Do you have any students who just will not stop looking at their hands? Students reading and fluency can really suffer when they stare at their fingers in this way.
Finger Fascination: Blind Drills
To get your student using their sense of touch, instead of just looking, some blind drills may be in order. These will help her to see with her fingers instead of her eyes.
- Ask your student to place her hand in a five finger position.
- Tell her to close her eyes, or put a blindfold over her eyes.
- Call out random notes for her to play.
- Repeat for the other hand, and then both hands together.
- At home she can do these blind drills at the start of her practice, either calling out the notes herself, or asking a parent to name notes for her to play.
Finger Fascination: Book Levitation
This cure is an oldie, but a goodie. Covering your student’s hands means they will have to learn to feel their way around the keyboard instead.
- Ask your student to place their hands in the starting position for their piece.
- Hold a book or folder, floating over their hands.
- They can begin playing. Don’t move the book unless they get really stuck!
- For at home practice you can fashion a card like the one in the video, ask a parent to do the book levitation, or just ask your student to imagine it.