One of the very first things your piano students learn in their lessons is their finger numbers. And there are SO many ways you can reinforce this new knowledge without putting Newbie Natalie to sleep.
So, if you find yourself stuck in the rut of “trace your hands and write the finger numbers on your tracing”… print out this list of 14 fun ways to review finger numbers and find your favorites. Your new piano students will leave with a smile and will never confuse finger 2 and finger 4 again 🙂
14 Fun Ways To Review Finger Numbers With Piano Students
1. Play Simon Says – “Simon says show me your 3 fingers, Simon says show me your 2 fingers. Simon says show me your 4 fingers. Show me your 1 fingers.” Did he stick up his thumbs? Then he loses because you didn’t say “Simon says” before the direction. Start again! Kids love this when THEY also get to be Simon.
2. Double Digits – Write down double digit numbers (like 24) and have your student represent this number by showing the first number on his left hand and the second number on his right hand. 24 would be LH pointer, RH ring finger. Then set the timer and let ‘er fly calling out double digits as fast as you can. This is a great game for older beginners.
3. Finger Flash – Call out (as fast as you can), “Left hand 1, Right hand 4. Left hand 2, Right hand 5” etc. see if your piano student can create these combinations using aural cues.
4. Number Chain – Have your student roll a die and write down the resulting numbers in a line on a piece of paper. I like to use a big foam die to prevent it rolling under the piano. If they roll a 6 it’s a re-roll. Once you have ten numbers in a line, then your student plays any given key on the piano with this “chain” of fingers. For example, if she rolled 3,4,5,1,2 etc. then she would play middle C with first her 3 finger, then her 4, then her 5, then her 1 etc. How fast can she play the chain without making a mistake?
5. Roll A Die – Roll a die (again, using a big foam one from the Dollar Tree saves you any chasing) and have your student hold up the finger number that corresponds. Rolling a 6 is a “wild roll” and you both race to play a group of 2 black keys (another important beginner skill).
6. Separate a deck of cards by taking out numbers 1 through 5 in all suits. Shuffle the cards and then flip through the deck, holding up one card at a time. Your student plays any key with the finger number shown. Red suits (hearts and diamonds) are for the RH and black suits (clubs and spades) are for the LH. How fast can you flip through?
7. Ghost Fingers – Hold your hand up against your student’s hand so your palms are touching. He names the finger that you slightly wiggle against his. This one requires him to connect a sensation in his finger with his knowledge of the finger’s “number name” – very different than visually knowing it.
8. Trace Race – This is a take-off from the “traditional” trace your hands activity. Instead of tracing the entire hand, your student holds the pencil and waits for you to say a finger number. He then only traces around that finger and then waits for the next number, tracing around only that finger. Continue until the entire hand is complete.
9. Grab a Drum – This is a great off-the bench way of reinforcing finger numbers. Using a bongo drum (or even the skin of a tambourine) ask your student to tap rhythms given to them (you clap or demo on the drum) with a given finger number. This is a great ear training exercise built right in!
10. Play Dough – Play dough is great for tactile learners. Roll out a flat pancake and have your piano student make a hand impression in the dough. You can now use this as you would a hand tracing – but you can be inventive with a few props (a pencil can poke holes, pretty beads can be pushed in etc.)
11. Finger Visits – Have your student’s RH fingers “visit” the LH fingers by asking her to touch a given RH finger to a given LH finger. This is a great cross-brain activity that requires a lot of careful thought for kids – and also gives them reinforcement using their sense of touch. Ask “Can RH 1 visit LH 5?” Your student then touches their RH thumb to the pad of their LH 5 finger. Repeat.
12. Flick It – Place a pen on a flat surface and ask you student to flick it so it rolls across the table. The catch? They have to use a certain finger (named by you) to brace against their thumb to perform the “flick”. Be sure to do this with both hands (but one at a time).
13. Can you guess? Hold your hands behind your back with a different finger sticking up on each hand. Your student has 3 tries to guess the combination (“Number 1 and Number 4?” etc.) After 3 guesses the finger combination is revealed and it’s now your turn to guess your student’s combination.
14. Find the fingering – This brings finger numbering back into context – hold up finger, have your student name the finger number and then go searching in his brand new method book to find this finger number within the context of a piece (as fast as he can).
