I’m always on the hunt for ways to increase the effectiveness of practice. For my youngest students specifically, I want to send them home with the tools they need to minimize confusion and maximize success. The home practice tool I’m sharing in today’s post achieves both of these goals.
Think back…. think waaaay back to when you were a young child. Now, remember the delight in tracing your own hand on to a piece of paper. Do you remember how it sort of tickled as the pencil followed the outline of your fingers… and how surprising it was to see how big your hand looked on the page (or how small!)… and… how fun it was to then turn that outline into a drawing of a turkey? Oh the simple joys of childhood 🙂
I relived this memory just the other day as I was tracing my 4 year old’s hand. She insisted upon cutting it out and carrying it around with her for the day. She’s inherited our quirky sense of humor; she named it “Handy”.
Lightbulbs went off for a piano teaching idea when she started teaching “Handy” to play the piano.
And so… compliments of our budding piano teacher… the resulting teaching ideas may be exactly what your young students need when learning a brand new piece.
A Handy Tool To Eliminate No-Practice Weeks
While I’ve used “hand tracing” for years to help with learning finger numbers, I never thought to use it for anything else! Today I’m sharing my new adventures with “Handy”.
To follow along with your own “Handy” tool, trace both of your students’ hands (preferably on something stiff like construction paper) and then cut out the tracings and paste just the palms (not the fingers) to a sheet of paper.
Now, try these strategies with your young students to set them up for home practice success:
- Which Fingers Start My Piece? – For some students, starting position is a stumbling block. They get home, somehow “forget where their hands go”, and then spend a week not practicing at all (or practicing incorrectly). To eliminate this headache, ask your student to fold down the fingers of the Handy Tool that begin their piece (one each hand). Once the fingers are folded, write the note name on them as well. Place the page inside your student’s book beside their assigned piece. Now he has a very effective visual and tactile reminder that can sit beside him on his home piano.
- Which Finger Plays the Accidental? – If you’re sending home a piano piece with an accidental that occurs frequently, ask your student to fold down the finger he will be using to play the sharp or flat. In 5-finger positions the specific finger used rarely changes, and so a very clear reminder can be helpful in preventing mistakes from being reinforced over and over. I’ve also used this strategy when introducing pentascales (“Which fingers are on black keys in the scale of E major?”).
But Wait… It’s Not Just a Practice Helper!
While this Handy Tool will do wonders for home practice, it can be used for many in-lesson activities as well (that then also result in more effective practice). Give these a try:
- Find the Intervals – The Handy Tool is the perfect visual for explaining intervals found within a given piece. Ask your student to fold down the fingers he would use to play a 4th on C, to fold down the fingers he would use to skip from E to G etc. This makes the connection of “4 notes apart on the piano is 4 fingers apart on your hand” very clear.
- Learn The Key – First, state the key (For example “D Major”) and then name notes one at a time. Have your student “flick” or bend the corresponding finger as you name the notes. For example, if you said “G, F#, D” your student would manipulate the 4, 3 and 1 fingers.
- Step, Skip, Repeat – Reinforce early reading skills by finding sets of notes that step, skip or repeat within a current piece. Ask your student to show you the step, skip or repeat by bending down the fingers (or finger) that is used.
Trevor and I are always looking for ways to help piano students maximize home practice. Because students spend so little time in our studios, success on the piano truly depends on what happens at home. If you want another awesome resource for maximizing home practice check out our book, Shhhh… Your Piano Teacher Thinks This Is Practice. It contains 88 piano practice activities that are absolutely, positively, most definitely, NOT BORING!
Love this idea! Inexpensive and easy and so many possibilities. Thanks for sharing,
Hi Denise! You’re so welcome 🙂
you are soooooo smart! Thansk for sharing!
Great idea! You can also buy a fake manniquin hand (like the type to practice nail art on) and use that! I haven’t found a set of 2 hands yet. Here is a link on Amazon for one for $5.97. You could keep it in your studio and use stickers on the nails to mark the fingers. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004WRFIG8/ref=pd_lpo_sbs_dp_ss_2?pf_rd_p=1944687562&pf_rd_s=lpo-top-stripe-1&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_i=B0006GJZ7W&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=05VX9CJXR5QY6ZD9DYBA
Omg!! That’s brilliant… And maybe a little creepy? Hahaha! I’m sure I’ll come up with so many uses for that plastic hand! Thanks for sharing! Hahahahaha
Mannequin movable Flexible Hand Display Jewelry Bracelet nail ring holder 1 pair https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00NI4A6YK/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_awd_JD-JwbDMTPNWW
Too cool Karen! Kids would love this 🙂
Good ideas, as usual! Thanks.:)
I have a piano hand skeleton and never thought if doing things like this before with it! Great ideas! Thanks!
Great ideas!!! Thank you!!!!!!
I have a new student still having trouble with finger numbers. This sounds exactly like what I was trying to explain to her last week for when she got home. I will definitely try the paper hands. Any suggestions for multiple songs during the same week without making multiple hands? Also, was thinking it might work to have her use cat claw fingers on top of her own paper hands then I’ll ask her to lift the paper hand finger back with her own as I call out hand and finger numbers (or point to them in her songs) and we’ll see how many she can get right first try! Or do with a metronome on slow tempo . Good connections made and finger strength builder.Newer subscriber to your newsletter and I’m finding all the info so right on! THANK YOU!
Hi Debby – To make it work for multiple songs you could “color code” the fingers somehow. Put a big blue dot on the top of one piece and then blue dots on the fingers she’ll need for that piece on the paper hands etc?
Andrea…always love your and Trevor’s blog post…
I’ve been looking for an idea for a practice incentive for the New Year. Love the idea of tracing the hands and I’m thinking about making a chain of hands around my studio. In order for a student to be able to add their hand to the chain, they must practice at least 5 days a week (I emphasize a minimum of 5 days of practice to build muscle memory). The youngest must practice a minimum of 10 minutes a day and the older students must practice a minimum of 20 min a day for 5 days. I have several who practice a lot more and they will be the ones who motivate the others. They could write the length of practice on the finger tips and parents sign the palm to confirm it was done. My youngest just turned 5 and I have a teen boy with a hand span that will reach a 10th. It would make a very interesting chain….
I got a bag of styrofoam hands at Joanne’s craft store and glued them onto Popsicle sticks. Then you can label the finger numbers and label the hands left and right. Students love these practice hands. Also they are useful for clapping rhythms.
Very cool idea Louise! Thanks for sharing 🙂
Brilliant! I love it when things that happen in everyday life can spark such a fantastic idea!
Isn’t it wonderful Georgiana! 🙂 The simplest things are often the most useful!
Fabulous idea,thanks for sharing!