15 Interactive Music Games for Kids
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Rhythm is often described as our sixth sense. And it isn’t just us! Even cows have been reported to feel significantly de-stressed when listening to soothing music! The positive effects of learning a musical instrument by a developing brain have been widely appraised. In fact, it is never too early for your child to begin appreciating music. So, make music a part of your child’s growth years by playing some foot-tapping tunes as and when possible. Here are some interactive music games that you can let your children play and help them gain the benefits of music therapy.
15 Interesting Music Games and Activities for Children
Music activities for kids are a fun way of training your child’s abstract thinking capabilities. The following games require nothing more than common household items while being a whole lot of fun.
1. Hide and Seek
One of the best music activities for preschoolers to help your child’s listening skills.
What You Will Need :
- A musical toy/music player
- Hiding Spots
How to Play :
- Get your child to close his/her eyes and wait till you hide a musical toy or device within hearing distance somewhere inside your house (preferably a place safe for your child to access).
- Turn on the music and run away from the location.
- Then let your child open his/her eyes and seek the toy by ear.
You can increase the difficulty of this game by hiding the toy in more unlikely places as your child grows better at listening and finding. A spare mobile could also be used.
2. Passing the Happy Parcel
Everyone’s a winner in this fun game!
What You Will Need:
- A small “special” gift in a small package
- Lots of wrapping paper
- Sweets, toffees, stickers, little toys or other treats
How to Play:
- Wrap your main gift in one layer of wrapping paper.
- Place a treat over the main gift and wrap it with more wrapping paper.
- Continue this step until all the treats are wrapped in, making a big package.
- Now, seat the children in a circle. Start passing the package while the music plays.
- When the music stops, the child holding the package is eliminated. However, he/she gets to remove the first layer of the wrapping paper and take the treat!!
- Continue until the only person left gets the ‘main’ prize!
A good thing to make sure of would be to have enough layers of treats in so that everyone at the party gets one!
3. Little Maestros
Did you know that Mozart began composing music by the age of five?
What You Will Need
- Sheets of paper
- Pencil, crayons or sketch pens
How to Play
- Designate a symbol for a sound. For example, a circle could denote a clap and a triangle, a snap of your finger.
- Create up to four sounds with their corresponding symbols. Sounds can include simple ones like tapping the table, stomping your foot, etc.
- Create a sequence of symbols that your child can then “read” to make music.
- Encourage them to create their own music, using these symbols and listen to their masterpieces.
This game may be used as an early tool to teach a child that practice makes perfect!
4. Sounds of Music
Violin? Cello? Flute? This game could seem a little intense to start out with, but it’s the one you and your kid will keep playing for the rest of your lives!
What You Will Need
- Music player
- Instrumental music tracks (best to start music that has one or two instruments)
How to Play
- Familiarise your child with different instruments and their sounds.
- Play a simple song and let your child guess what instrument is being used in the song.
- As he/she gets well versed in identifying individual instruments, increase the level of difficulty by introducing music with 2 or even more instruments.
It’s never too early for your child to get introduced to music!
5. Musical Clothes
Another party spin-off of the classic music activities for preschoolers!
What You Will Need
- A bag full of clothing (the wackier, the better. Include things like wizard hats, capes, party props, etc.)
- Chairs
- Music player
How to Play
- Arrange the chairs in a circle for the children to sit.
- When the music begins playing, the bag with the clothes and props is passed.
- When the music stops, the child with the bag has to pull out one item from the bag and put it on.
- Continue until the bag is empty. Whoever has the most items of wacky clothing on is the winner!
6. Bingo Dance-o
An active and musical version of the classic game of bingo that seniors love playing.
What You Will Need
- Large sheets of paper
- A number of prizes
- Music player
How to Play
- Number each sheet from 1 to the number of children playing the game.
- Wrap your prizes and number those randomly.
- Place the sheets on the floor.
- Like musical chairs, when the music is switched on, the children walk around the sheets of paper.
- When the music stops, each child picks one sheet to sit or stand on.
- Pick out any one of the wrapped prizes and state the number marked on it.
- The child who picked the sheet with the same number wins the prize. The sheet and that child are now out of the game.
- Repeat till all the prizes are over.
As far as musical games for preschoolers go, this is a party favourite.
7. Nursery Rhyme Time
Nursery Rhymes are used for early childhood music activities because of their simple rhythm and wording.
What You Will Need
- Extremely simple nursery rhymes (“Baa Baa Black Sheep” and “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star” cannot go wrong)
- Corresponding actions for the words (easily improvised or found online)
How to Play
- Teach the child the words of the nursery rhyme, focusing on the rhythm of reciting it.
- When they are familiar with the words and recitation, introduce actions that correspond to the words.
- Another element that could take the place of actions is clapping. Patting hands with a partner or the parent is a good way to build confidence.
This activity also benefits the child’s enunciation.
8. Musical Statues
Freeze!
What You Will Need
- Music player
- Space to dance
How to Play
- Let the children start dancing when the music is turned on.
- Let them jump and dance for a while and then pause the music.
- When the music pauses, everyone must freezes.
- Children who do not freeze or stumble are eliminated.
- Continue until one child remains as the winner.
9. Animal Dance
Help your children bring out their inner animal!
What You Will Need
- Square cutouts with a picture of an animal in each one
- Music player
How to Play
- Let each child pick a card at random. This activity can be carried out all at once or individually.
