Piano students don’t need a lot of accessories to practice… a quality instrument and sheet music is enough! But there are a few tools that make a practice session easier and more effective (and oftentimes more fun and engaging!).

I’m counting down my Top 7 Piano Practice Tools I think every student should have when they are on the bench (plus a bonus one at the end that you might not expect!).

Coming in at number 7 are:

Mini-Erasers

I have a weakness for mini-erasers! They are so cute and so incredibly useful at the same time. Every time I pass the Target Dollar Spot or am wandering around the craft store, I look for new ones to add to my collection. I have mini-erasers for every season, every holiday, and everything in-between! I like to think that my students appreciate my attention to detail and my desire to match our games and activities with the time of year.

All of my students receive practice pouches when they start lessons (the cost is included in their Registration fee). Inside each pouch is: a music pencil, a mechanical pencil, 2 highlighters, a set of 6 rainbow barrel monkeys (all the colors of the rainbow, because we care about rainbow order!), 2 dice, and mini-erasers.

All of the items in the pouch are meant to be used at home for their practicing during the week and if we need to do a virtual lesson for any reason.

The mini-erasers are one of the items from the pouch that get used the most! As I said before, they are adorable but also very useful. During our lesson we go over how the student will use them at home during their practice time (based on what they need to work on that week).

Use Mini-Erasers at home for:

Finger Warm-Ups

This is a very simple exercise but SO effective at helping students gain control over their fingers and build speed.

Place your hand on the fall board of the piano or on a table. Your hand should be held in a proper piano hand posture. Place five erasers on the fall board or table, one in front of each finger.

One by one the fingers should kick the eraser that is sitting in front of them. When a finger is kicking, the other fingers should remain in the their positions and the hand should maintain its posture.

Do this exercise twice for each hand.

Hand Posture Exercise

This exercise is done at the piano to work on keeping the palm of the hand parallel to the keys.

Place your hand on the piano in the starting position of your practice piece. Your hand should be held in a proper piano hand posture. Place a mini-eraser on top of your hand (I suggest placing it between the 3rd and 4th finger).

Play your piece with the eraser on top of your hand. If your hand shape changes (wrist sags, hand leans towards the pinky, wrist lifts too high, etc.), the eraser will fall off your hand and you need to start over.

The eraser gives the student immediate feedback on their hand posture and helps them focus their attention on proper posture when playing. Proper postures sometimes falls to the wayside because the student is SO focused on all the other things vying for their attention, like pitch, rhythm, and dynamics.

This is not a “quiet hand”/finger independence exercise and should only be used for drawing a beginner student’s attention to their hand posture. It can be used for a phrase or passage where the student is losing the shape of their hand. As students progress in their studies, the hand needs to be in constant motion when we play, changing its shape to handle the music and requiring ample support from the wrist, arms and shoulders for proper technique without tension. Trying to keep the hand in a fixed position at all times will cause strain, tension, and possibly injury.

Counting Correct Repetitions

I encourage my students to work on their music is smaller sections and to aim for accuracy on each repetition. At home they can use the mini-erasers (or barrel monkeys) to play a little game with themselves and keep track of the number of times they play a section correctly.

They must play a section three times in a row without a mistake in order to move onto the next section. The key thing here is “in a row”. If a student plays a section 10 times and plays it correctly on the 3rd, 7th and 10th try (3 times but not in a row),that indicates that the student’s brain and hands are still very confused about what needs to be played. When the hands “get it” they should be able to repeat it.

To play, the student places three mini-erasers on the left side of their music.

If they play their section correctly, one of the erasers is moved to the right side of their music. If they play their section correctly again, another eraser is moved to the right side of their music. If, however, they make a mistake when playing their section, ALL the erasers must be moved back to the left side of their music and the student must start over again.

Fixing a Wrong Note

When a student is trying to fix a wrong note in their music, we always circle or highlight the note in the score to give them a visual reminder to be careful with that note.

