Teaching Young Piano Students where the Animal Notes Live on the Keyboard
The pattern of the keys on the piano keyboard is great when it comes to teaching very young children. There are sets of two black notes with a space on each side between them and the sets of three black notes. Associated with the two black notes are three white notes and there are four white notes associated with the three black notes. The pattern is repeated seven times on the keyboard with a few extra notes on each end.
When I start a young child in piano, I first organize their learning around the two black notes in the center of the keyboard and the three white notes that touch them. I talk to the child about Middle C or Middle Cat being the center note on the Grand Staff. I tell them the notes are hung on the grand staff like pictures on a wall. Every family member has its own special place where its picture belongs on the wall or Staff. We then find Middle Cat on the piano. From this note we play all the notes to the right. The sound becomes higher and higher. They love the top C that hardly has a sound at all. We then play all the sounds down from Middle Cat and listen to the sounds as they get deeper in tone.
We now talk about the location of Middle Cat in relations to the two black notes. It is located at the bottom of the two black notes. As they hit the key, I make a funny Meow sound, and let them hit the key several times and say Meow. I furnish a printed keyboard with the books that fits behind the keys with the pictures of each animal on the proper key for the children to refer to in the early stages of learning. This helps them learn the location of the notes. A child normally wants to look at their hands in action. By putting the Animal Notes behind the keys, not on the keys, the child’s eyes are diverted from their hands.
It is now time to go to the first song in the book that features Middle Cat. I tell them that each time they see the picture of Middle Cat on the music sheet; they should knock on the Cat key on the keyboard. In the first lesson, the child usually learns Cat and Dog and the songs associated with them. They are so proud of what they have accomplished, and I am so proud of them.
|
|
