March 31, 2025 • 29 mins
Playing piano is a much more physical activity than most people realize, requiring complex coordination that many of us take for granted. For neurodivergent learners, the physical aspects of piano playing often become unexpected obstacles.
This episode dives deep into adaptive piano technique, exploring how teachers can modify their approaches for students whose bodies and minds process movement differently. The episode outlines six powerful principles for adapting technique for neurodivergent learners. Connect with the Creative Piano Pedagogy Podcast on social media to see upcoming demonstration videos that will visualize these techniques in action!
Find the full transcript, show notes or links mentioned in the episode here!
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Dr. Elizabeth (00:00):
Hello everyone, welcome back to episode 4 of the
Creative Piano Pedagogy Podcast.
If you're new here, thank youso much for tuning in.
I hope you have a chance to goback and check up on the first
couple episodes in our seriesabout adaptive piano teaching
and all that entails.
Thank you so much to everyonewho sent such encouraging emails
(00:23):
or messages about last week'sepisode.
It's always great to hear fromyou.
If you use the text me feature,just be aware that it won't
allow me to respond to those,but I do love seeing your notes
and comments.
Thank you so much.
The last episode, number three,was an introduction to adapting
(00:45):
piano technique for studentswith disabilities, and today
will be part two of that series,Beyond the Curved Finger.
This topic and the implicationsfor technique are so incredibly
vast and impactful that I thinkI'm going to do some short
videos with teaching examplessoon and I'll share those on
(01:07):
Instagram, youtube and Facebook,so just keep an eye out for
those.
I know it's a bit difficult tovisualize some of these things
just by hearing it, buthopefully today's episode will
give you more context andunderstanding into the various
facets of technique and give yousome practical ways to adapt it
for either yourself or your ownstudents.
(01:32):
We're mainly talking here aboutteaching technique in these
episodes, but I'm also awarethat there may be teachers who
are also working throughunderstanding the way their own
fingers work and the way youplay.
So if you use that for thatpurpose, that is great as well.
(01:53):
Playing the piano is a much morephysical activity than we think
and we often don't really thinkof the physical aspect or the
necessity of the physical untila problem arises or we're trying
to figure out something isn'twhy something isn't working, and
(02:14):
that's totally normal.
If your student is catching onvery well and there are no
obvious issues with theirtechnique, then you will not be
focused on that element of theirplaying.
For neurodivergent learners,there are some kind of typical
differences in the way theirfingers, hands and bodies
(02:34):
coordinate those fine motorskills and movements needed to
play the piano.
For that reason, let's look atsome of the physical
requirements needed to play thepiano and why those perceived
requirements might bechallenging when teaching
students with disabilities.
Just as a disclaimer, this isnot including things like limb
(02:57):
differences or mobilitychallenges that also may impact
playing or learning.
We're just talking about thefingers and hands today.
One of those physicalrequirements is finger control
to move each fingerindependently.
This sounds like a very simplething to just be able to tap
(03:17):
each finger on its own, but thatalone can be really challenging
for students who struggle tocoordinate and control their
movements.
Another big requirement of ourhands is the need to control our
fingers, to control theplacement on the key, because
(03:47):
this controls the tone, thevolume, the articulation so much
if we're able to control whereour finger lands on the key.
Another aspect of techniquethat is really tied to a
physical requirement is ourwrist movement.
We really need to have a freewrist that is able to rotate and
move freely.
(04:07):
That will allow for very fluidand smooth gestures on the piano
, and if you have taughtstudents with disabilities,
you'll notice that theirmovements are often not very
smooth.
Even as they're walking, asthey're picking things up, those
movements are not always veryfluid.
So having a free wrist is areally important aspect of
(04:31):
playing the piano.
Probably the most importantthing that we're going to talk
about today is the coordinationaspect.
This is the coordination oftheir fingers, even just using
multiple fingers on one hand andthen taking that to the next
level of playing hands together.
(04:53):
Coordination is a body and abrain process.
It's not purely a physicalprocess.
It requires the brain, motorplanning, to think through which
fingers need to play togetherat the same time and then the
body following through on thatthought process.
(05:14):
There's a lot of coordinationrequired to play the piano or
any instrument, but especially akeyboard instrument when you're
utilizing both hands and eventhe feet to control pedals.
If you have worked withneurodivergent students, you may
have noticed some differencesin the way that their fingers,
(05:37):
hands and bodies work tocoordinate those fine motor
skills and movements.
You may have noticed thingslike rigid fingers, very tight,
locked, extremely tense musclesin their hands, very, very tight
fingers.
You may have noticed theopposite, which is very floppy
fingers, a lack of a strongbridge in the hand.
(06:00):
The bridge is the part of thehand that goes across those four
knuckles of fingers two, three,four, five.
We refer to that as the bridgebecause if those joints are
strong we're able to reallycontrol those finger movements.
But for some kids they may havevery floppy fingers and will
(06:22):
not have a strong bridge in thehand.
Some students may have verybendy fingers this is very, very
common where students will havecollapsing joints and they'll
be unable to play with a strongfirst joint right off.
