Welcome to the Jolly Set of Fun Christmas Music Theory Worksheets for Kids
For quick free printing, click on an image below. Teachers and parents are welcome to print as many worksheets as you like.
Scroll down for fun group games that teach and review music theory. A great approach is to first have students complete the worksheet individually and then play the companion game to reinforce the concepts and make learning music fun.
Click play to see me introduce a few of the worksheets.
Tag the Gifts–Key Signatures
Use it as a Worksheet
Students “tag the gifts” by identifying each key signature and drawing a line to its letter name.
Use it as a Group Game
After practicing with the worksheet and “tagging the gifts”, let your students try unwrapping a gift with this fun filled, fast paced game!
Materials needed: blank worksheet, pencil, two dice, hat, gloves, small prize, lots of newspaper
Preparation: Wrap the newspaper in several layers of newspaper. The more layers, the better!
How to play: Students sit in a circle with the present, hat, and gloves in the center. Students take turns rolling the dice and then passing the dice to the next person in the circle. As soon as a student rolls doubles, she grabs the worksheet and identifies one key signature to the teacher. When she is correct, she crosses out the keys signature she just identified and then races to put on the hat and gloves and begin unwrapping the gift.
Meanwhile, the other students are continuing to roll and pass the dice. As soon as another student rolls doubles, he then identifies a key signature and then takes the place of the first student–putting on the hat and gloves and then trying to unwrap the gift.
Play continues until a student has unrwapped the gift. The student who unwraps the gift gets to keep the prize! (Or you can wrap a bag of candybars, and let everyone have one and then let the winner take home the rest.) This is a super fun game that your students are sure to love!
Christmas Peppermints–Names of the Piano Keys
Use it as a Worksheet
Each keyboard diagram has a peppermint sitting on one of the keys. Kids just identify the key and then draw a line to its letter name.
Use it as a Group Game
Eskimo Race is a fun way to reinforce the names of the piano keys after completing the worksheet.
Materials needed: Piano or keyboard
Preparation: None
How to play: First complete the worksheet to review the names of the piano keys with the students. Then divide children into two teams and have each team line up across the room from the piano. Ask the kids to imagine that they are eskimos, out hunting and crawling across the snow as they try to stay hidden.
When teacher calls out the letter name of a piano key, the first student from each team crawls on their belly (using elbows to move across the floor) and races to be the first to play the correct piano key. The students then go to the back of their team’s line, and the next student from each team takes a turn to race.
If desired, hand out peppermints at the end of the game.
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Sledding Race–Identifying Music Intervals
Use it as a Worksheet
Students identify each interval and classify it by size and type. They then write their answer on the line beneath each example. Example: Major 2nd, P4, etc.
Companion Snack Activity
Once the worksheet is done, let students build their own sled snack with candycanes and graham crackers
Materials needed: two candy canes per student, grahm crackers, frosting
Preparation: None
How to make: This snack is super easy to make! Kids just spread frosting along the long edges of the grahm cracker and then set it on top of the two candy canes to make a sled.
You can see a picture of the finished sled here. Just scroll down–the sled is the fourth picture.
Around the World with the Circle of Fifths–Learning the Circle of Fifths and Key Signatures
Use it as a Worksheet
Next to each number, students write the name of the key that has that number of sharps or flats.
Use it as a Game
Help students master musical keys with this fun group drill
Materials needed: Worksheet for each student, bean bag
Preparation: None
How to play: First help students complete the worksheet and help them understand the circle of fifths as a useful tool. Next, ask students to bring their completed worksheets and sit in a circle. Toss the bean bag to a student and call out “3 sharps”. The student then calls out the name of the key that has 3 sharps, A Major. The student then tosses the bean bag to another student and calls out “4 flats” or any other number of sharps/flats, and the student who caught the bean bag gives the answer.
Encourage students to try to answer from memory, but let them know that they are welcome to to look at their completed worksheet for help.
Let the bean bag travel “around the world” many times, until students have had a good practice session.