What’s Old Is New Again!
Changing up your teaching routine is not only fun for your students… it’s fun for you too! How many times have you used the same old “learn your fingering” drills?! Snore. What’s old can be made new again with a little ingenuity and the willingness to try something new. You AND your students will be smiling with even the smallest of changes. Give it a shot!
Speaking of old… those same technical exercises books that you’ve used for fifteen years can be a bit dry. Have you checked out our TEDDtales technical exercise book yet? It’s a fabulous way of honing in on those needed technical skills in a way that is an absolute blast for both your and your students!
Cheryl says
Great post, Andrea! Thanks so much for sharing! I’ll definitely be trying this resource out in my studio. I have a new student starting very soon, so this will come in handy. 😉
Connie says
Your posts give me such great ideas! I have been back into full time piano teaching for a year now. Your ideas have been and ARE invaluable to me! Thanks so much!
Rachel says
Thank u for sharing – I’m going to try some of these ideas with my youngest students.
Patsy I says
Love these ideas. I use finger puppets with some of the “games” I play and they will fit in perfectly with several of the exercises you mention! I purchased my inexpensive puppets from Amazon – they are called “Neon Monkey Vinyl Finger Puppets ZOO Animal Jungle Party Favor Novelty TOY”.
Andrea says
Great idea to add puppets Patsy! Thanks for sharing 🙂
Ann says
Thanks for sharing these great ideas. I look forward to trying them with my new students. I definitely agree with your comment about using the large foam dice – it saves crawling round the floor after a small one ends up under the piano or couch after being thrown by an overzealous young student. I have also made spinners for some games for the same reason. Another game my students enjoy is Susan Paradis’ Finger Number Bingo – http://susanparadis.com/catalog.php?ID=SP517
Dianne Chrestopoulos says
Andrea I love these! They are so simple and so cute and so very useful. How do you think of all of these things, get them posted and still have time for your family? Wow, anyway thank you again from a big fan!
Andrea says
Hi Dianne – I’m always thinking piano 😉 … and we basically never sleep LOL
Melissa says
Thank you! I so needed this today! I will be using this for a couple of new students this week. And my students are loving their TeddTales…I think they practice those more than anything else just so they can get a new one each week! Thanks for sharing such great ideas and creating wonderful products!
Andrea says
That’s so great to hear! Yes, my kids come in and almost grab my TEDDtales binder themselves to “get a new one”. That never happened with the old book! I’m stoked that they’re excited about technique! Cheers 🙂
Diane U. says
We sing “Where is Thumbkin”, but use numbers instead of names, ending with “where is right hand, where is left hand?”
Andrea says
That song brings back such great childhood memories! I had forgotten about it, but thanks for the reminder! 🙂
Catherine says
Thank you for this fun and useful assortment of ideas! I like the use of different learning modes as well as the cross-brain activity. This post (specifically the play dough activity) gave me another idea: one could do the same activity in clay or on attractive art paper, have students number the fingers, and then decorate their hands with pretty beads as you suggest, colorful sparkles, etc.. The resulting “art project” could then be posted near their piano at home (or elsewhere) where they would see it when they practice. The finger numbers would be continually reinforced, and they would have a lovely and very personal keepsake from their early piano days.
Andrea says
This is a great extension of the idea Catherine! They’d love this! Love the collaboration that comes from having so many wonderful piano teachers in the same place 🙂
Catherine says
Thanks to you and Trevor for providing such a rich and creative forum to share!
Susan McGuire says
All good ideas, thank you all! Something some of you may also be running into are students who also take violin who call the pointer finger 1 instead of 2.
Andrea says
Guitar kids to this too! 🙂
Emily says
I personally like “spider fingers” because it teaches them good hand shape at the same time (we don’t want to squish the spider)! It sort of follows Simon Says, but after the first few lesson it turns in to the spider doing warm-ups and stretching her legs before dancing on the keys.
Andrea says
Great idea Emily – thanks for sharing!
Debbie says
Thank you, Andrea! Love your inventive ways to teach “the same ole” things!
Andrea says
Thanks for reading Debbie!
Sarah says
Oh thank you for this. I’ve just started a bunch of new 4 year olds and it’s not them that’s tired of finger games, it’s ME!
Caroline says
What great ideas! Thanks for sharing!