I am teaching a student this year who has a hard time paying attention to the rhythms in his music. Usually I have no problem fixing rhythm issues. But this particular student also struggles with tracking, and occasionally with differentiating between treble and bass clef.
So…. fixing his rhythmic issues also means addressing these other problems too.
And when you have to address issues with tracking and staff identification, common techniques for reinforcing rhythm, like clapping the music first, just don’t work.
So I had to try something different.
I started using a teaching strategy that worked so well it now gets used with all of my young beginners. It’s called Track Tapping… and it helps to teach rhythm, build tracking skills, solidify treble and bass clef understanding and “pre-teach” the coordination your students will need once their hands are on the piano.
Track Tapping… A New Way To Reinforce Rhythm
I didn’t know what else to call this strategy (maybe it already has a name)… so I called it Track Tapping. Track Tapping is where your students use “drum sticks” (pencils work great!) to tap the rhythm of a piece. Each “tap” happens directly on top of each note head on the music and is held for the corresponding number of beats. Left hand rhythms are tapped with the stick in the left hand and right hand rhythms are tapped with stick in the right hand. Check out the short demo video below.
Track Tapping Works! But Why?
Not only does Track Tapping help your piano students focus in on the rhythm of their music, but it also strengthens their eye-tracking skills and right hand vs. left hand coordination.
Your students are training their eyes, hands and ears (the tapping sound is a great aural-feedback tool) to move across the page of music in a rhythmic way.
With Track Tapping, your students learn to directly associate each rhythmic value with what is pictured on the page. A half note is tapped and held for 2 beats directly on the half note; there is no room for confusion or guessing… as can happen when clapping a rhythm.
Your students are also learning to move across the page of music in a way that is even, measured and directly related to what is in their music. The opportunity that Track Tapping provides to move back and forth between right and left hands (not possible with clapping) further strengthens tracking abilities and clears up the treble/bass clef confusion that is common with young beginners.
Take It Back To The Piano…
Once you move back to the piano, your students will have already practiced following the rhythm of their music in an even way. They have pre-learned the “back and forth” between their hands and they have already “heard” the rhythm separate from the melody. These three things are often enough to make the next step (note reading) much, much easier.
Give it a try with your young piano students! It’s a great off-the-bench way of solving three common piano student problems with one super-fun strategy!
Are You Looking For Primer Piano Resources?
If you are searching for exciting primer resources, check out these titles from Andrea and Trevor Dow’s Very Useful Piano Library (click on the cover or the link below each book).
Chris says
When I read this, I remembered the two-handed rhythm exercises I had to do as part of my sight-reading course during music studies at college. The idea was almost exactly the same–tapping out the rhythms with the correct hand–but we tap directly on the music (probably would have made it easier if we had!).
We also had to use a different sound for each hand to help the teacher evaluate, so we might, for example, tap with a pencil in one hand and tap with bare fingers on the desk with another hand.
Brilliant idea, thank you for sharing this simple solution!
Chris says
Sorry, in my comment above I had meant to say, during my college studies we *didn’t* tap directly on the music, but that probably would have helped even more.
I was the student who always hated saying rhythms out loud as I clapped–doing two things at once always confused more than helped me, but this idea eliminates that problem!
michele says
Wow…I don’t know where you come up with these brilliant ideas but bob o boy am I glad you do. Occasionally I tear my hair out thinking of solutions to issues in the 70+ student studio and VOILA…it’s magic! Just research in Teaching Piano Today! <3
Patricia Moore says
I have always had my students tap and count their music before they play. I’ve never used the tapping with a pencil on the paper. They tap the hand that plays. I’ve always told them “if you can’t tap and count it you won’t be able to play and count it either”. It makes a significant difference. I can tell immediately if a student has tapped and counted first or not.
Heather says
Love this! My daughter has a piano teacher, but I try to help her despite not playing piano myself. Rhythm is hardest for her as it no doubt for most. Cannot wait to use this!! N