Santa’s Workshop–Building Treble and Bass Clefs
Use it as a Worksheet
Students follow the directions to learn how to correctly trace and then draw the treble and bass clefs.
Use it as a Group Game
Give each student the opportunity to “be the teacher.” See if they can spot a correctly drawn treble and bass clef!
Materials needed: Worksheets, grand staff printouts, page protectors, dry erase markers.
Preparation: Place the grand staff printouts in page protectors. This will allow students to use dry erase markers on the printouts.
How to play: First give each student a copy of this Christmas music worksheet so that they can practice correctly drawing the clefs. Then divide students into pairs and give each pair a printout of the staff in a page protector and a dry erase marker.
Instruct the first student in each pair to draw a clef. Then ask the second student to “be the teacher” and check to see if the clef is drawn correctly, ie the treble clef circles the G line and the bass clef starts on the F line and has dots in the E and G spaces. Then have kids trade places so that they each get a turn to draw and to “be the teacher.”
A Tangled Mess–Order of Sharps Christmas Music Worksheet
Use it as a Worksheet
Students write the letter names of the sharps, with one letter in each Christmas light. Students can then complete the bonus sections by tracing and drawing the sharps on the staff.
Use it as a Group Game
Students practice the order of sharps as they scramble to get themselves in the correct order.
Materials needed: 7 small pieces of paper, stopwatch
Preparation: Write the letter names of the sharps on the small pieces of paper. Put one letter on each piece.
How to play: Teacher hands out one piece of paper to each student. They can’t look at their sharp until the game starts.
When teacher says go, students race to see how quickly they can get themselves in order. Teacher times them and let’s them know their speed.
Repeat to see if students can beat their time. Teacher will collect the cards and redistrtibute them for the second round.
If you are playing with older students who can get themselves in order quickly, you can make the game more challenging by blindfolding every student. This can be hilarious, and gives kids great practice with learning how to communicate effectively.
There is also a version of this worksheet for the order of flats.
Note: This game works perfectly with 7 students. If you have less than 7 students, only hand out the number of sharps that corresponds with the number of students. E.g. if you have 4 students in your group lesson, then only prepare cards with F, C, G, and D.
If you have a larger group, you can pair students. If you are teaching a lage music class, you can divide your students into groups of 7 and have the groups race to see which team is the fastest.
Santa’s Notes–Note Identification
Use it as a Worksheet
This worksheet is pretty straightforward. Kids just identify the notes and write the letter name on the space below the note.
Companion Group Activity
Let students “play Santa” to help each other practice note names.
Materials needed: Music note flashcards, Santa hat, page protectors, blank sheets of paper, dry erase markers
Preparation: Create a “white board” for each student by inserting the blank sheets of paper into the page protectors. Students can now write on them with the dry erase makers and erase their answers.
How to play: Select one student to come to the front of the group to “play Santa”. Give this student the Santa hat to wear. Other students sit facing Santa.
The Santa student holds up a flashcard for everyone else to see. The other students write their answers on their dry erase boards and hold it up for Santa to see. After everyone has shown their answer, Santa gives student the correct answer and then holds up a new flash card.
Let each child take a turn to be Santa and hold up 3-5 flashcards during their turn.
Help the Elf–Rhythm and Adding Missing Bar Lines
Use it as a Worksheet
Kids practice rhythm by writing the counts beneath each note and rest and drawing the missing bar lines. Encourage students to draw a doulbe bar line at the end of each line. Remind them to pay special attention to the time signatures.
Use it as a Hands On Activity
Use this worksheet with manipulatives to help your tactile learners.
Materials needed: a worksheet and pencil for each student, small straight objects, such as pieces of uncooked spaghetti noodles or yarn
Preparation: Break the spaghetti noodles into smaller pieces, or cut small pieces of yarn
How to play: Ask student to write the counts beneath each note and rest. Then students can use the spaghetti noodles to add bar lines where needed. Teacher checks answers and gives feedback as needed.
