Last week, I shared the first of three strategies to kick off our “Practicing Away From the Piano” Blogging Series. If you missed that first post (and the free printable too!), check it out here.
Today, in Part 2 of the series, it’s all about…
Mental Practice… Kid Style
You may have heard of the benefits of “mental practice” (read about it in Dr. Noa Kageyama’s interview with TPT) for preparing students for successful performances.
If you haven’t heard of “mental practice”, it’s a simple concept: students “play” through a piece in their mind, hearing it as though they were actually playing it.
But for an 8-year-old child, mental practice likely goes a little something like this…
“Lah lah lah… why is that chair red? Lah lah lah… I’m hungry. Lah lah lah…Suzy said I could borrow her skipping rope. Lah lah lah… uh oh… I’m lost.”
Kids are naturally active and their brains work a mile a minute.
Children need to be taught how to hear something accurately in their minds, and they need to practice staying present and focused for extended periods of time.
3 Games For Mental Practice Habits
Teaching mental practice is best started with the music in front of your students. Eventually, you’ll be able to wean them off of the book, but initially, it helps young children stay focused.
Game #1 – Pencil Drag
Give your student a pencil and point the “eraser end” at her book. Ask her to drag the pencil along the music as you “hum” the melody. Next, get her to drag the pencil as she “hears” the right-hand melody line in her head (no singing).
If you are also mentally practicing along with her, you can tell if the speed of her pencil is accurate. If her speed is not accurate, and it appears as though she is just going through the motions, then go back to “drag and sing”. Next, break the piece apart into smaller sections of “hear in your head” practice until you see the “aha!” lightbulb turn on.
Game #2 – Lah Lah Shhhh!
My 8-year-old little munchkin came up with the name of this game and I love it! To begin, alternate measures of “lah lah-ing” the melody and then hearing the melody in one’s head. This means every other measure is sung while the remaining measures are “heard” silently.
Work your way through her piece in this way, and then do it again, changing it so that one measure is “lah lah-ed” and the following 2 measures are mentally practiced… then one measure is “lah lah-ed” and the following 3 measures mentally practiced… and so on. Eventually, the mental practice will happen for the majority of the piece with just a few “lah lah’s” in there to keep her on track.
Game #3 – Stop Me!
Ask your student to begin mentally rehearsing her piece. At random intervals say “Stop!”, and ask your student to point to the measure at which she was stopped. Have her put her hands on the piano, play two measures and then drop her hands and continue on with mental practice until the next “stop!” occurs.
Try to give at least 4 to 6 measures of mental practice in between stops to avoid frustrating your student.
Most Importantly… Just Try It!
Another part of mental practice is simply trying it! Encourage your students to spend as much time mentally practicing the piano as they do physically practicing the piano. Give them mental practice goals just as you would normal practice goals. Help them find times in their days (in the car, before they go to sleep, as they brush their teeth, while they’re on the bus) when they can experiment with mental practice.
Eventually, you will want students to be able to mentally hear both treble and bass clef (together) from beginning to end with all of the articulation, phrasing, and dynamics that are on the page. Including this skill as a regular part of your students’ practice (especially from a young age) is a great way to start!
Morgan says
These are great ideas! I love the title “lah-lah-shhh”!! I think I’ll change “Stop Me!” To “Somebody Stop Me!” (even though kids haven’t seen The Mask). It’ll at least be entertaining to me, and the kids will still probably love it.
At the end of my senior year of college in the piano performance program, my teacher asked me how many hours I spent “mental practicing,” and I had no clue what that was! She couldn’t believe it! So I will make sure none of my students are in the same boat!
Can’t wait for Part 3!
lynn kiesewetter says
I prefer to tap instead of dragging (#1). I think it enhances the development of internal rhythm. And Instead of a pencil, we use a variety of “magic wands” a la Harry Potter~ colorful lacquered chopsticks are the favorite.
I started using chopsticks because they are a little longer than pencils and I don’t have to lean over and strain my shoulder as much when I’m doing the pointing.
Andrea says
Very cool – love the magic wands idea lynn! Thanks for sharing 🙂
Fiona says
Great ideas, I need to do this. And I love Lynn’s chopstick idea, too!
I wish someone had done these with me when I was a child.
Laura says
These are great ideas – will definitely be trying them this year!
Jennifer says
We sing our music first in solfege – from day one. Kids love this! Five finger patterns first – Do re mi fa sol (or la ti do re mi), and gradually add more notes.
Annella says
“Lah-Lah-Shhh” is very similar to a game I play with my students where we sing simple melodies together (by memory) and then when I give the motion, sing silently in our heads or “inner hear” the music. Sometimes we call it Radio or sometimes I use a “magic wand.” Works well in a group class setting where the students can decide when to turn off and on the radio!
Kelsey says
These are excellent ideas! Mental practice is so beneficial, but I too didn’t learn about it until college. Hopefully we can raise a new generation of mental practicers!
Teresa says
I love these ideas! I use an old remote when I teach preschoolers school music, and “mute” and “unmute” them to help develop their inner hearing. Hadn’t thought of using that idea in piano lessons!