Over the next few weeks, Andrea and I will be sharing technique-focused piano songs for primer and level 1 students.
Each “Quick Fix tune” will focus on a specific technical skill that troubles young pianists.
These songs are intended to be emailed to your students while they are on summer break. This way, when your kids return to lessons in the fall, some of those nagging issues will have been eliminated.
Today’s Quick Fix tune, about a water skiing wallaby, is designed to build finger strength in those troublesome four fingers.
A Technique-Focused Piano Song For That Funky Four Finger
The four finger (ring finger) is a tricky digit. Even for adults, moving the four finger is problematic.
While trying to research why the four finger is such an issue, I wound up buried in text about radial nerves, ulnar nerves, and a bunch of other nerves that are best left in the domain of hand surgeons.
However, I did discover a little demonstration that illustrates quite clearly the problems associated with the four finger. Ready?
Lay your hand palm-down on a table with your fingers spread. Curl your middle finger under your hand so that its first knuckle is pressed against the table.
Next, tap your RH 1 while keeping the middle finger pinned and all other fingers pressed on the table. No problem, right? Now, tap your RH 2. Again… no problem.
Finally, try to tap your RH 4 while keeping the middle finger pinned and all other fingers pressed on the table.
And therein lies the issue. If you followed the instructions closely, either your RH 4 couldn’t move or could only barely move.
It doesn’t have the independence found in the other fingers. For this reason, piano students struggle with coordination in their four fingers.
But, while they don’t move well on their own, the four fingers can be exercised to move more efficiently.
For this reason, the first tune in our technique-focused piano songs series works on improving movement in your students’ four fingers.
Before You Download Today’s Quick Fix Piano Tune
Technical exercises should be a part of every piano lesson. But, because these exercises are generally short, students complete them fast and then run out of daily material.
This, however, does not happen when using Andrea and Trevor Dow’s Technical Exercises For Note Reading Success, Book One.
This resource for primer piano students contains 226 technical exercises that are designed to work out your students’ fingers and, most importantly, improve their note-reading skills.
Click here or on the cover below to learn more.
Download Today’s Quick Fix Piano Tune
Technique-focused piano songs don’t sound very interesting. And that is just the challenge that inspires Andrea and me to get to work.
With Water Ski Wallaby, the cute lyrics and adorable melody mean your piano students will have no idea they are playing a technical tune designed to strengthen their four fingers!
Click here or on the image below to download Water Ski Wallaby. With today’s Quick Fix Piano Solo, your primer students will improve coordination in their RH 4 and LH 4 fingers.
Interlude.hk says
Thank you for this lovely quick-fix tune! This is very useful and interesting piano repertoire that children would love to sing and practice repeatedly (without knowing that it is for drilling on their technique)!
Andrea says
Glad you’ll enjoy using it 🙂