So this is where that wholeidea of curve your fingers
(06:43):
really doesn't apply.
If you have seen children whotry to play with this thought of
curved fingers, that is oftenassociated with kids lining up
fingers one, two, three, four,five on the white keys and just
keeping them there in astationary position while
they're trying to play.
It allows for very littlefinger movement.
(07:04):
You have to use micro movementsin order to do that and it
almost always results in tensionin the hand.
It results in a very poor toneproduction because you're not
actually using the whole fingerto play, you're just kind of
lining up the fingers and tryingto press the keys down while
holding the fingers there tokeep them curved.
(07:26):
It's a whole thing.
I need to do an entire episodeon curved fingers.
So it's not that we don't wantour students to have beautiful
hand positioning at the piano,but using this whole idea of
curved fingers, where studentsjust line up their fingers and
keep them on the keys, it doesnot actually achieve healthy,
sustainable technique and thisis one of those areas that's
(07:49):
really frustrating for a lot ofteachers, because all you've
heard your whole life andtraining is curved fingers,
curved fingers.
For some so kiddos with veryhypermobile fingers you may have
heard about hypermobility.
That is why it's going to bereally frustrating for them,
because that first joint- jointif you look at your hand where
(08:12):
your fingernail is, that veryfirst knuckle, that first joint,
that's the one that's going tohelp them play with very
coordinated movements and evenjust purposeful finger movement.
And if that's not there, it'sgoing to be really difficult,
not impossible at all, just alittle challenging.
Similarly, you may notice lotsof tension in just the way the
(08:36):
students hold their bodies atthe piano.
Sitting on a piano bench is nota typical position in which we
hold our bodies and that forstudents with disabilities,
especially since it might be alittle uncomfortable for them,
they're going to hold a lot oftension even Even in their feet,
their legs, their torso, theirshoulders, their arms.
(08:59):
They may sit rather awkwardlyat the bench just trying to stay
upright and focus on all thethings they need to do.
There might just be a lot oftension.
We might also have somethingand this is kind of a weird way
to say it, but it just kind ofworks I call them wandering
fingers.
It's when your students mightjust struggle to find the keys
(09:22):
that they need.
Even though their hands are inpretty much the right spot,
their fingers just sort ofwander.
I have some students like thatand I've had many in the
past.
.
Another difference you may havenoticed is students who often
play incorrect keys, quite oftendespite having the skills to
(09:42):
know what to play and how toplay it.
So, in other words, these arekids that know how to play these
patterns.
They know how to read musicYou've done it before but they
just play a lot of incorrectnotes and keys.
This is very common forneurodivergent learners.
These finger and coordinationthings are just a few of what I
(10:05):
like to call the unwelcome anduninvited companions of
neurodiversity, the uninvitedcompanions of autism, adhd,
dyspraxia, dysgraphia, so manyother neurodivergent diagnoses.
Your student wants to play thepiano and to make that happen,
(10:27):
they are literally fightingtheir body.
They're fighting the naturalmovement and makeup of their
body and"here how their brain iswired.
They're fighting the sensoryalarms going off in their body
and brain when you try to movetheir hands or show them a new
technique before they're ready.
They're trying to understandhow to do something differently,
(10:49):
when what they're doing is allthey know and they can't really
see a difference in what you'reshowing them or asking them to
do or visualize the steps forhow to make it happen.
There are so many layers ofintricacy and detail when
teaching technique and I knowyou know this, so I'm not even
(11:12):
going to attempt to saysomething like here are the four
things to do to fix your pianostudent's technique, or
something like that.
Each child and student is sounique and that's what makes
them wonderful.
But you might be wondering okay, if this topic is so complex
and complicated, why are youeven talking about it?
That's a great question, andhere's my response.
(11:32):
I've heard from so many teachersthat they were or used to teach
neurodivergent students orstudents with disabilities, but
they stopped because thestudents and the teachers grew
so frustrated at trying to workon technique and it was just
unbelievably hard to even playthe instrument with both hands,
much harder than the teacherrealized.
(11:54):
I've also heard similarcomments from some of my current
and past students who came tomy studio because their previous
teachers had only emphasizedtechnique and since their hands,
fingers and bodies didn'toperate in a way in which the
teacher perhaps expected orwanted, it was a disastrous and
(12:17):
unfortunate experience foreveryone.
So no, unfortunately I do nothave a perfect formula that will
guarantee success for adjustingtechnique, but I will leave you
with some ideas and thoughtsfor how to approach technique
and adapt your approach andmindset for your neurodivergent
students.
(12:37):
These are things I have beendoing for a long time.
The principles I'm going toshare with you- I have gathered
them after a ton of research andobservation and I think they'll
be really practical for anyonelistening, those of you who are
working on your own technique ortrying to determine how to help
your students.
So here we go.
(12:58):
.
Resist the urge to watch thepot.
When we're teaching technique,we often avoid giving students
more difficult music untilthey've mastered xyz.
