If you’ve been intimidated when you go to teach sharps in music, I hope this blog post will help you gain confidence.
There seems to be an unwritten pianist rule that sharps are harder than flats.
And sometimes, we as teachers can pass that fear of sharps on to our students.
So my first tip is to introduce sharps in music as if they’re just as easy as white piano keys.
In fact, that’s where I like to start my sharp introduction: as soon as my students have a solid grasp of white piano keys.
As the student continues to progress in their musical understanding, I transition from teaching sharps on the piano keys to teaching sharps in music and key signatures.
If you’d prefer to start out with teaching flats than sharps, check out my blog post, How to Teach Flats in Music with Flamingo Flats here.
Here are 4 ways I teach sharps in music:
1. Teach sharps on the piano keys
I like introducing my piano students to the black keys as early as possible.
After the students learn that each white key has a name, I like to tell them that the black notes are special and must “borrow” their name from a friend.
What’s even more special about the black keys is that each black key has two names!
If my student has already learned flats, then this is when I explain the second black key name: the sharps. Sometimes, however, I decide to introduce sharps first, in which case, I explain that we’ll learn the black key’s second name later.
An easy (and funny) way to remember what direction sharps go is to think, “What would you do if you sat on something sharp? Go UP!”
Once a student understands the direction of sharps, I start teaching them to identify sharp notes on the piano.
They start with the white note then “make it sharp” and go up a half-step (semitone) to the next note (e.g. “Find an F. Now where is F#?”).
Usually for the first week or two, I have students find the white key and then the sharp key.
Once they understand the association between those notes, then I remove the first step (white key) and have them find just the sharp key (e.g. “Find F#, C#, etc.”).
Bonus tip: I like to introduce the sharps in the order they’re presented in key signatures. So I will usually teach my young students F#, C#, G#, D#, A#. I don’t necessarily explain why I have them review in that order, but it gives them a subtle introduction to key signatures.
2. Teach sharps in music
Once a student understands how sharps work on the piano, it’s usually pretty easy to teach them sharps in music.
I like to give my students a good head-start of understanding sharps on the piano keys, so usually when they see it in music for the first time, they have been finding sharps on the piano keys for weeks.
This means I only have to explain, “You know the sharps we’ve been talking about? This is the sharp symbol!”
If you have a student who can’t seem to be getting their sharps correct, make sure they’re identifying the correct part of the symbol (looking at the loop, not the stick).
3. How to teach the order of sharps
There are several ways to teach the order of sharps to students–and a lot of it depends on how their mind works.
Some students (like me) do well at simply memorizing the order of sharps (F-C-G-D-A-E-B), which they can then reverse it for flats (B-E-A-D-G-C-F).
Others find mnemonics to be helpful.
Here are a few:
- Fat Cat Goes Down And Eats Bacon
- Father Charles Goes Down And Ends Battle
- Fast Cars Go Dangerously Around Every Bend
- Fat Cat Goes Downtown After Eating Breakfast
- Frank Can Get Dollars At Every Bank
Or, you can ask your student to come up with their own mnemonics for the order of sharps.
4) How to teach sharp key signatures
If you don’t understand the “trick” for teaching key signatures, it can seem hard.
But just as I explained a few weeks ago with flat key signatures, the sharp key signatures also have a nifty “trick” that makes learning them super easy!
All you have to do is remember: last sharp, go up (or go up from last sharp).
Find the last sharp in the key signature and go up just one key (half-step or semitone) and you’ve got your key signature.
For example:
- F# C# G# D# = E major
- F# = G major
It can be helpful to remind your students that it goes up one letter name so that when they reach more complicated key signatures, they will understand the correct name (e.g. F# C# G# D# A# E# will go up a half step from E# to F#, not G-flat).
A Sharp Music Game to Teach Sharps in Music
When we released our Flamingo Flats music theory game, we planned a sharps music game to accompany it.
Not only do these create a nice visual set, they can be paired together to create a full review of both sharps and flats!
But I’ll explain more about that later.
Shrimp Sharps is the perfect game to help you teach sharps in music, whether your students are learning sharps on the piano keys, the music staff, or starting to learn key signatures.