Ice Skating–Identifying Whole and Half Steps
Use it as a Worksheet
Kids identify each note pair as a half step or whole step and circle their answers.
Use it with a Companion Music Theory Game
Kids earn style points from the ice skating judge as they practice drawing half steps and whole steps on the staff.
Materials needed: grand staff printouts in page protectors, dry erase markers
Preparation: None
How to play: First have students complete the ice skating worksheet to review half steps and whole steps. Then hand out the grand staff printouts and ask one student to volunteer to be the judge for the first round.
All students begin by drawing a whole note on the middle line–the B line. The judge then calls out “whole step up” or “half step down”. Students then draw a whole note that is the correct distance from the first note.
When they are finished, kids hold up their answers and the judge, with the teacher’s help, checks everyone’s answers and awards 10 style points to everyone who is correct. The judge then takes a seat and a new student comes to the front to judge the next round. The new judge calls out a new half step or whole step and play continues.
Play several rounds and let a new child be the judge for each round. Each time, students will draw their new note in relation to the previous note. At the end of the game, total up everyone’s points. The student with the most points wins the ice skating competition!
Build a Snowman–Christmas Music Theory Worksheet for Drawing Rhythm Notes and Rests
Use it as a Worksheet
Student looks at the number of beats listed on a snowman’s scarf and identifies one note and one rest that receive that number of beats. Student then draws the note in one of the buttons of the snowman’s chest, and draws the rest in the other button. For example, on the 4 beat snowman, student will draw a whole note in one button and a whole rest in the other button.
Use it as a Group Game
Teams race to be the first to build a snowman, all the while practicing rhythm and drawing notes and rests.
Materials needed: worksheet for each student, five sheets of white paper, blank staff paper, small object such as a bell or spoon
Preparation: Cut five large circles out of the white paper to serve as snowman parts.
How to play: Divide students into two teams. Have the teams sit accross from each other with the bell or spoon in the middle. Give each person a sheet of staff paper and a pencil.
Teacher will call out either “note” or “rest” followed by a number of beats. Students then race to be the first to draw the correct note or rest three times on their staff paper and be the one to grab the object.
Teacher then checks the answer of the student who grabbed the bell. If he is correct, his team is awarded their first piece of their snowman. Teacher can then quickly check everyone’s answers and reward 1 point for every student who drew the note or rest correctly.
If he did not draw the note or rest 100% correctly, the bell is returned to the center and nobody builds their snowman this round. Teacher still checks everyone’s answers and rewards points.
Play continues as teacher calls out either “note” or “rest” followed by a new number of beats. Game continues, with each team earning points every round, until a team has earned three snowman parts and completed their snowman. Total up the points at the end and the team with the greatest number of points wins.
Christmas Penguin–Identifying Whole and Half Step on the Keyboards
Use it as a Worksheet
Kids identify each example as a half step or whole step and circle their answers.
Use it with a Companion Music Theory Game
Play this fun board game with your students to reinforce half steps and whole steps.
Materials needed: Penguin’s Half Steps and Whole Steps gameboard, token for each student, a die
Preparation: None
How to play: All students play their tokens on the C key at the far left of the gameboard. Students take turns rolling the die. If they roll an odd number they get to move their token one half step. If they roll an even number they move their token a whole step.
If a student lands on a key with instructions, student moves forward or backward accordingly. First student to reach the other end of the keyboard wins.
If you are playing with a large music class, divide your students into several smaller groups. Give each group a gameboard and a die and let them play together as their own group.
Rudolf’s Chords–Ear Training Worksheet for Identification of Major and Minor Chords
Use it as a Worksheet
Give your student(s) a copy of the worksheet and have the sit so that they can’t see the piano. Teacher plays a chord and student listens carefully to determine if the chord is major or minor and circles the answer. Teacher checks answers, gives feedback and plays the chord again for students to hear. Teacher then moves to the second example.
