Making piano lessons fun and engaging!

If you've just joined me, please read "Locating staff notes on the piano: Part I" first. NOTE: This blog entry is written with the understanding that your students already know their musical alphabet and can identify the letter names of the white notes on the piano.  Although there is quite a bit of text written below, it goes very quickly (10 valuable minutes)! If you feel that you are running out of time, you can always continue with activities #3 and #4 at their next lesson.  Some of my students like to talk through everything I teach them.  It helps them understand the concepts and retain the information better.  It does, though, add extra time onto this mini lesson so I simply cut it in half and teach the other half next time I see them. REVIEW You are reinforcing what was taught in the previous lesson which focused on "high/low" from a vertical perspective (up/down) to a more horizontal per...

High/Low Before teaching children how to read staff notes and to accurately locate them on the piano they need to know the concept of high and low in relation to the grand staff as well as the piano. I can't tell you what an asset my master's in education has been in teaching piano quite effectively!  We as education majors were always told to break things down into smaller pieces for our students.  NEVER take your knowledge for granted and assume that your students should just get everything you're saying because you think it's easy.  Use concrete examples as often as you can.  The more hands on the activities the better your students will retain the information. *Take a break from the piano bench and do this activity standing up: Kids love change and the thought of leaving the bench for just a few moments gets them so excited!* When teaching the concept of "higher and lower" here are a few things you can do: -Have a container of a few items...