That could be two note slurs,fluid movement when playing
scales, graceful gestures,whatever it might be.
Have you ever heard the oldsaying "a watched pot never
(13:20):
boils?
I think this can be applicableto technique.
If we wait to give our studentsmore advanced or different
music until their technique isperfected, it may never be the
right time.
And what will be the result?
The teacher will be frustratedbecause students aren't making
progress.
(13:40):
The students will become bored,disinterested, unmotivated, low
confidence, etc.
So don't wait to teach realmusic and expose your students
to beautiful music.
Now I'm not advocating forteaching music that is way above
your students playing abilities.
That's not what I'm suggesting.
But I am suggesting that you goahead and find music that is
(14:05):
within their realm ofpossibility and ability and
teach them, even though you knowit will not be perfect and
maybe the artistry won't bethere just yet.
But go ahead and expose yourstudent to beautiful music.
Don't put them in a holdingpattern and don't watch the pot.
(14:29):
2.
Use intentional repetition.
Continue to give your studentslots of opportunities to
reinforce the techniques theyknow while still introducing
them to new patterns andtechniques that are appropriate
for them, even if theirtechnique isn't yet perfected.
Are you noticing a themestarting here?
You can do this through so manyways.
Rote repertoire is a great wayto do this.
(14:52):
You can even use improvising onchord and finger patterns,
duets so many creative ways youcan have fun with this.
Or another piece- you can dowith the same technique from
another method book- that's agreat idea.
Or even choosing a specialpiece to give them more
opportunities to practice thatsame technique.
(15:12):
Intentionally finding ways foryour students to use those
skills over and over and overagain, with intentional
repetitions, using newrepertoire, different repertoire
, changing the tonality of theirrepertoire, improvising it,
really using those skills, butnot stuck.
There is a difference.
(15:33):
The amazing music educator Dr.
Alice Hamill wrote a bookcalled Winding it Back" and I
love this idea of even when yourstudents are progressing, we
still need to wind it back andhave them review those old
skills.
So this is a great way to dothat, using intentional
(15:54):
repetition.
3.
Use concrete verbiage, notflowery analogies.
Students with ADHD, autism,dyslexia, any other
neurodivergent diagnosis- theyall have something in common.
Well, a lot of things in common, but this one thing especially:
(16:14):
they do best with concreteinstructions.
Concrete language says "do this.
It's very definitive and ittells them what to do, not how
to think like figurative orhypothetical language.
Would I encourage you to ditchthe flowery explanations and
(16:37):
imaginative analogies andinstead think of the simplest
way to tell your student what todo with their body or fingers
to achieve the needed technique.
If you have a tricky student whodoesn't respond well to
correction or suggestion, lookfor just the right movement when
(17:00):
they're improvising, whenthey're doing something they
enjoy and they're not showingany signs of stress or overwhelm
, then just in a casual way say"can your fifth finger let go as
soon as it plays like this, andthen maybe follow it up with
would you like to give it a try?
Or can you give it a try?
(17:20):
And then that's it for the day?
Just plant those seeds usingconcrete words.
Do this with your finger, notimagine a bowl of peanut butter,
and blah, blah, blah, blah,blah.
We all love impressiveillustrations and using exciting
imagery to explain musicalconcepts or physical gestures.
(17:43):
Isn't that something we alllove about master classes, with
wonderful teachers?
Hearing their amazingexplanations for these things,
with teaching demonstrations?
But please don't do this withyour students on a regular basis
, unless it's exactly what theyneed when they need it.
99.99% of the time, though,students first need to hear the
(18:05):
do this with your finger.
Then you can find an analogythat works for that student, so
they feel it's personalized tothem.
It's a way to reinforce it, butnot introduce it.
So think concrete beforeabstract.
The whole thing, the "Do thisbefore the little hypothetical
(18:29):
parts.
4.
If you're unsure of how tocommunicate a gesture or
technique to your student, hereare a few things you can think
about.
1- look through the music.
What are the most importantthings for your students to
observe?
Only focus on those.
The second thing is to thinkabout this how does my student
(18:53):
communicate, and how do theyprefer to receive communication?
Maybe it's through a verbalexplanation, like aural learning
.
Perhaps it's through ademonstration on the piano keys.
Maybe they're a visual learner,or maybe hand maneuvering and
playing it together, kind of acombination of kinesthetic and
(19:15):
visual learning.
Tailor the explanation to whatworks best for your student and
don't be afraid to try somethingnew.
When in doubt, simply show thestudent can your finger too,
play like this?
Then watch their responses.
If they get it great.
Don't go any further.
(19:36):
If they don't watch for stresssigns and say "it's kind of like
I'm jumping on a trampoline, orwhat can we say to help you
remember this,One of the last things I want to
leave you with is- let themmake music.
This is principle number five.
The wonderful pedagogue MarvinBlickenstaff is famous for
(20:02):
ensuring that his studentsalways leave a , having truly
played and made music.
In a webinar through theFrancis Clark Center last year,
Mr.
mr Blickenstaff posed thisquestion as a great way for
teachers to evaluate theirteaching: teaching"Was Was it a
music lesson?
