My 10-year-old student Katelyn was having trouble remembering the white keys. She is blind, and remembering which way is right and left are sometimes tricky for her. So the task of memorizing that C is to the left of the 2 black keys, for example, was a challenge. On her own, she came up with a little story with acronyms to help her remember the white key names. The Dog (D) lives in the dog house (2 black keys) is one of the acronyms — and she created a character for each white key. I thought it was so cute, and I asked her if I could “steal” her idea. She was thrilled that her story might help other students who are having trouble remembering the white keys. I had a drawing created a
My students LOVE the Rhythm Cup Explorations game by Wendy Stevens. One of my students with special needs is learning the first few pages of the cups game and he wanted to share his success on my website: Notice how I helped him with the verbal cues the first time, but on the repeat I kept quiet and he did it himself. This is a big deal for Andrew, who is autistic. These Cups games help him… stay steady with a beat use verbal language interact with me (especially on the Pass-Pick Up parts) and following directions. We love the Cups game!
I was inspired by TeachPianoToday’s blog post about their paint chip improv idea, in which names of paint colors were used to create black note improv rhythm duets with the teacher. I had intended to do this project with my students, but I ended up creating several easier variations for use both in my studio and with my college class for developmentally disabled students. To do these games, the students don’t have to know anything about notation, rhythm names (i.e., quarter note), or the piano keyboard. And the supplies are completely free. Here’s what you need to play the game: I went to my nearest Home Depot to pick up some paint swatches, but instead of choosing the kind of swatches that