- When the music is played, the child dances imitating the animal on the card.
- Repeat the steps for every card you have.
Discuss their movements and how they danced. Down on all fours? Loud? Fast or slow? All these choices show how children’s brains work.
10. The Dance Isles
A blend of musical chairs and musical statues, this one has a charm of its own.
What You Will Need
- Sheets of newspaper
- Music player
- Space to dance
How to Play
- Lay the newspapers on the ground (one for each child). Space them out so that there is ample room to dance freely. The paper is their dance island.
- Play some music and let the children dance but only over the newspaper.
- When the music pauses, each kid should freeze within their own “dance island” i.e. the newspaper. If they break the pose or step outside, they are disqualified.
- After each round, the newspaper is folded in half for the kids who are still in the game.
Encourage energetic dancing and play upbeat music. This game can be a good exercise too.
11. Tissue Ballerina
Dancing involves a lot of factors; including grace and balance!
What You Will Need
- A box of tissues
- Space to dance
- Music player
How to Play
- Each child places a tissue on their head.
- When the music starts, everyone starts dancing.
- If a kid’s tissue falls on the ground, they are eliminated. If they manage to catch their tissue before it touches the floor, they can put it back on their head and continue.
- Continue until only one remains standing.
12. The Moods of Music
The reason why music is universal is because it connects with our emotions. Kids too experience music in ways we cannot imagine.
What You Will Need
- Lots of songs expressing different emotions, such as joy, sadness, anger, etc
- Music player
How to Play
- Explain the children the objective of this game. Tell them that music can make you feel different at times and encourage them to express how they feel by dancing.
- Play different songs and observe how they dance to each song.
- This game helps young ones identify their emotions with the help of music.
13. So You Think You Can Dance
Appreciating choreography!
What You Will Need
- Music player
- Space to dance
- To make it interesting, it would be fun to add props or even costumes to the mix
How to Play
- Divide the children into teams of two or more and give them their set of props.
- Let them pick their own music and create a dance routine for it.
- After every team performs, the best team is announced the winner!
More than just fun, this game helps kids appreciate the effort that goes in selecting the steps, setting a dance routine and practising. It also teaches them teamwork and improves their communication skills.
14. Musical Limbo
A party game for all ages!
What You Will Need
- A pole – it can be substituted with anything straight and long from around the house, such as curtain rods, mop handles, etc.
- Music player
How to Play
- Limbo is a party game where players bend backwards at the knee to pass under a horizontal beam, without falling over or touching it.
- Add music to the proceedings, and you have Musical Limbo! Children sway and dance their way under the beam held by two adults.
- For each new round, lower the bar. The child who can go the lowest without touching the beam wins!
15. Antakshari
Everybody’s favourite!
What You Will Need
- Two teams
How to Play
- The moderator picks a random alphabet to start off a song. The first team sings a song beginning with that sound of the alphabet. Only two or more lines need to be sung.
- The second team then has to sing a song that begins with the last sound of the song sung by the opposite team.
- This goes on until one team fails to come up with a song. Several rounds can be played.
This game could work better with teenagers and adults as they would know more songs than children. You may also allow nursery rhymes and every other song the children have learnt.
Some Useful Tips
- As a lot of games involve children being eliminated one by one, it is essential to keep the game moving fast, so that the children do not lose their interest.
- Recruit children that have gotten out of the game to help you referee, so that they do not feel left out.
- Some children may be too shy to join in. Always have some books or toys around for them to keep themselves occupied or to entertain themselves till they muster the courage to participate. Allow them to get involved in the games on their own, but don’t forget to put in a word of encouragement every now and then for them to feel included.
- While most games involve single big winners, it helps to have several small little prizes for the participants. Appreciate them with gifts for being the ‘most creative’, the ‘funniest dancer’, ‘most lively’, etc.
When arranging these games for children, you might feel a little stressed as kids cannot be exposed to most of the music being created nowadays. Here is a small list of songs that can come to your rescue if you do not have the time to create a playlist for your child.
List of Songs for Kids
These songs are sure to get the party rolling for your kids!
- Hickory Dickory Dock
- You are my sunshine
- One little finger
- I have a pet
- I’m a little star
- We all clap hands together
- A chubby little snowman
- Baby shark
- If you’re happy
- Dum dee diddle dee
- Rise and shine
- Nani teri morni ko mor le gaye
- Rail gaadi
- Lakdi ki kathi
- Ichak dana
- Teetar ke do agey teetar
- Bam bam bole masti me dole
- Itti si hasi, itti se khushi
- Chakke me chakka, chakke me gadi
Musical games are a great way to get kids moving and overcoming their shyness and inhibitions around their peers. It’s no wonder dancing is popular among people of all ages!
These music games will help in improving your child’s listening skills. He/she will also be able to recognise different sounds. Your child’s vocabulary will develop, too. Soon, your little kiddo will become music smart.
It is essential that your child has all-round development and his skills, right from logical to problem-solving and analytical to gross-motor, are honed from a young age, which an activity box like Intellikit can help you with. The interactive activities in the box, based on a unique theme each month, ensure your child learns something each day, all while having loads of fun. Subscribe to Intellikit today and receive a box at your doorstep each month!
Also Read: 15 Innovative and Fun Brain Games for Kids
