Today was a great day because after 3 weeks my student finally showed glimpses of understanding eighth notes! I had tried all the different analogies I could think of … pizzas, pies (for some reason food usually works), drawing pictures, writing out the timing … nothing seemed to help him. To backtrack, it’s really hard to teach kids how eighth notes are half a beat when they haven’t learned fractions in school. It gives me a whole new appreciation for elementary math teachers.
Anyhow, today i tried by using a piece of paper we ripped in half that had eighth notes drawn on it. I don’t know why I didn’t go for the tangible lesson sooner, but it was like something clicked in his brain and he got it. I was so happy I can’t even tell you. Makes me happy to be a piano teacher again!
128 Days of Summer 