Was music made during the timetogether.
(20:25):
This idea exemplifies myteaching philosophy.
Regardless of my students'challenges, learning or physical
limitations, I ensure thatevery single lesson together
involves making music.
I want my students to leave thelesson feeling as if they've
created some music using theskills they have, and then they
(20:48):
feel more inspired to do more ofthat.
So, here's my question for you-how can you you do this, make
sure your students are makingmusic in every lesson?
A few ways you can do this areby finding appropriate
repertoire and teaching it byrote.
This is a wonderful way to workon technique, since you're
(21:09):
removing that element of readingand decoding a musical score
and the students can just focuson their fingers.
Also, don't be afraid toincorporate a lot of
improvisation.
This allows students to focuson just one thing their fingers
and playing with their fingers,using their fingers and hands.
(21:30):
What a beautiful opportunity towork on coordination, finger
movement, playing in differentparts of the piano in different
patterns, experimenting withdifferent finger movements to
get the desired tone.
They're making music whilethey're doing all of this! I do
this in nearly every lesson withmy students and a lot of them
(21:51):
beg for more of the 'making upthe music time.
'and a lot six: them beg for more
of the making up the music time.
Last is number six.
Rethink the verbiage you use.
This is directly tied to acouple points ago when we talked
about Dr.
concrete language.
We've already talked 'poke,'adjusting our approach using
analogies in teaching, but let'stake it a step further and
(22:13):
think of the simplest words andphrases to describe what your
student needs to do with theirfingers.
For neurodivergent students,who may struggle with
hypermobility, where they have alot of double So, joints and
collapsing joints.
Even for students with motorcontrol whole, you weak know-
motor planning, where theystruggle to plan and control
(22:36):
their explanation and how theymove.
I tend to use this word that wasshared with me by my mentor and
former pedagogy professor, drScott Price.
It's the word poke, p-o-k-e,and I use it for how students
should touch the keys.
Students everything- understandthe word poke and it is a
(22:58):
singular finger movement, onefinger at a time.
We don't say poke and use awhole bunch of fingers.
We keys, just poke one finger.
So it kind of eliminates theneed to go through the whole.
You know we're only going tomove one finger at a time.
Explanation.
We're just going to move onefinger at a time.
Explanation we're just going topoke finger two.
So, for example, if I want mystudent to play fingers two, !
(23:21):
four in order on the three blackkeys and they're struggling a
lot to do that I might sing as Iplay and move my fingers Poke
poke, poke, poking isn't jumpingor anything impulsive or fast,
it's just a little poke, and Ihave yet to find a student who
doesn't adapt beautifully withthat phrase.
(23:43):
Feel free to take that and useit and then find others similar,
really little words that workwell for you.
Lastly, since students withlessened motor control and tiny
muscle movement may strugglewith controlling their fingers,
I encourage you to allow them touse bigger movements and
(24:04):
gestures when playing.
Let them over-exaggerate, letthem play forte, everything
until you notice they are no.
longer having to focus andreally work hard to move their
fingers.
Then try adding dynamics, butstill let them poke the keys
just gently.
(24:24):
You will notice a difference inyour students playing if you
try this.
Why?
Because they're not having towork so hard to combat their
natural movements and this willallow them to just work on those
big muscle movements and thenthat will in turn build their
confidence, since their accuracywill greatly improve.
It is a win-win-win.
(24:46):
"I'veStudents are incredibly bright
and these special learners aregifted both intellectually and
musically.
Neurodivergent students arevery capable of learning new
technique, adjusting theirtechnique and playing
beautifully expressive music.
We just have to remove our ownlimitations that we might put on
(25:10):
our students Limitations forwhat correct and ideal technique
needs to look like, limitationsfor sequencing the teaching of
technique and achieving XYZperfectly before moving on, etc.
Limitations of hittingcommunication barriers and
assuming that said (25:30):
"f the student didn't understand your
first instructions, then it'sall hopeless and a lost cause.
This is perhaps one of thebiggest, most challenging things
to adapt in piano teaching.
But I see it click in mystudents' eyes, their instant
confidence of I've got it.
(25:50):
I don't need your help andtheir resilience to keep working
to fight their natural muscleand finger movements to make it
work for the piano.
It's their instrument.
Isn't that amazing?
Our students love music so muchthat they're willing to adapt
and change how their fingersmove on the keys, even fighting
(26:12):
mental and sensory alarms toovercome this.
That is incredible.
Ignacio Estrada was a famousventriloquist from South Texas
and the Southern United Stateswho lived from 1946 to 2024.
And he became widely known forhis encouraging and
(26:33):
inspirational presentations tochildren using his really cool
ventriloquist puppets.
His positive messagesencouraged kids to be kind,
avoid harmful habits and usetheir creativity and
intelligence fully and joyfully.
One of his most famous quotesis this and it embodies my whole
(26:55):
passion for teaching studentswho learn differently.
