I know that as school progresses through the year, we are all looking for different excellent music games for school. We get tired of the SAME THINGS over and over again. I have a few games up my sleeve that are great for quick engagement and help the kids stay focused on you or the task at hand. These are great things to do at the beginning of a class or at the end of a class (or in the middle if the kids needs a quick refocus game).

Music Games for school

Upper Elementary or Middle School

1. Sevens

Sevens is a wonderfully fun music game for school to play that requires very little teaching and can quickly be played in class. When I teach it, I say "Repeat after me" and I do each section of the game in echo format. The last section of the game, I break down for them because it can be complicated and needs a few run throughs before putting it with the entire game.

You can do this with different tempos or songs and the kids eat it up! My FAVORITE part is to create a CHALLENGE with it. "Mess Up Stand Up!": If a student messes up, they have to stand up and the last one sitting wins. Below is the video of how to play Sevens.

2. One Marshmallow Challenge

Another fun music game for school is One Marshmallow. It was a TIKTOK Challenge that circulated around. My kids love it - and it definitely can be a challenge. But what is awesome about this? It helps them keep a steady beat and to really focus. Here are the words:

"One Marshmallow, Check it Out, Woo"

You (or a student leader) starts the chant. Whatever number you are on, is how many times you say it while alternating between you and the class (or leader and the group). It can get tricky the high number you hit, so PAY ATTENTION! Here is an example of how it would go:

LEADER: "One Marshmallow"

CLASS: "Check it Out"

LEADER: "Woo"

CLASS: "Two Marshmallow"

LEADER "Two Marshmallow"

CLASS: "Check it Out"

LEADER: "Check it Out"

CLASS: "Woo"

LEADER: "Woo"

CLASS: "Three Marshmallow"

LEADER: "Three Marshmallow"

CLASS: "Three Marshmallow"

LEADER: "Check it Out"

CLASS: "Check it Out"

LEADER: "Check it Out"

CLASS: "Woo"

LEADER: "Woo"

CLASS: "Woo"

(Continue until either the class or leader mess up)

See Video below for how to play:

3. Counting Challenge

Another fun music game for school is the Counting Challenge (music style). This game is all about self control and concentration - it is NOT a speeding game. Here are the rules:

• The teacher starts off with saying "One".

• The goal is to have the class count as high as they can, but only individual students can say the numbers without saying it with another person.

• If another person says the same number as someone else, the game starts over.

• Student can NOT plan who is saying what number - it has to be completely random
  

Example: Teacher says "One". Susan says "Two". But Jacob and Dawn say "Three" at the same time - so the game has to start over with the Teacher saying "One" again.

To make it musical - I have the students sing the pitch that I'm singing. For more advanced musical students/class, you can have them sing up a major or minor scale using numbers (band kids would play the pitches of the scale).

Most importantly, Have fun! These fun music games for school can help keep the boring at bay!