About Music Mind Games

Music Mind Games is a curriculum of more than 300 cooperative games for teaching music theory and reading, created and developed by Michiko Yurko. Used in music studios and classrooms around the world, Music Mind Games makes music theory easy to understand and most of all, it is really fun. Students learn sophisticated concepts involving rhythm, dictation, note reading, and sight-singing in the form of imaginative games. Thanks to a nurturing teaching philosophy, sequential pedagogical concepts, clever materials and mind-stimulating games, students grow to love and be excited about music theory.

The essence of the Music Mind Games method is detailed in the 230-page book of the same name first published by Warner Bros. Publications in 1992 and now published by Alfred Publishing Co., Inc. It explains the teaching philosophy and details games for students ages two through adult. Soon this site will include a Power Point Presentation onsite outlining the philosophy and scope of Music Mind Games in 2009. A revision of the book is in progress and available after 2009. The popular boxed game Musopoly is available on our site, in music stores and online.

The most up-to-date materials and games are available in the Puppy Packet, the Panda Pack and several print-your-own materials are available at this site. For information about past Warner Bros. materials and Michiko's current projects, please click here.

Music Mind Games is useful in private music lessons, small weekly or semi-monthly theory classes, public and private school music programs, workshops, summer camps, church choirs and home schooling. These concepts have an immediate impact for students of all instruments whether they play only a few games or are taught the entire scope of the nine-year curriculum. The book is an invaluable tool for music educators and detailed enough for nonmusic-readers to understand. Since teachers and parents are often so good at improvising, it is also possible to use the materials without playing games to help theory concepts be clearer.

The variety of games makes repetitive learning appealing so memories can become sharp and dependable.