Playing the piano is a wonderful activity for children because it not only provides hours of fun for kids, it utilizes all of the human creative processes. These include Seeing (visualization), Observing, Forming Analogies, Inverting, and Simplification. Effective piano lessons apply teaching strategies that utilize these processes to exercise students' creative abilities and expand their potential. Below are some examples of how this happens.

Visualization - "What would it look like if I could do it?"

Visualization is probably the most difficult creative skill to develop. Having a keyboard in the imagination, however, gives a powerful boost to students' playing ability. So it's worth it to work at developing this creative application. Here's a way young piano students can begin to literally draw on their mind's "eye".

The piano has groups of two and three black keys. There are three white keys around each group of two black keys. Students close their eyes and pretend to draw, for example, two very large black keys in the air. Asking questions like these helps kids begin to see the keyboard in their mind.

Can you see the white key on the left of the two black keys? It's a C. Can you see the one on the right? It's an E. Can you see the white key in the middle of the two black keys? It's a D.

Over time visualization techniques help students develop a keyboard in their imaginations and begin to read notes as locations on the piano, interpreting the Grand Staff as a Map of the keyboard. In addition to hearing visualization is an important part of learning scales, chords, and playing and interpreting music.

Once students begin to develop their visualization muscles they can apply this creative skill to see the possibilities and imagine solutions in other areas of their life and education by asking,

What would a solution to this challenge look like?

Observation - "Eureka! I've never noticed that before!"

Observation is about carefully noticing the little things to find similarities and differences. For example, the difference between staccato and legato marks, or accents and tenutos, and listening to observe the differences. Piano students use their observational skills when they ask questions like these.

How are these notes the same? How are they different? Hey, is that a triplet or three eighth notes? Is this melody the same or new? Is it repeated anywhere in the music?

Piano students use the creative process of observation just as scientists do to find surprises in nature that were always there, waiting to be discovered, and by experimenting with different techniques and expressive ideas to find what works best in different styles of music.

Analogies - "How Can I Gain Perspective/Change Perspective?"

Analogies are helpful for gaining or changing perspective, and for making us laugh! Here are some examples of how analogies provide learning aids for young piano students. To play legato, pretend your fingers are an eeeentsy-weeensty spider. Curve the spider's legs and walk your fingers on the piano keys. To play staccato notes, imagine the piano keys are hot! Analogies are wonderful for helping students break through the mechanics of piano and bring the music to life in an interesting and creative way.

Inverting - "How would this look if I turned it upside down?"

Inverting affects perspective as well by turning things upside down, or by taking them to extremes. Einstein did this when he obsessed over a beam of light and discovered his theory of relativity. Like his theory of relativity, many things are hidden beyond our understanding as they're counter-intuitive to the logic of our first assumptions. I don't pretend to understand Einstein's theory, but I know that Einstein also loved music and that many of the piano techniques students need to play well are indeed counter-intuitive. That's why students may resist them at first.

One way to break through our natural logic and bring other possibilities into view is by asking,

What would this look like if I turned it upside down?

Here's a creative suggestion I give students for polishing a recital piece when they'e having difficulty with the last section of a longer piece of music.

Play it backwards! Like this.

Play the last measure. Then play the last two measures, the last three, the last four, etc., all the way back to the beginning. Then play the song all the way through and see how it has improved. This is a great way for students to more thoroughly learn a piece of music.

Simplifying - "I've seen this some place before?"

Simplifying can yield creative solutions to difficult challenges by eliminating what is unnecessary. Ever try too hard? Here's a tip. Sometimes less is more. Before trying to re-invent the wheel, look back through history to see where this problem has been solved before by someone else, or by you.

Piano students can do this by asking,

Where have I seen this in music before?

How did I play it then?

What strategy can I use to break this down and make it easier?

What playing strategies has my piano teacher shown me that I can apply here?

Is there a book I could read to find out what other pianists have tried.

As a piano teacher I want to follow a creative plan that simplifies learning and achieves more positive results faster, even if I have to turn things up-side-down! And I have! Just as piano lessons for children increase their overall educational progress, the reverse is also true! Literature, visual arts, and sciences can help children in piano lessons achieve their musical goals.

That's why I wrote the Piano Adventure Bears Stories - To help piano students expand their creative potential. These beautifully illustrated books use language, art and science to help kids in piano see the possibilities, avoid frustrations, and create a plan for achieving their piano dreams.

My stories use all of the foundational creative skills I discussed above and more, because they feature the loveable and endearing characters Mrs. Treble Beary and her passionate, new student, Albeart Littlebud, who everyone calls Little Bear. You'll enjoy the time you spend reading these stories with your children as they laugh and learn from Little Bear's Piano Adventures.