Set in a delightful ocean with a hint of beach, Shrimp Sharps plays on a checker-board style layout to help students with both strategy and music.
Shrimps go against flamingos to see who can get to the other side with the most pieces first.
What is Shrimp Sharps Music Theory Game?
In Shrimp Sharps, students will learn how to identify sharp in music as they study the musical excerpts in order to move forward on the board.
Shrimp Sharps can be played by any age student who needs to brush up on their flat identification.
This music theory game can be played in two different ways:
- Easy: students count the sharps in the key signature
- Hard: students identify which notes in the musical excerpt are affected by the sharp key signature
Here’s what you’ll get with the Shrimp Sharps music game download:
- Shrimp Sharps game in 2 sizes: US letter and A4
- Shrimp Sharps game board
- 33 sight-reading cards in flat keys
- 4 flamingo game pieces
- 4 shrimp game pieces
- Shrimp Sharps success poster
- Shrimp Sharps activity sheet in 2 sizes: US Letter and A4
- Print release
- Bonus Shrimp Sharps group game board in 2 sizes (18 x 24” and A3)
Shrimp Sharps was Music Game Club’s November 2023 membership music theory game. Anyone can now get Shrimp Sharps in the shop here.
How to Play Shrimp Sharps Music Theory Game
While this looks like a checkers game, the movement is slightly different but just as easy.
Students identify how many notes should be sharp on the sight-reading cards and move forward accordingly (e.g. 2 notes sharp = 2 moves, 4 notes sharp = 4 moves).
The flamingo and shrimp game pieces can move forward, sideways, and backwards.
And, of course, can jump the opponent if desired.
Whoever can get all their game pieces to the other side first wins!
See how it’s played in the video!
- A complete breakdown of what you get in the music game download
- A step-by-step tutorial for how to play the game
- A few teaching tips and suggestions
Don’t see the video above? Watch How to Play Shrimp Sharps on YouTube here.
Play Shrimp Sharps in Group Lessons
There are 8 total game pieces (4 flamingos, 4 shrimp), so you can play Shrimp Sharps with up to 8 players–it will just require a lot of teamwork!
Each team works together to move their game pieces across the board–and what’s fun and strategic is that they can move any of their team’s pieces!
We provide a bonus poster-sized game board option that you can bring to your local print shop and get a larger board for students to crowd around.
Shrimp Sharps is easily played with 2 students or 8.
Shrimp Sharps Music Game Success Poster
We believe celebrating music theory game wins 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!).
Shrimp Sharps Music Theory Activity Sheet
Once the student has completed Shrimp Sharps music theory game, you can further help them solidify their music theory knowledge with the activity sheet.
Students will trace then draw their own sharps for three key signatures: G major, D major, and A major.
This is a great send-home activity to reinforce the theory concepts after your students have played the game.
Want Shrimp Sharps music game to help teach sharps in music?
Shrimp Sharps was our November 2023 music theory game and is just a taste of what you’ll get when you sign up for Music Game Club!
You’ll always receive:
- A monthly music game (formatted in 2 sizes: US Letter and A4)
- Exclusive Music Game Club membership emails
- 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.
You’ll receive a wealth of resources that can elevate your teaching experience and keep student morale high all year.
You’ll maintain the energy and enthusiasm throughout the entire year, ensuring a consistent and engaging experience.
Your students will start asking for their new game each month and be excited to learn new music theory concepts!
Get Flamingo Flats to play with Shrimp Sharps!
As I mentioned before, while Shrimp Sharps is a full game by itself, it pairs with Flamingo Flats to create and even bigger, more thorough game!
Watch how to play Flamingo Flats and Shrimp Sharps together here.
Comment how you teach sharps to music students!
What are your favorite methods to teach sharps to music students?
Let us know in the comments below.
Need another game that goes above and beyond Shrimp Sharps?
If your students have already mastered their sharps and are ready for more, check out Froggy Fifths, our Circle of Fifths game that teaches all the sharps and flats in the Circle of Fifths.
Read How to Easily Teach the Circle of Fifths with Froggy Fifths here.
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