How to Teach the Piano Keyboard
- 1). Show the student proper hand and arm position. The elbow should be bent and the arm and shoulders as relaxed as possible. The palms of the hands should rest below the keys and the fingers be curled to allow the thumbs to reach the keys. Many students may find this awkward at first and try to straighten out their hands to play with just the four long fingers, so watch for this and correct it.
- 2). Teach the student the basic, white-key note names. Tell her that it's just like saying the alphabet, except it ends at G then starts over. Show her the bottom A at the left end of the keyboard and practice saying the note names all the way up to the top of the keyboard.
- 3). Show the student where middle C is located on the keyboard. Show the student how this key can be identified by looking at its position in relation to the groupings of two black keys. Help the student position her thumbs on the middle C and play groups of ascending and descending notes with her right and left hands.
- 4). Use a progressive beginner method book to teach the student the basics of note reading on the staff. There are hundreds of appropriate books written with similar approaches and music that get more challenging as the student improves. You can find a selection at any local sheet music store. Many books come in a series, so be sure you're getting the first book. As your student advances, you will probably want to use multiple books and start assigning solo literature as well (the staff at your music store can help you find music at the appropriate level for your student).
- 5). Introduce the student to sharps and flats and how to play the black keys on the piano. Tell him that, as a rule, black keys are only played using fingers, not thumbs. Show him how to read a sharp symbol and raise a note, and how to read a flat symbol and lower a note.
- 6). Start the student on scale excesses. You can get method books for these (such as the Hanon studies, which are considered the gold standard in development of technique) or you can write your own. Focus on the student's hand movement and how she is switching her hand position to move up and down the keyboard.
