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).
This is brilliant Andrea, I love it! You’re so full of amazing ideas!
I will definitely use this. I like the way it moves the correct hand at the time it should hit the specific note too.
hI, Love this idea! I often use rhythm cups and students tap the cup on the table for the right hand and tap the bottom of the cup with the index finger for the left. Where the two overlap, we do it together, switching places. Love the idea of doing this on top of the music with the pencils. Thank you!
I will definitely use this. I like the way it moves the correct hand at the time it should hit the specific note too.
Love this idea! I often use rhythm cups and students tap the cup on the table for the right hand and tap the bottom of the cup with the index finger for the left. Where the two overlap, we do it together, switching places. Love the idea of doing this on top of the music with the pencils. Thank you!
Another idea to add to the repertoire! Thank you. With some of my younger students, I’ve been using small castanet type tappers, one for each hand, to follow the rhythms. All my students will enjoy this activity. Oh, and one of my teens “adores, just adores, absolutely adores” (her words) the Guardians of Arranmore. Thought you might like to know and be encouraged.
Love to hear it Jean! I’m so glad that the Guardians of Arranmore book is well-loved 🙂
Wonderful idea! Thanks Andrea!
Brilliant! I was wondering what to do with all the chopsticks that I collect, now I have the solution. Thank you!
Love the chopsticks idea!
Chopsticks are perfect Leila! 🙂
Great idea! Thanks for sharing!
I really like this and will take it one step further-slide the pencil across the measure for longer notes (half note would be tap first beat, slide the second beat and the whole note would be tap the first beat, slide across the measure for the other 3) since many of my students can place half and while notes, but fail to hold then the correct value.
Another idea might be to just make sure they hold the appropriate “drumstick” down long enough without lifting, as that would be approximate what we do with our hands (i.e., hit and lift; we don’t hit the notes and then slide for the duration).
I have always slid when tapping on the page but thinking about it today that doesn’t really address the co-ordination issue (it DOES teach the idea of pulse and duration).
Not meaning to be critical of your idea, just got me thinking. Really, I think it depends on what problem you’re trying to solve…co-ordination (which is an issue with one of my beginners right now) or being aware of duration like you were saying.
Hi Meghan – I tend to hold it too (as in the video) as I want their muscle memory to be processing the feeling of the rhythm so it is pre-learned before they are back at the piano. For some kids the idea of duration can be a tricky one – so I say whatever works best for your individual student! 🙂
Totally get what you’re saying, Meghan! I was thinking about my students in particular who seem to have the coordination down, but gloss over the half notes (it’s always those poor half notes!), and thinking about what Wendy Stevens of http://www.composecreate.com has done with her Rhythm Cups Exploration 2 activites where half notes are not just tapped and held on the table, but tapped and then slid across to give that aural cue that the sound should still continue through the next beat. But my early players definitely just work on the coordination, I don’t ask to do the slide until they are more proficient with the prescribed method. For my more advanced students, it helps to have that motion to understand phrase shaping, since we don’t have the ability of wind players to advance a note through a phrase by adding a crescendo once the note has been depressed, or increasing a vibrato speed to add the idea of movement, it’s a lot harder to teach the concept that very rarely do notes just “sit there” but that they are always leading to or from the beginning or end of a phrase. Most advanced piano pieces are written with this in mind and the instruments’ limitations, but somewhere in the middle, while they’re still learning foundational concepts, it’s nice if you can introduce that idea in a way that makes sense so it’s not foreign when they get to be advanced. I love how many ideas can be slightly tweaked to fit whatever need you might be having-just like you said!
Thanks so much. I have often had my students point with their fingers to the notes on the page and count (mostly so that I will know that they understand the rhythm) and then tap the rhythm hands together on their lap. But this way, the teacher knows exactly what notes they are looking at.
Yes! It really will help with knowing where they’re at.