He said if children can't learnthe way we teach, maybe we
should teach the way they learn.
That's all for today.
I know this was a lot ofinformation and detail on
technique information and detailon technique but I hope it
(27:17):
gives you just a glimpse at thepossibility of teaching
technique differently to yourstudents who learn differently,
without putting up unintentionalroadblocks of assumptions or
limitations.
Hello everyone, welcome back to episode 4 of the
Creative Piano Pedagogy Podcast.
If you're new here, thank youso much for tuning in.
I hope you have a chance to goback and check up on the first
couple episodes in our seriesabout adaptive piano teaching
and all that entails.
Thank you so much to everyonewho sent such encouraging emails
(00:23):
or messages about last week'sepisode.
It's always great to hear fromyou.
If you use the text me feature,just be aware that it won't
allow me to respond to those,but I do love seeing your notes
and comments.
Thank you so much.
The last episode, number three,was an introduction to adapting
(00:45):
piano technique for studentswith disabilities, and today
will be part two of that series,Beyond the Curved Finger.
This topic and the implicationsfor technique are so incredibly
vast and impactful that I thinkI'm going to do some short
videos with teaching examplessoon and I'll share those on
(01:07):
Instagram, youtube and Facebook,so just keep an eye out for
those.
I know it's a bit difficult tovisualize some of these things
just by hearing it, buthopefully today's episode will
give you more context andunderstanding into the various
facets of technique and give yousome practical ways to adapt it
for either yourself or your ownstudents.
(01:32):
We're mainly talking here aboutteaching technique in these
episodes, but I'm also awarethat there may be teachers who
are also working throughunderstanding the way their own
fingers work and the way youplay.
So if you use that for thatpurpose, that is great as well.
(01:53):
Playing the piano is a much morephysical activity than we think
and we often don't really thinkof the physical aspect or the
necessity of the physical untila problem arises or we're trying
to figure out something isn'twhy something isn't working, and
(02:14):
that's totally normal.
If your student is catching onvery well and there are no
obvious issues with theirtechnique, then you will not be
focused on that element of theirplaying.
For neurodivergent learners,there are some kind of typical
differences in the way theirfingers, hands and bodies
(02:34):
coordinate those fine motorskills and movements needed to
play the piano.
For that reason, let's look atsome of the physical
requirements needed to play thepiano and why those perceived
requirements might bechallenging when teaching
students with disabilities.
Just as a disclaimer, this isnot including things like limb
(02:57):
differences or mobilitychallenges that also may impact
playing or learning.
We're just talking about thefingers and hands today.
One of those physicalrequirements is finger control
to move each fingerindependently.
This sounds like a very simplething to just be able to tap
(03:17):
each finger on its own, but thatalone can be really challenging
for students who struggle tocoordinate and control their
movements.
Another big requirement of ourhands is the need to control our
fingers, to control theplacement on the key, because
(03:47):
this controls the tone, thevolume, the articulation so much
if we're able to control whereour finger lands on the key.
Another aspect of techniquethat is really tied to a
physical requirement is ourwrist movement.
We really need to have a freewrist that is able to rotate and
move freely.
(04:07):
That will allow for very fluidand smooth gestures on the piano
, and if you have taughtstudents with disabilities,
you'll notice that theirmovements are often not very
smooth.
Even as they're walking, asthey're picking things up, those
movements are not always veryfluid.
So having a free wrist is areally important aspect of
(04:31):
playing the piano.
Probably the most importantthing that we're going to talk
about today is the coordinationaspect.
This is the coordination oftheir fingers, even just using
multiple fingers on one hand andthen taking that to the next
level of playing hands together.
(04:53):
Coordination is a body and abrain process.
It's not purely a physicalprocess.
It requires the brain, motorplanning, to think through which
fingers need to play togetherat the same time and then the
body following through on thatthought process.
(05:14):
There's a lot of coordinationrequired to play the piano or
any instrument, but especially akeyboard instrument when you're
utilizing both hands and eventhe feet to control pedals.
If you have worked withneurodivergent students, you may
have noticed some differencesin the way that their fingers,
(05:37):
hands and bodies work tocoordinate those fine motor
skills and movements.
You may have noticed thingslike rigid fingers, very tight,
locked, extremely tense musclesin their hands, very, very tight
fingers.
You may have noticed theopposite, which is very floppy
fingers, a lack of a strongbridge in the hand.
(06:00):
The bridge is the part of thehand that goes across those four
knuckles of fingers two, three,four, five.
We refer to that as the bridgebecause if those joints are
strong we're able to reallycontrol those finger movements.
But for some kids they may havevery floppy fingers and will
(06:22):
not have a strong bridge in thehand.
Some students may have verybendy fingers this is very, very
common where students will havecollapsing joints and they'll
be unable to play with a strongfirst joint right off.
So this is where that wholeidea of curve your fingers
(06:43):
really doesn't apply.
If you have seen children whotry to play with this thought of
curved fingers, that is oftenassociated with kids lining up
fingers one, two, three, four,five on the white keys and just
keeping them there in astationary position while
they're trying to play.
