I teach an adorable 9-year-old piano student. She’s spunky, funny, and excitable… a real darling. But in the weeks leading up to our recital, she was driving. me. crazy.
In the midst of our final preparations, she decided that her new habit would be to grasp whatever writing utensil she could get her hands on and then spend several long minutes adding extensive “doodles” to her music page. Arrows, stars, smiley faces, underlines, dots, highlighting… she’d add them all… with glee.
I’d let it go for a few minutes (secretly frustrated) and then attempt to re-direct her to a different activity that I deemed to be a better use of our time. I’d remove all of the pencils from her reach and carry on… until she’d find a way to get her hands on a pen…
But last week I suddenly realized how silly I was being. This whole time she had been waving a very important piano teaching tool right in front of my face, and I was passing it off as poor behavior… ugh!
Hand Over The Pencil And Learn!
At the first lesson back following our recital, my doodling piano student started working on a new piece and I started working on a new teaching strategy.
We hadn’t been chatting about the new piece for very long when her eager fingers reached over to the pencil I held in my hand. But this time, instead of attempting to avoid the inevitable doodling, I instead happily handed her my pencil plus three brightly-colored gel pens I’d set aside for this occasion. She literally squealed with delight.
As we continued to chat about her piece for the next three minutes (I timed it) I watched her draw on her piece and analyzed what she was doing and what I could learn from it as her teacher.
As it turns out, in amongst some fairly random doodles, she had actually sketched out a few very meaningful markings. Sure she was a little scattered, but still, in her own way, she had the beginnings of a personal system of powerful visual reminders.
She wasn’t just doodling… she was teaching herself. What I had incorrectly assumed would be wasted lesson time was actually the opposite. This was efficiency at its best.
Why Your Student Should Have Full Doodle Rights
In the past, I had always been the one to mark up a piano piece with reminders. I had been the one to indicate where to pay close attention to dynamics, rhythm, and articulation. I would decide what notes I thought she’d need help with. I would remind her of repeat signs and 8va markings and fingering.
But what I realized as I watched her “doodle” was that many of the things that I felt she needed to be reminded of were not things that she deemed important to her learning process. She chose different things to highlight, circle, and star than I would have. And, of course, she also still chose to make a bunch of arbitrary zigs, zags, and smiley faces… but we’re working on that 🙂
Her leap into self-directed learning was exactly what I had aimed to achieve with my students… but hello?!… I had been previously discouraging it by being the “guardian of the writing instruments”. Not anymore…
Tips for Handing Over The Reins
I now use the phrase “Doodle Study” to refer to student-led music marking. This takes place as I first introduce a piece and before we do a more formal score study (typically using this printable).
My piano students now have a small pencil case that they keep in their music bags. Inside the case are a pencil, a highlighter, and an assortment of colored pencils that they can use for “Doodle Study” either in a lesson or at home. Needless to say, they LOVE this… it’s much more exciting than I ever thought pencils could be 😉
Lately, as I watch my students Doodle Study, I learn invaluable things about how they learn as individuals… what they themselves identify as their “problem areas” and what they feel confident in knowing already. This then translates into what we focus on in their lesson times… what piano games I select in order to reinforce problem areas and what repertoire I choose to supplement their learning. It’s efficient, focused and completely tailored to individual needs in the simplest way possible.
Speaking of repertoire selection. If you have struggling little note readers, our WunderKeys Method Books have taken the most common things that contribute to note-reading problems and solved them! Find out more here.
If you’re itching to give Doodle Study a try, here are some things I’ve learned that you may find helpful:
- Some students are natural at this and some are not. Don’t give up on the kids who put a few pencil lines on the page and look at you and shrug. Prompt them with some ideas and keep trying with each new opportunity. Show them examples of what other students have done to get their doodle juices flowing.