Let Your Students Try “Being the Teacher”
Students love the opportunity to come to the front of the class and lead an activity.
Materials needed: Keyboard, worksheet for each student
Preparation: None
How to play: This variation is only for students who have learned how to play major and minor triads on the piano. After you’ve done a few chord examples with your students, ask for a volunteer to come to the front of the room and “be the teacher.” The student then plays a chord, and the other students listen and then circle their answer. After teacher gives feedback, another student can volunteer to “be the teacher.” Encourage students to play a variety of chords. This activity gives kids great practice both with their ear training and with playing triads!
Music Intervals–Identifying Music Intervals on the staff
Use it as a Worksheet
Students look at the music notes in each example and then draw a line to the interval name.
Companion Ear training Activity
Use favorite Christmas carols to help students hear music intervals.
Materials needed: Keyboard
Preparation: None
How to play: After students have completed the worksheet and identified the intervals in written notation, tell them that you’d like to play examples of each interval for them to hear. Play an interval and tell students the name of the interval. Then point out that this interval is used at the beginning of a Christmas carol. Play the first line of a Christmas carol that begins with that interval.
Here are some examples for you:
Unison: O Come All Ye Faithful, Oh Little Town of Bethlehem, chorus of Jingle Bells; Good King Wenceslas
2nd: Silent Night, Rudolf the Red Nosed Reindeer, It’s Beginning to Look Like Christmas
3rd: O Come O Come Immanuel, Once in Royal David’s City, The Chipmunk Song, I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day
4th: O Christmas Tree, We Wish You a Merry Christmas, Hark the Herald Angles Sing, Away in a Manger (Spillman melody), I Saw Three Ships, Feliz Navidad
5th: motiff from Do You Hear What I Hear (Do you hear… the fifth is from “you” to “hear”)
6th: Jingle Bells (Dashing through the Snow), It Came Upon the Midnight Clear (Willis melody), Here Comes Santa Claus
8th: The Christmas Song (Chestnuts roasting on an open fire)
Do you know of any other Christmas songs we could add to this list? Leave a comment below, especially if you know of a song that begins with or has a prominent major seventh!
The Perfect Tree–A Fun Christmas Music Worksheet for Teaching Rhythm
Use it as a Worksheet
Students write the counts beneath each note and rest.
More Rhythm Practice in Pairs
Let students try their hand at creating rhythms for each other.
Materials needed: Blank music staff paper
Preparation: None
How to play: Pair up students and then give each individual a sheet of blank staff paper. Ask them to create 4 measures of rhythms. They can use any combinations of notes and rests, but they must stick with their time signature. This gives kids excellent practice with reasoning out note values and drawing notes and rests.
Next have students trade papers and then write the counts beneath the notes and rests in the paper they received. To finish, students can then clap and count the rhythms they created to hear their rhythm masterpieces!
Finger Numbers–Learning the Finger Numbers
Use it as a Worksheet
This is a fun, colorful worksheet for beginning piano students. Students first identify each hand as a right hand or left hand. Then the look at the highlighted finger and write the finger number in the empty box.
Fun Reinforcement Finger Numbers Game
Give students practice identifying the finger numbers on their own hands.
Materials needed: Christmas rings from the dollar store (you can buy a whole bag for really cheap)
Preparation: None
How to play: Hand out a ring to each student and ask them to place it on the floor in front of themselves. Teacher calls out a finger number and students pick up the ring and place it on the correct finger. Teacher checks everyone’s answers and gives feedback. Then teacher calls out a new finger number and students move the ring to the correct finger. You can make the game more challenging by calling out right hand/left hand in addition to the finger number.
More Free Christmas Music Printables and Piano Teaching Resources
Santa Got Stuck in the Chimney–Piano Composition Activity
How to Use this Christmas Piano Composition Worksheet
Use this worksheet to help kids make up a silly Christmas song. First have them brainstorm ideas for why Santa got stuck. Did he eat too many cookies? Did the reindeer play a trick on him? You’ll be impressed by the silly, creative things kids say. I’ve had a few come back so funny that they left me in stitches!