It allows for very littlefinger movement.
(07:04):
You have to use micro movementsin order to do that and it
almost always results in tensionin the hand.
It results in a very poor toneproduction because you're not
actually using the whole fingerto play, you're just kind of
lining up the fingers and tryingto press the keys down while
holding the fingers there tokeep them curved.
(07:26):
It's a whole thing.
I need to do an entire episodeon curved fingers.
So it's not that we don't wantour students to have beautiful
hand positioning at the piano,but using this whole idea of
curved fingers, where studentsjust line up their fingers and
keep them on the keys, it doesnot actually achieve healthy,
sustainable technique and thisis one of those areas that's
(07:49):
really frustrating for a lot ofteachers, because all you've
heard your whole life andtraining is curved fingers,
curved fingers.
For some so kiddos with veryhypermobile fingers you may have
heard about hypermobility.
That is why it's going to bereally frustrating for them,
because that first joint- jointif you look at your hand where
(08:12):
your fingernail is, that veryfirst knuckle, that first joint,
that's the one that's going tohelp them play with very
coordinated movements and evenjust purposeful finger movement.
And if that's not there, it'sgoing to be really difficult,
not impossible at all, just alittle challenging.
Similarly, you may notice lotsof tension in just the way the
(08:36):
students hold their bodies atthe piano.
Sitting on a piano bench is nota typical position in which we
hold our bodies and that forstudents with disabilities,
especially since it might be alittle uncomfortable for them,
they're going to hold a lot oftension even Even in their feet,
their legs, their torso, theirshoulders, their arms.
(08:59):
They may sit rather awkwardlyat the bench just trying to stay
upright and focus on all thethings they need to do.
There might just be a lot oftension.
We might also have somethingand this is kind of a weird way
to say it, but it just kind ofworks I call them wandering
fingers.
It's when your students mightjust struggle to find the keys
(09:22):
that they need.
Even though their hands are inpretty much the right spot,
their fingers just sort ofwander.
I have some students like thatand I've had many in the
past.
.
Another difference you may havenoticed is students who often
play incorrect keys, quite oftendespite having the skills to
(09:42):
know what to play and how toplay it.
So, in other words, these arekids that know how to play these
patterns.
They know how to read musicYou've done it before but they
just play a lot of incorrectnotes and keys.
This is very common forneurodivergent learners.
These finger and coordinationthings are just a few of what I
(10:05):
like to call the unwelcome anduninvited companions of
neurodiversity, the uninvitedcompanions of autism, adhd,
dyspraxia, dysgraphia, so manyother neurodivergent diagnoses.
Your student wants to play thepiano and to make that happen,
(10:27):
they are literally fightingtheir body.
They're fighting the naturalmovement and makeup of their
body and"here how their brain iswired.
They're fighting the sensoryalarms going off in their body
and brain when you try to movetheir hands or show them a new
technique before they're ready.
They're trying to understandhow to do something differently,
(10:49):
when what they're doing is allthey know and they can't really
see a difference in what you'reshowing them or asking them to
do or visualize the steps forhow to make it happen.
There are so many layers ofintricacy and detail when
teaching technique and I knowyou know this, so I'm not even
(11:12):
going to attempt to saysomething like here are the four
things to do to fix your pianostudent's technique, or
something like that.
Each child and student is sounique and that's what makes
them wonderful.
But you might be wondering okay, if this topic is so complex
and complicated, why are youeven talking about it?
That's a great question, andhere's my response.
(11:32):
I've heard from so many teachersthat they were or used to teach
neurodivergent students orstudents with disabilities, but
they stopped because thestudents and the teachers grew
so frustrated at trying to workon technique and it was just
unbelievably hard to even playthe instrument with both hands,
much harder than the teacherrealized.
(11:54):
I've also heard similarcomments from some of my current
and past students who came tomy studio because their previous
teachers had only emphasizedtechnique and since their hands,
fingers and bodies didn'toperate in a way in which the
teacher perhaps expected orwanted, it was a disastrous and
(12:17):
unfortunate experience foreveryone.
So no, unfortunately I do nothave a perfect formula that will
guarantee success for adjustingtechnique, but I will leave you
with some ideas and thoughtsfor how to approach technique
and adapt your approach andmindset for your neurodivergent
students.
(12:37):
These are things I have beendoing for a long time.
The principles I'm going toshare with you- I have gathered
them after a ton of research andobservation and I think they'll
be really practical for anyonelistening, those of you who are
working on your own technique ortrying to determine how to help
your students.
So here we go.
(12:58):
.
Resist the urge to watch thepot.
When we're teaching technique,we often avoid giving students
more difficult music untilthey've mastered xyz.
That could be two note slurs,fluid movement when playing
scales, graceful gestures,whatever it might be.
Have you ever heard the oldsaying "a watched pot never
(13:20):
boils?
I think this can be applicableto technique.
If we wait to give our studentsmore advanced or different
music until their technique isperfected, it may never be the
right time.
And what will be the result?
