • Add in articulations through steps vs jumps, dynamics through crouching vs standing

• Choose 4 note names randomly, hopscotch between them on the mat.

  • Add rhythm to each note

  • Use a pattern of half steps, whole steps, and skips to hopscotch.

  
  

Level 3: Intermediate & Advanced

• Call out an interval plus a starting note and a direction. Have the student step the correct distance.

  • Toss 2 bean bags or place two markers and name the interval.

    • Works as a more difficult variation of a “turn” for any team or board game from level 2.

• Build chords by stepping on or marking the correct notes.

  • Turn it into twister by using hands and feet to mark chord notes.

• Build major and minor scales by stepping or marking the correct notes.

• Sight read short melodies on the mat, or use it to assist in sight singing.

I hope you and your students love using these activities during lesson! If you want a piano mat for your studio, you can find mine here.