The music alphabet is one of the very first foundational skills we teach our new piano students.
A favorite moment of mine is seeing the smile and little giggle a student gives when they discover that in piano there’s just A-G, and NO H! It’s adorable.
For years, I would introduce the music alphabet simply when the method book would tell me to. I would usually introduce it in 1 class, then pretty much immediately move forward into note reading.
What ended up happening is that the students who were quick learners would pick up the concept and be fine to start note reading, sure. However, for many students, I would find myself having to re-teach letter names on the piano, even months later.
The truth is, children around the ages of 4-7 are all at SUCH different places in their literacy skills. Some 5 year olds come to us already reading jr. chapter books, while others are still practicing recognizing their ABC’s. I’m sure you’ve experienced this as well.
If you have piano students who are currently still working on early skills like letter recognition holding a pencil, drawing, tracing, fine motor skills, etc. my advice would be don’t.rush.them.ahead. Instead, take the time to help them develop these skills.
I designed this emergent reader booklet to do exactly that. It comes with 3 differentiated versions as well as 3 cover styles so you can pick which one works best for you.
Here are some skills students will practice in this activity:
- letter recognition
- keyboard geography
- fine motor skills
- pre-reading skills (ex. reading left to right)
- drawing & tracing
We take our time and complete the booklet over the course of several weeks. Each lesson, we review the 7 letters and the focus on a new letter.
Students love coming up with their own picture word to remember each key on the piano. They draw, trace, colour, and read to remember each key. And best of all, when the booklet is complete, it can be used to review the notes frequently. I like getting my students to teach their grown-ups the music alphabet using the completed booklet!
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Happy teaching.
Emily
Ms Emily Music 