Didactic and Entertaining Music Puzzle Word Games & Online Instruments For Kids Give Your Young Ones Rhythm with this didactic online music games & interactive instruments!
If you're concerned about your kids spending countless hours glued to screens playing games like Minecraft or slither.io, you're not alone. Instead of struggling against the digital tide or pushing them outdoors in the chilly weather, why not channel their love for technology into something equally entertaining and genuinely educational?
Music puzzles, interactive games, and online instruments offer a fantastic way for kids to learn valuable skills while enjoying themselves. Unlike traditional video games that offer limited educational value, music-focused games and interactive online tools can boost creativity, improve coordination, enhance cognitive development, and even introduce the foundations of music theory.
Forget about spending hours on "Guitar Hero"alike games —which, let's face it, doesn't teach actual guitar skills. Instead, your kids can explore engaging musical puzzles and dive into online instruments like the interactive virtual piano at tuneonmusic.com. With features like marking keys, showing or hiding note labels, an integrated metronome, and MIDI connectivity, it's a superb tool that transforms screen time into productive musical exploration.
Here are our top recommendations to get your kids not only into the rhythm of music puzzles and games but also mastering real musical skills through interactive online instruments.
Guess The Words
There are many music-based games out there that overlap with word games. Some of the best are below.
Wordle-Based Games
If your kid’s not already into Wordle (or any of its many variations), get them into it with some of these music-themed versions!
Heardle: It’s not actually a word game, but this one is worth a mention.
This game is like “Name that tune”, where you’re given a bit more of the song after every wrong guess. You have six guesses (as in the word-based version) to guess the song.
Possible answers will appear as you type.
Byrdle: This is essentially identical to the original Wordle, but it uses music-themed words.
Taylordle: Here’s with a theme of Taylor Swift.
Weezle: And for the rockers (Weezer-themed).
BTS Wordle While it doesn’t come with a fun name like the others, at least you don’t have to write the answers in Korean!
(Though if you DO want to play Wordle in Korean, that exists too.)
BTS Heardle: Yea, there’s a version of “Heardle” just for BTS songs!
Clearly, some fans of this boy band had too much time on their hands.
For The Lyricists
If your kid doesn’t want to dabble in musical notation, here are some options that limit it to the song’s words:
Sporcle (lyrics): While not an amazingly high-tech site, this one has various “finish the lyrics” games for your kids to play with friends.
iOS only
Lyric Party Game: This app comes with a ton of questions for the devoted lyricist. Not free, unfortunately.
Tests for the real fan -» Music quizzes - Allthetests.com: A ton of music quizzes for the devoted fan, from song lyrics to well beyond. The graphics look like something out of the 90s but the content is good.
Maybe your kid hates tests at school, but they’re sure to enjoy some of these.
Music Tech Teacher
This site (with loads of games) was designed by a music teacher in Birmingham.
Despite its unexciting name and the uninspiring graphics, it has a lot of games that are decently-made, and run the gamut from “Identify the Instrument” to “Stevie Wonder.” It’s worth a browse, and your kids may find something fun on here.
General
Music Words in Space: You’re given a (music-related) picture and have to spell the word.
You control a rocket ship that gets battered by letter-containing asteroids. The goal is to get hit by the correct letters to spell out the word.
It gives clues and is designed for younger kids, but it’ll teach them to write!
Words From Musical Notation
There are a variety of games that take the notes A-G and make words out of them.
Treble Clef Word Warrior: This one teaches the notes of musical notation by spelling out words with them.
Bass Clef Words: This is the same idea using the bass clef.
Bass Clef Word Warrior: This one is identical to Treble Clef Word Warrior but uses the bass clef.
Identify the Piano KeyWords: This uses the piano keyboard to spell out words, teaching kids the notes on the piano keyboard.
Conclusion
As you can see, there are countless opportunities to make word games fun for kids who like music. Even for those kids who like playing “Guitar Hero” but hate word games with a passion… all you have to do is not tell them that it’s also a word game!
Use this list to help kids branch out from the love of music into the love of language. Even if they don’t know Wordle words like “purée,” they are sure to enjoy guessing the lyrics of their favorite rock stars!