Transitioning From Color-Coded Notes to Black and White Music From time to time I’m asked how a child transitions from playing the color-coded notes in our beginning course to music written in black and white. Most of the time this question comes from someone trying to decide whether to purchase our course or not. Some of these parents and grandparents have seen xylophones or other toys with colored keys and wonder if Piano for Preschoolers is similar to those products. (It’s not, by the way, and it’s also nothing like the video games I’ve seen lately masquerading as beginning piano courses.) Once a parent or grandparent actually sees the course and works with their child, they realize it’s easy for the kids to transition. Here’s why:

The colored notes in our music book are written on a traditional music staff (the one with five lines and four spaces). From the very first song, the children learn which note on which line or space is played with which key on the piano or keyboard. The color strip that corresponds with the colors of the notes in the music is placed behind the keys not on the keys. There aren’t numbers or letters or colors on stickers that you place on the keys themselves. The music is written in real notes not cute characters or numbered circles, or colored dots that look nothing like traditional music. This is a very important distinction. As your child is learning how long to hold down a quarter note and a half note and which finger number plays which note, he/she is looking at the keys themselves and the notes themselves. Your child is actually playing and reading real music throughout the entire course.

The kids have so much fun playing songs they recognize while a caring parent or grandparent sings along, they don’t even realize they’re learning to read music and applying the musical concepts that are taught in each lesson. By the middle of the course, they’re not even seeing the color anymore. They’re seeing the notes and the keys that play those notes. The color simply gives children the opportunity to begin piano or keyboard study at a very young age with a fun and easy method that motivates them to continue learning.

Yes, the last couple of songs in the beginning course have notes written in black to begin the transition. By the time you reach those songs in the course your child is playing more complex music and practicing all the beginning musical concepts you’ve been teaching. At that point, your child is well prepared for further study and can move on to all the exciting music written in black and white.

If you have a story to share about your child transitioning from the color-coded music in our course to music written in black and white I’d love to hear it. Write to me at angie@pianoforpreschoolers.com. 0 comments