Next ask kids to place their hands on a pentascale and then use those notes to create a melody for their song. Kids then write the finger numbers on the presents and they’ve just composed their very own Christmas song!
Silent Night and White Christmas–Playing By Ear
How to Use these Worksheets
These printables are designed to help students learn to play songs by ear. The sheet shows which keys are used in the song and also has the starting key highlighted for you.
This way students don’t need to feel overwhelmed with where to start or feel like they’ve got way too many possible keys staring back at them.
Students just play the starting key, sing the next note, and then try to find that next key on the piano. Students follow this pattern until they get to the end, and before they know it, they’ve figured out an entire Christmas song by ear!
Away in a Manger–Playing Piano with a Lead Sheet
How to Use these printables
You have two lead sheet options to use with your students. One has blank squares where the chord names should go, and the second is a normal lead sheet that lists the chord names.
Use the first printable to give students excellent practice using their ear to harmonize a melody. All of the empty boxes can be filled using the primary triads. Give students a head start by helping them figure out what key the song is written in and identifying the primary triads for that key.
Next ask your student to play the first measure of the melody with the right hand while the left hand plays one of the primary triads. Have students try that first measure with every one of the primary chords. Ask them which chord they think sounds best in that measure and then have them write their choice in the empty box. Student then repeat this process to figure out the remaining chords.
The second printable can be used if you would like to help a student learn to play from a lead sheet when they may not be ready yet to figure out the chords on their own. You are already familiar with how lead sheets work, so teach your student to look at the chord names above each measure and then play those chords with their left hand while the right hand plays the melody.
More Holiday Music Theory Worksheets
If you liked these Christmas music theory worksheets, you might want to check out the free printable music theory worksheets for other holidays. Just click a link or an image below to visit the pages for Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, Valentine’s Day, Saint Patrick’s Day and Easter.
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In your “12 Days of Piano Practice”, is there a particular video you had in mind to be watched?
Thanks so much for these!
Hi Anna! Yes, there is a video to show the kids how to play the piano upside down–so fun and they get super excited to try it out! I’m working on getting the post ready that fully explains the 12 Days of Piano Practice and includes the video. I’ll let you know once I have it ready. Thanks for stopping by! I’m so glad you like the worksheets :)
Anna, the video example of how to play upside down is now added. You’ll find it on the 12 Days of Christmas Piano Practice page. Hope this helps!
Thanks for all of the Christmas sheets! Great while we are working on Christmas music.
Thanks, Judy, for your kind comment. I’m glad you visited my site and that you like the worksheets. Merry Christmas!
Thank you for the Christmas work sheets. Just what I needed.
You’re welcome, Marlene! So glad these are helpful, and I hope you’ll keep in touch and let me know how it goes as you use them.
The “12 Days” worksheet is just what I needed. I have been trying to think of how to encourage my students to practice over the Christmas break. And this will work perfectly. Something fun and different that will hopefully get them to practice a little until I see them in January. Now I don’t have to come up with my own. Thank you!!!
Thanks, Rene. I know exactly what you mean–kids need some variety and some fun to help them stay motivated. Giving them a unique challenge can really have a huge impact on their progress. I just had some students turn in their completed “12 Days” and their lessons were awesome! They passed off their pieces incredibly well, and had done extra things since they were spending so much time practicing. Hope your students have fun with this over the break!
Thank you for sharing these great resources! It is very appreciated :)
You’re very welcome, Allison!
I love your worksheets and suggestions for games to go with them! I have group lessons once a month and these have been perfect, especially the seasoned ones as I use seasonal themes for my groups. I especially love the more advanced ones, so would love to see more of those covering concepts such as Major and minor keys, Scales (all 3 minors included), Mmo+ triads in root, 1st and 2nd position, maybe even 7th chords, and all intervals. The worksheets are appealing and not to many problems on a page so they can easily finish them at group. I am doing a winter theme this month so am looking at using the Christmas ones that are more snow and winter based not just Christmas. Thanks again!
