Piano Practice Pads are an awesome tool to have in your studio and for your students to have access to at home. Students instantly feel comfortable using them because there is no risk of playing a wrong note. They can work with a keyboard kinesthetically without the worry of if they are right or wrong. And, they are small and light, so they are so easy to pull out and use in almost any situation or environment.
You’ll notice that Piano Practice Pads and Iwako erasers go hand in hand. You can read more about Iwako Erasers here.
Here are 15 applications of a Piano Practice Pad:
In The Car
Kids spend a lot of time on the go these days, so a practice pad is a great way to keep your student connected to the piano even if they have limited time at home. Students can sing along as they play their Piano Practice Pad, test out their memorization, play games, and much more.
Practicing Scales
We all know how tricky scales can be. All the different fingerings to remember, which black keys, which white keys, and so much to coordinate. The bottom line is that scales require a lot of practicing, and using a Piano Practice Pad is just one more way to practice them. Since the student can’t actually hear the notes they are playing, it presents a good opportunity to focus on how the keys feel under the fingers and to notice patterns as the hands move between the keys.
Practicing Intervals
There are so many layers to learning about intervals. You discover what they sound like, what they look like both on the page and on the keyboard as well as how they feel. With a Piano Practice Pad, students can observe the unique shape and feel of each interval.
Finding Half Steps and Whole Steps
Learning whole steps and half steps is really simple with a Piano Practice Pad. Students can practice finding these intervals by placing small objects like Iwako erasers on the keys.
Playing As A Group
If you’ve ever taught more than one student at once, you know that it gets really loud really quickly! Piano Practice Pads are a great solution for this because it keeps all of your students involved while keep the volume level down.
Practicing Fingering and Technique:
With a lot of technical piano work, we just need to train our fingers what to do. A Piano Practice Pad is a handy tool to use to work through fingering and technical issues. It’s easier to focus on these logistics when you’re not concerned with the sound.
Building Chords
Chords can be so confusing at first, and a lot of students try to rely on their ear to learn them, rather than thinking through how chords are built. Piano Practice Pads are a way for students to think through the theory of chord without guessing which notes will sound right.
Learning Key Names
Piano Practice Pads are a fun way to practice finding each key on the piano. The pads hook together, so you can create a super long piano to give students a lot of experience finding their keys.
Learning Sharps and Flats
Students can practice searching for sharp and flat keys on a Piano Practice Pad. This is another great time to pull out the Iwako erasers and have students place their erasers on different sharps and flats.
Practicing Coordination
Learning to play with both hands at the same time or to sound notes using different fingers in the same hand can take a lot of coordination. This is another case where it’s helpful for a student learn how it feels first.
Learning The Topography Of The Piano
The piano keyboard is different that most other instruments because of the dimension of the black keys against the flat surface of the white keys. It can take students a long time to find the lay of the land and to really know the literal ups and downs between the keys on a keyboard. A Piano Practice Pad provides a good tool to learn this topography.
Demonstrating Skills
In my teaching, I often prefer to demonstrate skills and concepts away from the piano in order to set students up for success when first try something on the piano. Since Piano Practice Pads are so light and portable, it’s really easy to learn something with them away from the piano, then to move to the piano to try it out.
Internalizing Music By Singing Along
Students can sing along as they play with a Piano Practice Pad. This helps them to internalize the music and thoroughly learn it. If a student can sing their music, you can be confident that they know contour of the melody, the rhythm, and the musical nuances.
Studying Music Theory
It’s super handy to have a Piano Practice Pad nearby when studying music theory. This makes it easy for students to count keys and visualize concepts.
Teaching Online
One of the challenges of teaching piano lessons on Skype or FaceTime it is difficult for the teacher to show the student where things are on a keyboard. However, the teacher an easily hold up a Piano Practice Pad to point things out to the student.
Piano Practice Pads are available in the Pianissimo Store for $34.99 for a set of 2. We have a limited supply so get yours now!
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