What a great idea! I currently have my students tap out their songs to the cd track from their method book with their right/left hands on the piano cover and this just is one big practical step further!
This will be so useful as I have 2 young boys who are challenged with rhythms & tracking. Thanks so much for sharing!
Hi Sonja – glad to hear it! Improving their eye tracking in piano lessons is so helpful for them in other areas of their life too such as reading! Aren’t we piano teachers just so valuable?! 🙂
Awesome idea as usual! General note to all – if you do not belong to the monthly piano book club you MUST! The music is incredible and geared towards every level of student – each month there is something for at least one of your groups of kids. I can’t say enough great things about it, so don’t wait, join up today!
You are so sweet Dianne! Thank you 🙂 We’re thrilled to hear that PianoBookClub has found a happy place in your studio!
I do this same thing, but use electronic drumsticks I found on clearance for $5. They make the drum sound and each one lights up when tapped. Students absolutely love it.
Oooh! I have a set of these! 🙂 Perfect!
me too!
That is super cool Debby!!
Oooooh!!! Must find something like this and after getting my own, post a link on my web page since I’m SURE home practice of this method might happen more frequently if students asked for a pair for Christmas or Birthday….lol
Great idea. An additional step after this could be that the student track-taps while a recording of the piece plays or the while the teacher plays it. Another big “Thank You” for sharing your wonderful ideas.
Thank you Thank you Thank you! What a fabulous idea.
I have had them use just one hand over the notes, but I think this is far better. Thanks!
Another great idea! Thanks so much!
That’s great!
Love this idea! Thanks for the video sample too!
Brilliant! This is why I love your blog!
Exactly! You share simple and elegant solutions that help us help our students!
All I can say is God bless you! I have a student with pretty serious tracking trouble and this will work for her- i just know it- also plan on using it with my other students as well. THANK YOU!
So glad to hear it Karen! Hope it’s her “lightbulb moment” 🙂
Brilliant. It seems so obvious. Love it.
LOL – I know! I’m kicking myself for all those years of clapping rhythms 😉
I do this for more complex rhythms but why not with ALL! I think it might be fun to add a backing track after they have a good command too!
I have done a similar thing with lap clapping, but I like the idea of sticks on the music. I especially like the fact that it simultaneously helps with left to right tracking, and with following both clefs — often a problem with those early elementary pieces where hands are sharing a melody. It looks appealing ….and brightly coloured sticks would ramp up the fun!
I’m thinking candy canes for winter lessons too Sandra 😉
Awesome idea! I have a drum set in my piano studio that my piano students are salivating over, and I’ve been trying to figure out how to incorporate it. I may do the drum but require right and left hand accuracy! I’ll interchange with this, but my students are betting for the drums! lol
Thank you! No more guilt for not having students clap out a rhythm… it didn’t seem to be an effective use of time since it didn’t really accomplish a lot except a change of pace. But I hadn’t found an alternative method…This will work!!!!
Glad to hear it Bonnie! Yes, now that I’ve been using this clapping seems so removed from what we’re then going to be asking them to do at the piano. This seems much more streamlined and relevant. Thanks for commenting!
Totally agree! I never liked clapping because you couldn’t tell a half note from a quarter note followed by a quarter rest and other similar issues. But I have so many kids (my own daughter included) who are REALLY resistant to any kind of vocalization of counting, (even when it REALLY REALLY helps and I’ve promised my students I won’t ask them to do something that won’t help them!), this might be the happy medium.
Brilliant!!!!!! Thank you Andrea! Will definitely try it with my students.
What a marvelous idea!! I can’t wait to try it — and may invest in electronic drumsticks — but would it cause students to watch the drumsticks more than being aware of the notes/rhythms on music?
I have a student I know this will really help! He’s a sweet little guy who’s still mixing up right/left/treble/bass so I think this will really make sense to him. Thanks!
It’s a common problem with little ones Meghan – and often they have tracking issues too if treble/bass gets mixed up. This lets you know exactly where they are struggling so you can help effectively. Thanks for reading!