The teacher will be frustratedbecause students aren't making
progress.
(13:40):
The students will become bored,disinterested, unmotivated, low
confidence, etc.
So don't wait to teach realmusic and expose your students
to beautiful music.
Now I'm not advocating forteaching music that is way above
your students playing abilities.
That's not what I'm suggesting.
But I am suggesting that you goahead and find music that is
(14:05):
within their realm ofpossibility and ability and
teach them, even though you knowit will not be perfect and
maybe the artistry won't bethere just yet.
But go ahead and expose yourstudent to beautiful music.
Don't put them in a holdingpattern and don't watch the pot.
(14:29):
2.
Use intentional repetition.
Continue to give your studentslots of opportunities to
reinforce the techniques theyknow while still introducing
them to new patterns andtechniques that are appropriate
for them, even if theirtechnique isn't yet perfected.
Are you noticing a themestarting here?
You can do this through so manyways.
Rote repertoire is a great wayto do this.
(14:52):
You can even use improvising onchord and finger patterns,
duets so many creative ways youcan have fun with this.
Or another piece- you can dowith the same technique from
another method book- that's agreat idea.
Or even choosing a specialpiece to give them more
opportunities to practice thatsame technique.
(15:12):
Intentionally finding ways foryour students to use those
skills over and over and overagain, with intentional
repetitions, using newrepertoire, different repertoire
, changing the tonality of theirrepertoire, improvising it,
really using those skills, butnot stuck.
There is a difference.
(15:33):
The amazing music educator Dr.
Alice Hamill wrote a bookcalled Winding it Back" and I
love this idea of even when yourstudents are progressing, we
still need to wind it back andhave them review those old
skills.
So this is a great way to dothat, using intentional
(15:54):
repetition.
3.
Use concrete verbiage, notflowery analogies.
Students with ADHD, autism,dyslexia, any other
neurodivergent diagnosis- theyall have something in common.
Well, a lot of things in common, but this one thing especially:
(16:14):
they do best with concreteinstructions.
Concrete language says "do this.
It's very definitive and ittells them what to do, not how
to think like figurative orhypothetical language.
Would I encourage you to ditchthe flowery explanations and
(16:37):
imaginative analogies andinstead think of the simplest
way to tell your student what todo with their body or fingers
to achieve the needed technique.
If you have a tricky student whodoesn't respond well to
correction or suggestion, lookfor just the right movement when
(17:00):
they're improvising, whenthey're doing something they
enjoy and they're not showingany signs of stress or overwhelm
, then just in a casual way say"can your fifth finger let go as
soon as it plays like this, andthen maybe follow it up with
would you like to give it a try?
Or can you give it a try?
(17:20):
And then that's it for the day?
Just plant those seeds usingconcrete words.
Do this with your finger, notimagine a bowl of peanut butter,
and blah, blah, blah, blah,blah.
We all love impressiveillustrations and using exciting
imagery to explain musicalconcepts or physical gestures.
(17:43):
Isn't that something we alllove about master classes, with
wonderful teachers?
Hearing their amazingexplanations for these things,
with teaching demonstrations?
But please don't do this withyour students on a regular basis
, unless it's exactly what theyneed when they need it.
99.99% of the time, though,students first need to hear the
(18:05):
do this with your finger.
Then you can find an analogythat works for that student, so
they feel it's personalized tothem.
It's a way to reinforce it, butnot introduce it.
So think concrete beforeabstract.
The whole thing, the "Do thisbefore the little hypothetical
(18:29):
parts.
4.
If you're unsure of how tocommunicate a gesture or
technique to your student, hereare a few things you can think
about.
1- look through the music.
What are the most importantthings for your students to
observe?
Only focus on those.
The second thing is to thinkabout this how does my student
(18:53):
communicate, and how do theyprefer to receive communication?
Maybe it's through a verbalexplanation, like aural learning
.
Perhaps it's through ademonstration on the piano keys.
Maybe they're a visual learner,or maybe hand maneuvering and
playing it together, kind of acombination of kinesthetic and
(19:15):
visual learning.
Tailor the explanation to whatworks best for your student and
don't be afraid to try somethingnew.
When in doubt, simply show thestudent can your finger too,
play like this?
Then watch their responses.
If they get it great.
Don't go any further.
(19:36):
If they don't watch for stresssigns and say "it's kind of like
I'm jumping on a trampoline, orwhat can we say to help you
remember this,One of the last things I want to
leave you with is- let themmake music.
This is principle number five.
The wonderful pedagogue MarvinBlickenstaff is famous for
(20:02):
ensuring that his studentsalways leave a , having truly
played and made music.
In a webinar through theFrancis Clark Center last year,
Mr.
mr Blickenstaff posed thisquestion as a great way for
teachers to evaluate theirteaching: teaching"Was Was it a
music lesson?
Was music made during the timetogether.
(20:25):
This idea exemplifies myteaching philosophy.
Regardless of my students'challenges, learning or physical
limitations, I ensure thatevery single lesson together
involves making music.
