Do you have some new students who need a lines and spaces music theory game?
Or maybe you have students who know their lines and spaces and need a note naming music game.
Starfish Staff is a music theory game that applies well to both scenarios! Let me show you how…
What is Starfish Staff Note Naming Game?
Starfish Staff will take your students through a coral reef as they bounce from pearl to pearl and learn their lines & spaces or note names (or both!).
But be careful! There are blue crabs and sea turtles waiting to attack and send your starfish backward!
Here’s a look inside Starfish Staff.
- A game board with 18 pearls going through the reef
- 26 game cards
- 18 staff cards (9 treble clef, 9 bass clef)
- 3 Sea Turtle Attack! cards
- 3 Crab Attack! cards
- 2 Starfish Bounce cards
- “I Crossed the Reef!” success poster
- Activity sheet
You will get the digital file to print and laminate (optional) for your music studio in both letter size (US) and A4 size (international).
How to Play Starfish Staff Lines and Spaces Music Theory Game
Playing Starfish Staff is easy. Players choose their favorite color starfish and then take turns flipping cards.
Players move forward the number line or space their card indicates (e.g. a pearl on the first space means move forward one; a pearl on the fourth line means move forward four).
Watch our video tutorial to see how easy it is to play!
Don’t see the video above? Watch it on YouTube here.
Multi-level Lines and Spaces Music Theory Game
One of the great aspects of Starfish Staff is that you can have multiple students playing at various levels.
A younger student who is just learning how to count the lines and spaces (which, by the way, I count them from bottom to top, but this game also works if you count from Middle C) can easily play with a student who knows their note names.
How to Play Starfish Staff Lines and Spaces Music Theory Game for Group Music Lessons
Starfish Staff is a naturally adaptable music theory game for group lessons. It can be played with just one student or six.
You might be able to cram even more players in there if you find more game pieces.
If you’d like to print the game board larger, test out the settings on your printer!
Here’s how it works on mine:
Don’t see the video above? Watch it on YouTube here.
Music Game Success Poster
We believe that celebrating with a success poster will build student rapport!
The students have a goal to work toward (taking a picture with the success poster) and you can send the picture to the parents as a way to showcase what their child has achieved during lessons.
It’s a win-win!
These also give you great material for social media posts (be sure to tag @musicgameclub so we can celebrate with your kiddos!).
Lines & Spaces Music Activity Sheet
Once the student has completed the game, you can further help them solidify their music theory knowledge with the activity sheet.
We like to combine art with our music activities, so you’ll often find our activity sheet with a coloring activity.
For Starfish Staff, the activity sheet is a connect-the-dots coloring page.
You can then assign the student to draw notes on the blank staff provided below (this gives them great practice carefully drawing the notes exactly in the line or space as needed!).
For younger students, all they have to do is draw the notes.
However, if you have older students, you can also ask them to draw the note names for every single note, bottom to top!
More Ways to Play Starfish Staff Lines and Spaces Music Theory Game
Here are some alternative gameplay ideas for Starfish Staff.
- Matching Music Game
Print two sets of the Starfish Staff cards. Lay them face down on the table and have students play a matching game. You can sort the cards to feature just treble clef or just bass clef notes if desired.
- Go Fish Game
Print two sets of the Starfish Staff cards. Deal 5 cards to each player and play “Go Fish” but where the students call out “Do you have a treble clef D” or “Do you have a bass clef space 1 card?” This will also help your students quickly identify bass and treble clefs.
Do you have more gameplay ideas? Let us know! We love experimenting with our games and hearing what you do!
Behind the Scenes
We are extremely proud of the artwork our artist, Kristen McHenry, does and oversees for us.
Here are some pictures of the development of Starfish Staff!
Get Starfish Staff
Originally our January 2023 Music Game Club membership music theory game, Starfish Staff is now available for anyone to purchase in our shop.
About Music Game Club
When you sign up for Music Game Club membership, you’ll always receive:
- A monthly music game (formatted for 8.5” x 11” and A4 printing)
- An exclusive Music Game Club membership group
- Video tutorials
- Themed success posters to go with the monthly game
- Bonus activity review sheet
The membership is only $15/month and you did read all of the above correctly (it’s also the cheapest our music games will ever be).
You get so much that will help you boost student morale and make you a favorite music teacher this year.
You won’t lose the momentum and excitement all year!
Your students will start anticipating the first of every month to see what new game you will thrill them with!
Don’t miss out!
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Find more music game inspiration here:
- FREE MUSIC DYNAMICS GAME: DYNAMIC DEN
- HOW TO MAKE TIME FOR MUSIC GAMES IN LESSONS
- HOW TO PLAY MUSIC GAMES WITH ALL STUDENTS & LEVELS
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