- Giving your piano students their own pencil case gives Doodle Study an air of importance. Your local Dollar Store is perfect for this – it cost me $2.25 to completely outfit a student with her own Doodle Study Kit. Well worth it in my opinion! Plus… it keeps germs off my own writing utensils…
- Don’t assume (at least in the beginning) that anything your piano students add to their page is a waste of time. Instead, do your best to see the intent behind the doodle. Later in the process, you can make suggestions for more effective markings if you like, or, if it’s working, you can chalk it up to differences in learning style!
- Set a time limit – 3 minutes is plenty. Some kids will keep going until their entire page is covered… and then Doodle Study’s effectiveness ceases to exist… and it becomes art class 😉
- As your piano students become expert Doodle Studiers, encourage them to begin using a predictable system that remains the same from piece to piece. This doesn’t have to happen right away, but as they practice this more and more the benefit then comes from developing a cohesive system.
- Doodle Study doesn’t mean that you can’t also add your two cents. If you notice that a visual reminder would be helpful, feel free to add your own artistic talents.
More Creative Score Study Strategies:
Why, For More Than A Decade, I’ve Been Using Piano Stickers All Wrong
A Colorful Way To Teach Phrasing To Piano Students
Jennifer Foxx says
Tactile learning at it’s best. I have a student that is a total tactile learner. My challenge is to move her along… 😉 I like the idea of setting a time limit. 🙂 Love “Doodle Study”!
Stacey says
Hi Andrea
This sounds like so much fun, and definitely something I would like to implement, but I am still a bit confused about what children should be doodling and where? Can you maybe post a picture of an example doodled page please?
Andrea says
Hi Stacey – I’ll try to take a photo this afternoon. It varies from child to child – some who have issues with note reading have found ways of indication steps vs. skips where they need a reminder (one draws skipping ropes and then uses a “stair-shaped” line to show stepping). Some use arrows to point to things they need to remember. Some draw little characters to remind them of repeat signs etc. As it’s so individual it’s a great idea to give your student a pencil and simply say “What would you like to add to the music to help you learn it more easily?”… and then watch. Kids are amazing 🙂
Melissa says
Andrea, I really like this idea. Your explanation here, with some specific ideas is helpful for a non-doodler like me. I would still love to see a photo sometime, too.
Joy says
Great article. I often hand students a pencil and suggest they find a way of marking reminders. They are much more likely to relate to their own scribble/signs the next time they play through the piece.
Beth says
Thanks for this thought-provoking post. I often tell students to write reminders that I suggest, but to have them think of their own is a great idea. Thank you!
Eric Ng says
Hi Andrea,
I let my students doodle/mark on their music as well. I find that letting them choose their favourite colour to use gets them excited. I particularly like using colours to represent dynamics! Great post.
Eric
Val letenyei says
I have small metal buckets on my piano that you can get at Target for $1. One has hi-liters, one has markers, one has pencils. We use them all for things like dynamics, tempo changes, chord families, etc. and yes – very effective way for students to see important details that normal don’t stand out on a black and white page. Having the buckets helps when it is time to move along – I just say “let’s return that pink hi-liter to the bucket” and they know it’s time to start playing the piece rather than decorate it!
Andrea says
Great idea with the buckets Val – thanks so much for sharing!
Maria Lewander says
Wow! I am the teacher you described, so worried about the time lost when students want to doodle…! Teaching 20-minute (!) lessons makes me stressed, but as you described, they learn on their own this way. This was a great article, and I needed to hear this! Thank you!
Andrea says
We’re so glad it was helpful 🙂 It’s always a big mind shift from moving away from how we ourselves were taught and reminding ourselves that learning can look very different from student to student. The nature of piano lessons means you’re always conscious of the time that is ticking, but if meaningful learning is happening… let that clock tick away! 🙂
Andrea says
It’s always tricky to find a balance between feeling as though you’ve given them enough material to work on for the week, but also allowing time for creativity and expression and these important “learning moments”. Have you come across this blog post? It might help with the feeling of time crunch. https://www.teachpianotoday.com/2019/09/25/what-to-do-if-youve-fallen-into-the-piano-piece-a-week-trap/