Demonstrating the Piano Drum When Teaching Piano to Kids

Video Transcript

"We are at California Musical Academy and we've just been talking about how to read, write on left on the staff. One of the things I had mentioned was make sure that they're in the right rhythm. I don't care about the notes I care about the rhythm. So a way to enforce that you do in fact care about the rhythm is to make the notes disappear. Now we have the piano drum and once you have the piano drum you can take any instrument like pencils and make sound on the piano drum. So, the first place to start in reading this rhythm like this is to just look at all these notes because left is down here on the bottom part of this staff, right is right here on the top part. And then bottom and then top. So we play it that way. Left, left, left, right, right, right. Left, left, left, right, right, right. What an easy time, your kids will like yes! it so fantastic, 'cause they've done this before. This is easy for them. And that's also something that you want to do, make them do easy things once in a while. It makes them feel strong and good. So they're playing all along play, play, play, play, play, play, cool, let's make it slightly harder. Make them play only what the left hand plays with the left colored pencil. And what the right hand plays with the right colored pencil. We just talked about how left and right means the top part of the box or the bottom part of the box of the staff, now they must play in that rhythm. So it will go; left, left, left, right, right, right, left, left, left, right, right, right, etc. Turn even to music that's too hard for them and have them do this. It'll be easier than you think. Ask them what hand starts, let's say top of the box it must be right so it'll go right, right, right, right together, together. And that's a really great way to enforce rhythm and hand position or hand, seeing the hands at the same time."