Helping Children’s Little Fingers Learn to Play the Piano
Once something becomes a habit in our lives, it is very difficult to change. Because of this, it is extremely important to help your piano students develop good habits while they learn. This will take patience and consistency on the teacher’s part.
The hands of 4 to 6 year old children are small and normally not strong. The child’s normal hand movements are not conducive to good hand position at the piano. I start by having my children lay their hands flat on the piano bench. We make a game of finding the finger that is the longest, shortest, funniest looking (thumb usually), etc. Then I have them curve their fingers in a normal position for playing the piano. I show them how the fingers are now on a line and about the same length.
Next lesson I have them again put their hands flat on the piano bench and have them lift each finger individually. We talk about how stiff the fingers move, and only one of the joints is working. Again I ask them to curve their fingers into piano position and move their fingers. Wow, all the joints can now move freely. I ask them if it is easier to move their fingers. They almost always tell me yes.
Now I can work on these principals on the keyboard. It takes patience at this point to keep their little thumbs on the keys, but each time they let their thumbs hang over the edge, I tell them to make their lazy thumbs do their job instead of making the other fingers do it for them. I try to make this fun, not critical. With the thumb on the keyboard, the other fingers tend to be in a good piano playing position.
This takes time and gentle persuasion, but the effort really pays off in the long run.
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