Alright… here it is! This has been the most exciting game and teaching tool I think I’ve ever used. For the past year, I’ve been using CLAY to help my students read notes. It works unbelievably well.
I’m not going to say too much about it here, just yet, I think the initial video speaks for its self. Maybe some of you have tried other ways of incorporating 3D objects into your piano teaching? If so, I’d love to hear about them. As always, please let me know what you think of this idea!
These are just a few quick ideas – there will be lots more to come!!
April 4, 2011 at 11:57 pm
whao that helps alot! thanks! Actually watching your videos is better than reading a Book.
April 5, 2011 at 8:21 am
Thanks
June 9, 2011 at 2:00 pm
I love this idea! I’ve made a large grand staff with a checkers piece as a note, but haven’t gotten into implementation too much. And making the whole thing tactile adds another dimensions, literally! Thanks!
June 9, 2011 at 8:09 pm
Awesome, checkers is a good idea. Thanks for sharing and I hope it continues to work well as you start implementing it more.
August 16, 2011 at 8:35 pm
I’ve actually come back to this because I just completed an introductory music camp, and found creative ways to introduce the staff (I made a huge floor staff)… I’d forgotten this blog until the last couple of days, so plan to make a clay staff and use some of your games.
Also, to combine the clay staff with the keyboard as you have done in another video.
Thanks!!!
August 16, 2011 at 8:38 pm
Thanks for coming back! A huge floor staff sounds fun? How did you make it? Was it 2D or 3D?
-Dan
September 18, 2011 at 10:36 pm
My hubby does upholstery, so had a 57″ wide roll of white embossed vinyl which he’d gotten for very little (there were yards on the roll, so I used lots!). I made the lines about eight inches apart (20 cm) and about an inch thick (2.5 cm). I left a margin at top and bottom with no clef marking. Actually, I made two of these about 100 inches long! I printed a treble and bass clef on 8-1/2 x 14 inch paper and laminated them. Then, for music camp I had a large floor staff the kids could “step” on – and imagine themselves as a line or space note.
As an afterthought I also made a piano keyboard proportional to the piano, but not the staff I’d made. Afterwards, I wished I’d made them compatible.
I got those ideas from several blogs and saved myself $80 for one – which is what a banner would have cost to order from US to Canada. Camp was getting closer, and I could have mailed it to family in the States to bring up, but found this was quicker. It actually only took about three hours to draw both staffs and another three to do the keyboard. I used permanent marker – and happened to use one which was shiny, so they look very classy and professional!
September 18, 2011 at 10:37 pm
Oh, I forgot to add that I made the keyboard two full octaves plus a couple of notes on either side.
We’ll begin to use these at piano lessons this week. But, I don’t have lots of space at home, so they’ll be used more effectively at music camps.