Hi Cindy. Thanks for your comment! I’m so glad these have helped, and I really appreciate you taking the time to let me know what additional concepts would be helpful. I’ll work on getting some more advanced worksheets posted. I also like your idea to have a bunch of winter themed ones that can be used any time during this season. Not sure if you want to include V-Day in your theme, but right now I’m in the process up uploading some worksheets for Valentines Day, and you’re welcome to take a look at those too. You can see them here: https://www.myfunpianostudio.com/valentines-day-music-worksheets/
So excited to use these this holiday season, thank you so much!
These are wonderful!! Thank you!
May I just say…Thank you, thank you, and thank you?! I have taught piano for 25 years, and have given up entirely on “theory books” that go along with lesson series. So many of them only emphasize one or two theory concepts. If I have time, I make my own theory worksheets to go along with whatever student is currently working on. However, when my schedule gets super busy (like around the Holidays), I look online for theory sheets. So many of them I find are on Teachers Pay Teachers. I do an annual Holiday Program with my students which can be expensive to plan and rent the facility. The last thing I need around the Holidays is to have to purchase a few theory worksheets. Your site is now my go to for theory sheets. I cannot thank you enough for making these available for free. If you want to use any of mine, let me know, and I will share with you.
THANK YOU Kristin!! After 25 years in the business your games and worksheets are helping to revitalize my studio!
Thank you for posting so many fun worksheets and games! I included links to several of them in my most recent blogpost roundup of free Christmas piano games, activities, and music on heidispianonotes.blogspot.com I look forward to trying several of your games at my upcoming December group lesson.
Thanks, Heidi, for your kind comment and for including these resources in your roundup!
Just printed EVERY SINGLE ONE of these sheets to use at next week’s (and, future) fun (group) lessons before the holidays. You’re a life saver! How can I donate?
Loved your article it was really informative!
These are so awesome!! To save resources, I usually print these and them mount them to poster board (I use file folders cut in half most of the time), laminate, and then use dry erase markers with the kids. Thank you!!
Good idea!
Thank you so much for these cute, clever and free activities! Much more fun for student reinforcement than the same old boring worksheets! My students’ eyes light up as soon as they see them and they ask for more!
Awesome ideas–thank you!!!
You’ve done a fabulous job with these Christmas theory worksheets. My piano students and I will have so much fun finishing up the year by reviewing music theory with these worksheets. Thank you!
Thanks Nancy!
Love your things! Thanks!!! and Merry Christmas!
Thank you for these wonderful holiday worksheets! My students will love them.
These are so creative! Thanks for helping make music lessons fun!
I just found your page and I’m already in love with it. One of my students is 6 and really struggles with the notes so overall it’s really hard to teach her. I’ve tried everything I can think of. Is there any worksheets or tricks that will help me teach her and help her memorize them?
Love the Music Intervals one using Christmas carols to emphasize what those intervals sound like. I will do this one definitely, and send a bunch of the others home to work on over the break!
Here’s a follow-on suggestion to emphasize why the intervals alone don’t “make” the song, but that rhythm is important too. Play a steady quarter-note one-octave descending C scale. Then play the first line of “Joy to the World” in C — my kids light up when they hear that their scales can be the whole first line of a Christmas carol!
And there’s an interval of a fifth in “Sleigh Ride” in the “giddy-up giddy-up giddy-up let’s go” part. That major seventh is elusive, though! Still can’t think of one.
This is so awesome, using this to engage my students during the covid 19 holidays. thank you so much.
I would love more free Christmas worksheets! Thanks for the ones you have already shared.
Thank you so much for the Christmas worksheets and activities. Just what I needed to add fun this Christmas!
I can’t believe how kind and generous you are for leaving these amazing theory resources for free! Thank you from the bottom of my heart, I and my students love these worksheets.
You’re welcome Hannah. Thanks for your kind comment!