Bridging the Gap: Teaching Left Hand, Right Hand and how they relate to Bass Clef, Treble Clef and the Direction of the Keys

Learning left hand, right hand and how those hands correlate to bass clef, treble clef and the direction on the keys, is a lot to think about for young piano students. Over time, my instruction of these concepts evolved into something SO simple that helps my students get back on track more quickly.

First of all, I teach that the Bass Clef notes sound like they are going down into the basement. The treble clef notes sound like they are going up high into the treetops (where the birds are causing a lot of trouble). I show them that if they picture themselves on the dot of the bass clef and follow along the stroke, the bass clef is like a sliding down into the basement. If you picture yourself on the dot of the treble clef and then follow the stroke, it shoots you up into the treetops. I think this is a great visual to help students become familiar with the clefs and their names.

However, I found myself saying "Remember, right hand goes up to the treetops" or "left hand goes down to the basement" until I was exasperated. Finally, I started blending these concepts into one. Now I call the hands "Righ High" and "Left Low" which quickly connects their hands to the clefs and to the direction of the key tones. Our students know what hands are, and they know we are referring to their hands. That isn't the concept they need help with. They need help connecting their hands to the keys and to the sounds they are making. It doesn't hurt that the concept "Righ High" and "Left Low" has such a nice ring to it!

I enjoy reinforcing this concept with the dice game: Left, Right, Center. You can find many versions on Amazon. I am very adamant that my students say, for example, "Righ" as they grab a dice and then "High" (or "low") as they pass it the correct direction. There's a strong tactile beat to it, while using the correct hand: "Righ. High." It reinforces not only which hand they are using to pass the dice, but the direction of sound on the keyboard. If they get the hand wrong, I have them run over to the keys to figure out which end is high and which end is low.

Another great way to reinforce this concept is with my glove matching game. Again, while playing this game, even though the symbols for hands are "LH" and "RH", we say, "Left Low" and "Righ High" to help connect the correct hands to the correct clefs. You can find the glove matching game here:

Another way to reinforce the direction of the keys is with this file folder that students can work on independently. File folders are like theory pages that are more hands-on and reusable! I love them and my students love them!

Please let me know how these ideas work for you in your studio!

And please connect with me! Let's be music friends!

Happy Teaching!

Sincerely,

Amy Stanger

Piano Playground