How To Improve Visual Note-Tracking in Beginner Piano Learning
This week I’d like to ask readers who are teachers (or self-teachers) if they would be interested in a new book that would deal with visual note-tracking for beginner students. This would not be specifically for the reading of notes, though improved playing would be an anticipated result. This book would provide thought-process learning experiences for the different ways notes move and the corresponding directional changes on the keyboard.
Examples of Visual Note-Tracking:
The student would identify how one note changed in relation to the previous note. The options for the beginner level would be:
BY STEP (neighbor note and/or key)
BY SKIP (one note in-between the first and second note/key)
REPEATS (note position does not change)
GOES UP (upward direction on the keyboard to the right)
GOES DOWN (downward direction on the keyboard to the left)
What Would the Visual Note-Tracking Look Like on the Page?
Each page would have a treble staff (to start) with two whole notes written as a step or skip apart or repeating. The student would identify step or skip, up or down, or repeated.
A large keyboard would follow each pair of notes. It would have a colored key to represent the first note in the example. The student would point to the key corresponding to the second written note and identify step or skip, up or down, or repeated.
Very Basic
Yes, this is very basic – and for the beginner student who is just learning the treble. But there are not-quite-beginner students who still struggle with the concept of “up” and “down” on the keyboard; neighboring notes moving by a step; or one note skipping over to another (on the staff and on the keyboard).
A Teaching Moment of Clarity
This reminded me of my writing back in August last year about an adult who was a from-scratch beginner about 60 years old. During this initial lesson her thought process was very puzzling to me at first. I had seen the same actions in my students who are children, and I had always attributed it to inattentiveness. But that could not be the reason with this adult beginner student who was concentrating intently.
Quite frequently, after playing one note correctly, if the next note was one step lower, instead of thinking “this is the next key going down to the left” – she would play the next key up to the right on the keyboard. We talked about this and decided that she was relating the reading/playing of notes to the reading of words, where after reading one word, the next thing to do is go on to read the next word – which is going on to the right.
So with piano, after playing one note, (regardless if the melody then went up or down a step), for the next note she would think – go on to the right – which is playing UP the keyboard, not down to the left.
This realization provided a reasonable explanation for the reading errors. Once we had the discussion, she realized the proper thinking process to use in reading notes. The whole lesson was quite insightful for me with this adult beginner.
Jumping to the Present
I’ve been asking my current students to think about how they read from one note to the next. “Do you compare the previous note to what you are now trying to read? Do you tell yourself, that’s the same note, or the top note is the same, but the bottom note has moved down?”
Surprising Answers about Note-Tracking
More students said “no or not always” – than said “yes, of course!” And that surprised me. We then discussed how comparing where you were (in reading the previous note) to where you are (the new note to read) would very much help with playing the correct notes and be faster and easier.
We then talked about how when the brain stalls and reverses the bass and treble notes. A quick fix would be to “let the eye be the boss over the hands.” Just look where you were and compare to where you are now. That should correct the hands (the reversed thinking with mixed up clefs).
So what do you think? Would you be interested in having a supplemental book for early learners to improve visual note-tracking? Please “vote” below and include any comments if you like – and thanks in advance for your input!
What Would the First Lesson for a Young Student Look Like?
What Would the First Lesson for a 6 to Teen Look Like (video)?
View sample pages of all the books for students
ages 6 to teen:
View sample pages of all the books for students
4 to 5 years old:
View sample pages of all the books for older
teens and adults:
View the books on Amazon:
Leslie Young is the author/composer of the Revolutionary Piano Method. She co-founded a K-12th grade charter school in Texas and has been a piano teacher for about 40 years. She has had experience teaching a variety of students tackling piano for the first time or as returning students.
Leslie believes that “learning to play the piano is more about diligence and perseverance” – but would add that just as critical to success is the method that is used, the encouragement of critical thinking, and the instructional principles that promote immediate success.
She states: “In teaching piano to students of varying ages, what also varies is a commitment of time and the amount of dedication. Children of certain ages may do very well with a parent as teacher; others may need someone who is not family to instruct them. Some older children and adults prefer to make progress on their own, and this method is designed to act as a meticulous guide through new material. Some adults and teens insist on professional teachers, which also encourages continuity. Because these books are self-explanatory, a new or experienced professional teacher will have no trouble using the Revolutionary Piano Method with students. It is an easy way to learn piano.”
