All About Nocturnes: 3 Activities for Piano Students

Did you know that that piano nocturne originated in Ireland?

Although many composers have written piano nocturnes, which are beautiful single-movement character pieces that paint a musical picture of nighttime, the piano nocturne is often said to have been invented by an Irish composer!

With St. Patrick’s Day coming up soon, it is a great time to teach your piano students about nocturnes! Here are three activities you can use to teach them. They are all included in my Irish Piano Pack!

Piano Nocturnes Listening Assignment

This listening assignment teaches students about piano nocturnes. They will listen to ten different nocturnes by composers such as John Field, Frederic Chopin, Gabriel Faure, Erik Satie and more! As they listen they write down words to describe the piece and what they like about it, and they can rate it from 1 to 5 stars.

Draw a Nocturne

As students listen to one of the nocturnes from the listening assignment (or another of their choice), they draw a picture of what the piece sounds like to them! It’s always fun to include art and hands-on activities with listening assignments. It makes it more engaging and memorable and it uses more than one mode of learning.

Compose a Nocturne

In this composition activity, students learn about the typical characteristics of a piano nocturne, and then they get the chance to compose a short nocturne of their own! This is a great way to learn about nocturnes by actually writing one! I like this activity because it combines music history with creativity.

Find these 3 activities and much more in the Irish Piano Pack!

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