Idea Share #18: Halloween Lesson Ideas

Idea Share #18: What do you do for the week of Halloween? | Get all the teacher ideas right here in the blog post! | The image is of a lightbulb giving off lots of light.

At ComposeCreate® free webinars, we always ask a question where teachers put in their thoughts in the chat. This is our Idea share and we’re now on number 18 – each has been a great way to glean wisdom from teachers in your ComposeCreate® community. This time, instead of inviting you to download a free PDF, we’re listing all the best lesson ideas for Halloween week right in this blog post.

But first, in case you need a recap, here’s what we released at the Cozy Chords and Spooky Scores webinar:

Jason Sifford composed a breathtaking early intermediate piano duet called September Sunflower;
Wendy Stevens released six new pieces, plus bonus artwork for your studio, in the Autumn Music 2025 Bundle;
The Pet Shop and Little Fuzzies series of Music Achievement Cards were updated with the brand new pieces (and a sneak peek of the new Fuzzies holiday piece!);
The Beautiful Places series now has a level for Early Intermediate pianists – The Beautiful Wonders series, starting with The Last Leaf.

Read about all the new releases here!

September Sunflower piano duet by Jason Sifford | ComposeCreate.com

Autumn Music Bundle 2025 - Halloween and autumn piano music by Wendy Stevens published by ComposeCreate.com

The Last Leaf by Wendy Stevens | Beautiful piano solo by Wendy Stevens about autumn leaves

Our Idea Share question this time was, “What do you do for the week of Halloween?” and it generated so many fun ideas! One of the key themes for our webinar though, was that with all the pressure on social media and the internet to try a bunch of new ideas, we might need to resist this urge and instead, do something that already works! So Wendy really wanted to emphasize that no one should feel any pressure to try these ideas. However, we know that new things are fun and appreciated by students, even when they are simple. These might be just what you need in your studio!

Wendy also encouraged teachers to do what already works and maybe even do more of that as a way of being efficient and not feeling like you always have to do something new. Whatever you do, we hope you’ll take these autumn and Halloween lesson week ideas and make them work for your studio!

Jason’s Great Halloween Lesson Idea

Jason Sifford always has fun and unique teaching ideas, and we love hearing them! In order to relay his fantastic sense of humor, we’ve transcribed his idea (with slight editing). Need a quick reset for your students in October? Here it is:

Jason: Mine’s a weird kind of studio management thing, but hear me out. Halloween comes at a great time of year because it’s right after we’ve gotten started, and I’m going to guess that I’m not the only person that this happens to. I have assigned all my students repertoire, but I may not have given everybody the perfect piece. In about a week or two or three, I’m going to discover that I have given something to somebody that they don’t like, that’s too hard, or too easy – and anyway, I will have messed up. Halloween is a fantastic opportunity to say, “Hey! Halloween’s coming up, so can we put this away? Because I thought it would be fun to do this.” It’s kind of the perfect opportunity to address my mistake without admitting I was wrong, if you know what I mean!

Wendy: Oh – wait so you sometimes use this week to replace a previous piece that’s too hard or not a good fit with a new piece? Brilliant, I love it!

Jason: Yes, I can just replace the piece! I do this any time [of year] I’ve got a new opportunity. I do it for Halloween stuff, for Christmas/holiday stuff, when we’re coming back from spring break, but like, Halloween comes at a great time when everybody’s just getting started, and maybe we got off on the wrong foot. Alright – we’ve got the Halloween week to make it work!

Featured Halloween Lesson Ideas

Here are some favorite and featured teacher tips from the ideas teachers shared in the webinar chat:

Andra: It’s so simple. That week – we play in the dark!! Another idea I’ve seen is buying a purple lightbulb and switching out the “piano lamp” to be spooky themed. Could be worth a try!
Kathy: I do a Halloween group party. We do musical chairs and the one who doesn’t get a chair is the next one up to play. They aren’t nervous!
Robin: I haven’t always done anything real special Halloween week. But I have a wig, old (80s) glasses, and I have sent out a note saying my cousin is filling in for me because an emergency came up. I’ve had a couple of students believe it’s not me, and a couple who rolled their eyes, others who laugh a lot, and a few who kept looking over at me and finally asked whether it’s me or my cousin. Ha!
Debbi: I also give out treats – often times using the cards Wendy has made! (Like the Spider in my Piano one!)

Everyone’s Halloween Lesson Ideas:

We’re trying something different this year and are are putting all the teacher ideas right here in the blog post. There’s no PDF to download this time – just ideas to save and savor!

Kelli: We do a costume recital that is kind of both – some Halloween, some autumn pieces.
Georgina: Treats, music, decorations at the studio, customs
Janelle: I don’t decorate for Halloween, but decorate for FALL, with pumpkins and mums. I do have a special treat for them, however, the week of Halloween. I offer them a full-size candy bar or theatre box of non-chocolate candy.
Carolyn: Performance by music instructors around Halloween while students dress in costume!
Candace: I have a Halloween party, and students can share music if they wish.
Amy: I buy ”Boo Books” and give each student a coupon for a Junior Frosty. They love it and I’m not tempted to eat all the candy!
Melody: I have a Halloween party/recital for the younger crowd (no parents invited!) when kids play their Halloween piece and I ask questions (rewarded with candy). Then the kids tell a Halloween story and another student volunteers to improvise music to go with it! All the other students have group classes. No lessons on Halloween Day.
Sara: We do a recital in costume at the local nursing home. Kids sign up for 15 minute slots so they still have plenty of time to go trick or treating. I usually also have Halloween candy out for lessons that week, and a little bit non-spooky Halloween decor in the studio, which is also my living room. 🙂
Barbara: I give out a SMALL amount of candy and Halloween pencils. And, of course, decorate the studio. The favorite is the skeleton arm sticking out of the top of the piano. (It’s actually from a set of Halloween salad servers, lol!)
Linda: I have a party earlier in October where we play games and decorate my yard! It’s very popular.
Kelli: I decorate my studio with friendly halloween stuff, and I dress up, either simply a halloween tee/sweatshirt, or sometimes a full costume.
Pamela: The Autumn/Halloween recital is always the Sunday before Halloween. There are lots of goodies, everyone dresses up, and the songs with surprises are a hit each year.
Helen: I don’t celebrate Halloween, just fall. I have a tree up all year long in my studio. Just changed it to fall!
Jill: I dress up in Halloween shirts, earrings and socks the whole month of October!
Janet: I have a Halloween group lessons/party and we all dress up.
Mindy: I invite my students to trick or treat at my house and then invite them in to play their Halloween music for me. Last year, an 8th grade boy didn’t want to play but I got his friends who were with him to encourage him, so he came in, played for them and everyone got an extra treat!
Melissa: We do a fall costume recital with a mix of Halloween and autumn music.
Janelle: I have taped a fun-size candy bar to those Beast cards, too. I do hand-written notes on the back of their Piano-versary certificate to celebrate their anniversary of starting lessons. [Editor’s Note: Janelle referred to the free Ghastly Beast Halloween Advertising and Encouraging Cards.]
Annette: Of course themed stickers. I also have tons of decorations! Some of them play music. When the student finishes their fall/halloween piece they get to hit the play button on the musical decor of their choice.

During the webinar, we ask teachers to answer a question that we think would benefit all piano teachers. After receiving answers from both webinar sessions, we compile them all into a free downloadable PDF so that you have access to ideas from the entire ComposeCreate® piano teaching community! Idea Share #18 is the first one to list the ideas in the blog post!

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