PPP075: Piano Doodling can be more beneficial than you might think

15Jan 2018 by Shelly Davis

Listen to the full episode here

Giving your child freedom to doodle at the piano is more beneficial than you
might think

The next time you hear your piano kid creating and improvising on the piano keys consider giving them more time to do that before you redirect them back to their assigned pieces.

Creativity & Discovery

Learning to read a piece of music begins externally. Creating sounds on the piano begins internally.
Stumble upon familiar melodies and play pieces by ear – melodies at first and then harmonies to go along with the melody.
Create your own fun and you’ll never be bored

Improvement

Listening – creating original sounds at the piano helps your piano kid develop a stronger sense of listening
Hand efficiency – students learn to use their hands more efficiently when they are moving freely about the piano keys
A general rule of thumb when playing the piano is you only cross over the thumb!
Processing written music – “Hear first, then see.” Children learn spoken language by hearing and imitating what they hear. Eventually, they learn to read and write. The same principle applies to learning music.

More Benefits of Doodling

You and your piano kid can doodle together at the piano.
You play two black keys (you might like the sound better if you skip over one or two black keys between the two you play) while your piano kid plays any black keys on the higher side of the piano.

Here is that Bobby McFerrin video I love so much!

You could create a similar effect by playing E and B in the low range of the piano keys. If you don’t know how to find E and B, ask your piano kid or listen to Episode 003: Piano Geography. While you play the low notes, your piano kid could play any white key on the high side of the piano. Adding the right foot pedal will help blend the notes together for a nice effect too.

Drawing improved my daughter’s handwriting

Tracy’s handwriting improved drastically after she began trying to draw animals.

I believe the same thing will be true for your piano kid.

The next time you hear your piano kid creating and improvising on the piano keys consider giving them more time to do that before you redirect them back to their assigned pieces. You might even ask them if you can share their piano doodles on Instagram with #pianodoodles.

Here are my January doodles so far in my Bullet Journal. What are you doodling?