I want my students to leave thelesson feeling as if they've
created some music using theskills they have, and then they
(20:48):
feel more inspired to do more ofthat.
So, here's my question for you-how can you you do this, make
sure your students are makingmusic in every lesson?
A few ways you can do this areby finding appropriate
repertoire and teaching it byrote.
This is a wonderful way to workon technique, since you're
(21:09):
removing that element of readingand decoding a musical score
and the students can just focuson their fingers.
Also, don't be afraid toincorporate a lot of
improvisation.
This allows students to focuson just one thing their fingers
and playing with their fingers,using their fingers and hands.
(21:30):
What a beautiful opportunity towork on coordination, finger
movement, playing in differentparts of the piano in different
patterns, experimenting withdifferent finger movements to
get the desired tone.
They're making music whilethey're doing all of this! I do
this in nearly every lesson withmy students and a lot of them
(21:51):
beg for more of the 'making upthe music time.
'and a lot six: them beg for more
of the making up the music time.
Last is number six.
Rethink the verbiage you use.
This is directly tied to acouple points ago when we talked
about Dr.
concrete language.
We've already talked 'poke,'adjusting our approach using
analogies in teaching, but let'stake it a step further and
(22:13):
think of the simplest words andphrases to describe what your
student needs to do with theirfingers.
For neurodivergent students,who may struggle with
hypermobility, where they have alot of double So, joints and
collapsing joints.
Even for students with motorcontrol whole, you weak know-
motor planning, where theystruggle to plan and control
(22:36):
their explanation and how theymove.
I tend to use this word that wasshared with me by my mentor and
former pedagogy professor, drScott Price.
It's the word poke, p-o-k-e,and I use it for how students
should touch the keys.
Students everything- understandthe word poke and it is a
(22:58):
singular finger movement, onefinger at a time.
We don't say poke and use awhole bunch of fingers.
We keys, just poke one finger.
So it kind of eliminates theneed to go through the whole.
You know we're only going tomove one finger at a time.
Explanation.
We're just going to move onefinger at a time.
Explanation we're just going topoke finger two.
So, for example, if I want mystudent to play fingers two, !
(23:21):
four in order on the three blackkeys and they're struggling a
lot to do that I might sing as Iplay and move my fingers Poke
poke, poke, poking isn't jumpingor anything impulsive or fast,
it's just a little poke, and Ihave yet to find a student who
doesn't adapt beautifully withthat phrase.
(23:43):
Feel free to take that and useit and then find others similar,
really little words that workwell for you.
Lastly, since students withlessened motor control and tiny
muscle movement may strugglewith controlling their fingers,
I encourage you to allow them touse bigger movements and
(24:04):
gestures when playing.
Let them over-exaggerate, letthem play forte, everything
until you notice they are no.
longer having to focus andreally work hard to move their
fingers.
Then try adding dynamics, butstill let them poke the keys
just gently.
(24:24):
You will notice a difference inyour students playing if you
try this.
Why?
Because they're not having towork so hard to combat their
natural movements and this willallow them to just work on those
big muscle movements and thenthat will in turn build their
confidence, since their accuracywill greatly improve.
It is a win-win-win.
(24:46):
"I'veStudents are incredibly bright
and these special learners aregifted both intellectually and
musically.
Neurodivergent students arevery capable of learning new
technique, adjusting theirtechnique and playing
beautifully expressive music.
We just have to remove our ownlimitations that we might put on
(25:10):
our students Limitations forwhat correct and ideal technique
needs to look like, limitationsfor sequencing the teaching of
technique and achieving XYZperfectly before moving on, etc.
Limitations of hittingcommunication barriers and
assuming that said (25:30):
"f the student didn't understand your
first instructions, then it'sall hopeless and a lost cause.
This is perhaps one of thebiggest, most challenging things
to adapt in piano teaching.
But I see it click in mystudents' eyes, their instant
confidence of I've got it.
(25:50):
I don't need your help andtheir resilience to keep working
to fight their natural muscleand finger movements to make it
work for the piano.
It's their instrument.
Isn't that amazing?
Our students love music so muchthat they're willing to adapt
and change how their fingersmove on the keys, even fighting
(26:12):
mental and sensory alarms toovercome this.
That is incredible.
Ignacio Estrada was a famousventriloquist from South Texas
and the Southern United Stateswho lived from 1946 to 2024.
And he became widely known forhis encouraging and
(26:33):
inspirational presentations tochildren using his really cool
ventriloquist puppets.
His positive messagesencouraged kids to be kind,
avoid harmful habits and usetheir creativity and
intelligence fully and joyfully.
One of his most famous quotesis this and it embodies my whole
(26:55):
passion for teaching studentswho learn differently.
He said if children can't learnthe way we teach, maybe we
should teach the way they learn.
That's all for today.
I know this was a lot ofinformation and detail on
technique information and detailon technique but I hope it
(27:17):
gives you just a glimpse at thepossibility of teaching
technique differently to yourstudents who learn differently,
without putting up unintentionalroadblocks of assumptions or
limitations.
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