Learning the correct piano hand position is one of the first things that kids need to master when beginning to learn the instrument. Young children can often find this a difficult thing to remember, especially when they are trying to learn so many other new skills at the same time. These little hamster pom-poms are a fun way to help to remind them about the correct piano hand position and have proved a great hit with my pupils over the last few weeks.
The traditional approach is to tell the child that they should imagine they are holding a small ball or apple in the palm of each hand so that the fingers curve around it in a cupped shape. They should try to hold this position while playing the notes, with wrists level with the keyboard and to not let the hands collapse downwards onto the keys (as they would naturally prefer to do). This requires strength and practice, and while the pupil is concentrating on other aspects such as reading the notes and rhythm, it is all too easy to forget.
This is where the little hamster comes in to play. For a long time I had been suggesting an imaginary hamster, really because one of my pupils was hamster mad and I thought it would make it more fun. I would explain that they should keep him safe and protected but not want to squash him! This then translated to a fun comment on their piano music of “Don’t squash your hamster!” Which worked wonders! I then realised that a soft pom-pom shape would be perfect to hold in a cupped hand and when it is attached to the back of the hand on a loop of soft elastic, the fingers can move quite freely but with the gentle reminder of the furry friend.
This is not intended as an aid for playing all the time, but just as a fun way to illustrate and remind the pupil of the correct piano hand position and technique. It can be used with a scale or finger exercises as part of the warm up process and to prepare for the rest of the lesson. These pom-poms are really easy to make and only take 10 minutes and they are a fun incentive or reward for keen pupils!
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I love this idea! Thanks
You’re welcome! I hope you have fun with it!
Hello,
as a young piano teacher in France I’d
like to thank you for the wide variety of
ideas and resources available on your internet site
to help children learn music! I tried
your pompom idea with one of my
students today and it worked really well!
You’re very welcome! I’m so glad you’re finding our ideas and resources useful! The little hamster pom-poms are always a favourite!
My goal this year is to have all my students focus better on hand position so I made a set of “Mr. Hamster” for each family. I used them this week and was thrilled with the result so far. After hearing a piece first, I had them play again with the aid. Then again without it and it was wonderful. They focused on their hands more.
I am not sending them home. The idea is to have them focus on hand position in their mind and hopefully not need the aid (plus, I’m not sure they will use them at home nor that they will bring them back). I have several children in families so I made one per family so germs aren’t passed from family to family, but within family only. I store them in plastic bags with the family name on them.
I sent a couple of sets to my daughter who has 2 students and she’s excited to use them as well.
Thanks for the idea.
That’s great! They do love their little pet hamsters!
Excellent, I was indeed trying the same with a ping pong ball but I am sure that this will work much better!
Kids always love hamsters! Glad this helps! 🙂
What a wonderful teaching tool…..thank you so much…