I never did like teaching students to clap out rhythms, particularly younger students. Trying to coordinate both hands together seemed to distract from some of the other reading concepts I was trying to teach. This seems like a great alternative.
I also find that tapping on the page with both hands works well. They tap right on the notes with index finger of each hand, like with the drumsticks. But it seems to work best on a flat surface; if the music is on the music rack, they tend to get slowed down by resting their wrists on the paper.. Then we repeat it using the actual fingering.
Hi Lynn – yes, flat surface is best. You can certainly use fingers – but I’ve found that the aural feedback they get from a true “tapping” sound further helps to reinforce the rhythm (fingers are quieter). Thanks for sharing!
I like this!
I usually track it for them while they clap, then take turns where I play and they track. But this is even better ~ having them do both at the same time. Thanks Andrea!
Fantastic idea! I can’t wait to try it – tomorrow!
Love this idea! Thanks for sharing another great technique!
I always use tapping rather than clapping because you can involve both hands. We close the keyboard cover and tap the beat with the appropriate hand, holding notes their proper length, as though playing the piano. It is really a good method for the student who gets right and left mixed up.
Cool. I usually do something similar with just the pointer finger tapping the notes as you showed,….but this is way better! Using the left and right hands for bass and treble makes so much more sense. Can’t wait to try it. Thank you again.
I looooooove it!! This will really help my younger students. I am so glad I “happened” on your website. It is a blessing!!!
I do this too but I just use fingers to point as we sing the music. I bet some kids would really get into the pencils. They are like drum sticks.
I tried this with a beginner student on Tuesday and it worked fabulously! I usually have her point to the notes and read them, but having her tap it right on the music was even better.
I love this idea!! I can’t wait to try it! Thanks!
This is AMAZING!!! I love this and can’t wait to use this in my own studio. Thank you for sharing!
I can think of one student in particular who this could work wonders for. Thank you!
This is absolutely BRILLIANT!!! The moment I saw this video I tried it with every single piano student I had that day and for the rest of the week. I couldn’t believe the difference in their playing! Thanks for sharing all your amazing, ingenious teaching ideas for us music teachers…too bad it doesn’t work for my violin students though 😛
Hi Benita – so happy to hear it worked so well for you! 🙂
Hi Andrea and all you other creative teachers!
First, Andrea ,I tried your idea. It worked like magic for one of my students yesterday:) I’ve used a pointer and pointed to notes in the score. Students have counted along. This is better, though, since the student is doing it. I’ve also made a decision to switch over to the Gordon system of counting. It really is so much better than numbers.
Love the cups and sliding! Rhythm instruments are a big hit in my studio too.Thanks so much!
I make my student verbalize while they are tapping. At this level they can sing whole songs
quarter quarter half note
half note dot quarter
whole note hold it
(you have to say quarter real fast as a one syllable word). Clapping never made sense to me, I “finger pop”. As I say quarter, I pop up one finger. As I say half note, I pop up two fingers, etc. Very visual and aural. All my 3 year olds can do it!
I just discovered your website. I LOVE this idea. One of my students struggles experiencing 3/4 rhythm so I’ll try this.
Awesome, definitely going to try this!
Love this idea! Can’t wait to try it out. Sometimes if I have a kid who struggles with a particular rhythm we stand up and stomp it with the correct feet! The switch to gross motor movement can help too at times. I do like the benefits of tracking along right on the paper though. How do you get them to grasp the concept of looking ahead on longer notes to see what is coming next, without actually moving on?
What a wonderful idea! Thanks!
Love it! Just this evening, one of my young students was asked to tap/drum the rhythm of her new piece and she asked to use my markers (to tap against each other). I wanted her to tap each clef with that hand but acquiesced because colours ARE fun. This will be a great way to accommodate BOTH goals in the future.
Fabulous Caroline! 🙂