At some point in our teaching careers we will all be faced with it…. a “two-handed” piano student suddenly becomes a “one-handed” piano student. Whether it’s a broken arm, a sprained wrist, or burned fingers… a myriad of different injuries can throw a bunch of wrenches into a typical piano lesson.
So the question is… how can teachers navigate these “one-handed” weeks while still maintaining piano lesson progress? Is this even possible? This podcast is less than 10 minutes, but it’s packed with info! Listen below …
How To Teach “One-Handed” Piano Lessons (Show Notes)
Today on the Teach Piano Today HelpLine Podcast we’re discussing this topic with Dr. Chris Foley. In the midst of a busy schedule that involves adjudicating, blogging and training Royal Conservatory examiners, Dr. Foley joins us to discuss:
- How it is possible to teach one-handed piano lessons
- Why time spent as a “one-handed” pianist can actually be a benefit
- Repertoire suggestions for right hand only and left hand only pieces
- What to do about practice during this time
- How to start back into lessons once the injury has healed
Looking for Adaptable Lesson Activities?
Dr. Foley’s advice to spend the lesson time on learning activities other than playing is something that we specialize in! If you have a “one-handed” student and you’re looking for lesson activities that focus on aspects such as sight reading and ear training, you’ll want to check out these blog posts for ideas.
How Four Mistake Busters Can Turn Students Into Sight-Reading Superstars
By The End Of This Post You’ll Be Teaching Improv To Students As Young As Five
Andrea, I’m LOVING your podcasts! I can listen to great teaching ideas – hopefully won’t need to use these ones for injured students though – while I work away at tasks. Thanks! I love your regular blogs too.
I have had students drop out for over a month because of an injury, and while I’ve wanted to continue lessons this way, I can’t seem to get the parents on board. Maybe this post will help the next time this comes up!
Try adding it to your Policy page, so parents are aware in advance that students with an arm/hand in a cast are still expected to attend.
Great idea Beth – I’m a big fan of preventing problems before they occur, so a small note saying that lessons will still continue in the instance of a hand/arm/finger injury is a great idea.
I have found this an excellent time to work with Theory! I had a student who could play by ear very well. But when she broke her arm, we spent the time reinforcing note naming and analysis in her music., as well as getting ready for the Texas MTA theory test. It really helped her.
Exactly Dorothy – it provides a great “forced” opportunity to work on things that typically get less time in a typical lesson setting. You can almost look at it as a bonus! 🙂
The digital piano in my studio comes in handy (no pun intended) during these times. We work on making and playing with backing tracks. Even though I do this during ‘healthy’ times, too, healing time is a great opportunity to experiment with the sounds, consider voicing ranges, etc.
Great idea Gail!
Just last week I got a text about a sprained finger on the left hand! It was great because even his mom had already come up with suggestions for him to keep playing (starting with just skipping the note that finger plays) and we brainstormed more ideas when he came to his lesson. I told him the story of Clara Schumann’s hand injury and the piece Brahms gave to her so she could play one handed. Music history moment!
Nice work seizing the opportunity to turn it into a learning experience Melinda!
Perfect timing! I ended up with not one but TWO students with broken arms last week. This is a great help!
Oh my goodness! I hope these suggestions are helpful so they can continue on seamlessly 🙂
Andrea you must be PSYCHIC! My student had JUST sprained (possibly broken) her thumb yesterday…I was horrified. She loves her lessons and I’m sure was devastated that she would be away from the piano and lessons for quite awhile. But now…alas…there’s hope! Thanks for sharing :))
Hi Judith! Love it when a blog post is immediately relevant like that 🙂 No need for her to be devastated – lots and lots the two of you can do (and it’s actually really enjoyable to have this “change” forced upon lesson time… it makes for a great break from routines). Best of luck!
This is so helpful and timely for me! I had to go in to the hospital for a medical procedure, and the nurse ended up damaging my left radial nerve while trying to insert an IV. I have been unable to use my left arm for playing for several weeks now, and was starting to wonder what I could do to continue working on piano despite my injury. It has been making life very interesting for me, that’s for sure! Some of this advice is very helpful, particularly that of getting back into advanced repertoire gradually. I guess there is more time for composing now!
Someone in my studio just sprained a finger! LOL. Perfect timing! Thank you! Excellent podcast! I will keep on listening in to your podcasts. Very good presenter.
Any ideas on how to rehab after they get their cast off? I don’t want to return immediately to the harder songs they were working on because I don’t want to do any damage to the weak arm…