Is teaching pre-staff notation worth it?

For years I disliked pre-staff notation.

I don’t know about you…but I wasn’t taught it as a young student. I was introduced to the staff on my very. first. lesson.

So when I started teaching, I was always tempted to skip those sections in the method books. I honestly just didn’t see the point of it.

My thoughts were that we were “wasting time” because it “took longer” before students were reading the grand staff.

The truth is, young students who are learning to play piano are being asked to utilize SO MANY skills at once. Here’s just a few to consider:

• interpreting symbols
• reading left to right
• 1-1 correspondence
• tracking
• audiation & listening
• fine motor skills
• visual-spatial skills
• keeping beat, rhythm, tempo while doing these things

… all while being encouraged to be musical!

As I gained more experience and studied education, I came to realize that there are SO many benefits of teaching pre-staff notation!

Here are a few:

• Gets students playing right away (takes away the barrier of having to know the staff lines first)
• Introduces melodic direction
• Right hand vs left hand differentiation (teachers… you already know that this can be a whole challenge in itself for some students)

• Builds dexterity and fine motor skills (when students are playing right away, they can start building that strength)
• Ensures a solid foundation of early skills like finger number and note values before introducing MORE concepts on the staff

If your students are struggling to fluently play through their beginner pieces – try this pre-staff exercise! It will get your preschool and primer students playing right away in every lesson. Check it out here: these digital flashcards