3 Easy Music-Based Games for Young Children
Children usually love music and have a great time experimenting with it. So, if you have young children at home, you’ll be interested in learning how to play these easy music-based games with them. You’ll have a great time together and the kids will enjoy the wonderful opportunity to spend time together and have fun.
Music-based games for young children
These easy music-based games for young children hardly need any preparation and won’t cause too much chaos in the house either. They’re not complicated games with lots of rules; they’re simple activities with great educational benefits that are ideal for the youngest children in the house, and wonderful for the whole family.
1. Musical chairs and musical statues
Musical statues and musical chairs are excellent games to develop your child’s ability to distinguish sounds. Children should listen carefully to the difference between the sounds and silence and move their bodies accordingly.
You can play musical statues alone with your child, but musical chairs is best played with at least 3 or 4 relatives or friends.
Playing musical statues is excellent for developing body control and strengthening the body as it “freezes” when the music stops. Musical chairs, on the other hand, teaches children to move around objects and get an idea of positioning and space. While they do this, they have a great time running around trying to find a chair to sit on, and not bumping into other people.
How to play Musical Statues, also known as Freeze
- Put some music on
- As it plays, everyone dances
- Stop the music once in a while, and, when there’s silence, everyone should stand like statues in the exact position they were dancing in when the music stopped
- If anyone moves, then they’re out
How to play Musical Chairs
- Place chairs around the room (one for each player) – these can be in an orderly row or circle, or simply spread around
- Put some music on
- As it plays, everyone dances, runs, and spins around the chairs
- Remove a chair while the people are moving around
- When the music stops, everyone should run to sit on one of the chairs
- Whoever doesn’t get to the chair in time is out
- Put the music back on and repeat the sequence until there are 2 people and 1 chair left. Whoever sits down first when the music stops is the winner.
2. Pass the parcel
This is a classic music-based game that was, and is, traditionally played at birthday parties. Children will work on their gross motor skills and attention. It’s possible to play with two people (passing from one side to the other), but if there are 3 or more players, then children will cross a marked line when passing from left to right, and vice versa.
How to play:
- Wrap up any object (or small gifts if it’s a birthday party) in several layers of newspaper or wrapping paper. Try to make the layers easy to remove.
- Play some music.
- The children will pass the parcel clockwise.
- When the music stops, the person holding the package removes a layer of wrapping paper.
- When the music plays again, the package has to keep going until the music stops again and the child that has the parcel at that moment removes another layer.
- The person who removes the last layer to reveal the item is the winner.
- For each new round the direction changes.
- Make sure the children receive the parcel with both hands and pass it on to the next person with both hands as well.
- If it’s a birthday, make sure the birthday child gets the parcel on the last round, because it’ll be a gift.
3. How many instruments do you hear?
In this game, the objective is to listen to, and identify, different instruments. Your child will need to have had some exposure to the instruments and recognize the basics. You can also play some clips of instruments on YouTube to show your little one some of them, but real-life ones will be much more meaningful.
How to play:
- Play a song – any song with instruments will do
- Both you and your child should each have a sheet of paper and draw the instruments you hear
- At the end of the song, compare the drawings and the instruments you’ve heard
- Match the sounds
For this activity, you’ll need a variety of basic instruments (or even handmade or improvised instruments). The goal is to listen to the music and try to match the instruments to the sounds.
Some examples:
- Playing a triangle (or two silverware pieces together) for quiet and loud sounds.
- Make sounds with drums or a cardboard box for a slow, deep sound.
- Playing cymbals together (or pot lids) for a loud sound.
- Playing bells or a tambourine for fast, fun music.
There are no specific rules in the game. First, invent a song by making suggestions about which elements might match the sounds and ask your child’s opinion. Then, play the songs, and let your child freely play the “instrument” of their choice to the music.
Enjoy music!
As you can see, these are simple music-based games that your children will love. You’ll have a wonderful time together and enjoy music and all its benefits. You don’t need a lot of materials, and, if you like music at home, it’ll be a lot of fun!
All cited sources were thoroughly reviewed by our team to ensure their quality, reliability, currency, and validity. The bibliography of this article was considered reliable and of academic or scientific accuracy.
- Muñoz García, A. ( 2010) Psicología del desarrollo en la etapa de educación infantil. Editorial: PirámidePor qué jugar con bloques es bueno para niños pequeños.