But sometimes muscle memory take over and the note proves hard to fix, especially if the student was playing it incorrectly all week.

A mini-eraser can help! Place a mini-eraser on the key the student needs to play and have them place their finger on top of the eraser. This extra tactile reminder will usually fix the problem. Once the student has played the section correctly a few times with the eraser, the student should remove the eraser and try to play without it.

Practicing in Sections

Breaking a piece down into smaller sections is a very efficient way for a student to work through and master a piece. Since the amount of music the student needs to focus on is smaller, the student will feel less overwhelmed and can give the difficulties of each section the amount of attention and focus they require.

Mini-erasers can add a bit of fun (and chance!) to practicing in sections! During your lesson time, divide up the student’s piece into sections with their assistance. Next assign each section to a mini-eraser. For example, line 1 is the pizza eraser, line 2 is the cupcake eraser, etc. Have the student label each section (either with the name of the eraser or a quick drawing).

When the student sits down to practice at home, they will reach inside their practice pouch and randomly pull out an eraser. The student will then work on the section assigned to that eraser. When their practice session is over, they should leave the eraser on the piano (so they remember which section they practiced).

The next day, they will play through the sections they already worked on (indicated by the erasers on the piano) and then select a new eraser from their practice pouch.

If their piece has more sections than days of the week, the student can pull out more than one eraser per day.

Practice Challenges

Kids love a good challenge! Around recital time, especially, I like to give my students extra challenges to give them confidence in their mastery of their pieces. But challenges can be used all year round and mini-erasers can help!

Start by assigning a challenge to each mini-eraser. For example:

• Pizza eraser: Play with your eyes closed
• Cupcake eraser: Play at twice the performance tempo
• Sloth eraser: Play from memory at HALF the performance tempo
• Drum eraser: Tap out the rhythms of your piece
• Glasses eraser: Play your piece for someone (family, friend, etc.)
• Flower eraser: Play your piece pianissimo

When the student sits down to practice at home, they will reach inside their practice pouch and randomly pull out an eraser. The student will then do the challenge assigned to that eraser.

Improvisation Activities

Beginner students love exploring the sounds and capabilities of the piano. So why not use mini-erasers to encourage exploration at home?

They can pick or choose at random a mini-eraser from their practice pouch. At home, they will spend a few minutes of their practice time each day, coming up with sounds that describe the eraser they selected. For example, if they pulled out a lion eraser, they can explore loud sounds on the low end of the piano and even come up with a story for their music.

To make it even more fun, let them choose the eraser without telling you! Then at their lesson they can line up their erasers on the piano and you have to guess which eraser their music describes.

For younger and beginner students, I would recommend using animal mini-erasers. As their skills increase and they learn more, you can bust out some non-animal erasers to inspire improvisation and composition (how fun – and a challenge! – would it be to work on writing music about pizza?!).

Practice Rewards

If you use rewards to encourage practicing at your studio, these mini-erasers can be a fun addition to your arsenal! Students can earn “Piano Pets” every time they complete a certain number of practice days. Their Piano Pets can sit on their pianos at home and they can work on growing their Piano Pet family (or earning-food themed erasers to “feed” them)!

And there we have it!

The number 7 practice tool every piano student should have. Next up is the Number 6 Practice Tool for effective practicing!

• Sky High Love
  Sky High Love is a great game to use mini-erasers during lesson time! The rhythms get longer as the heart towers get higher! Whose tower will remain standing in the end?! This adrenaline-inducing rhythm game is a great way to kick-off a lesson and get the energy up.
• Chord Snowblast
  A real howler in July! Are you longing for cooler temperatures this summer? Bust out Chord Snowblast (an the mini-erasers) for a cool piano game that covers all the major and minor chords!

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Who doesn’t love the thrill of a little game of chance?! Kids really get into reviewing concepts when a game is involved. Add in the lure of technology and they are sold!

Games of chance often are based around drawing a card, rolling dice, or spinning a wheel. The latter is especially fun… Kids, young and old, have loved playing games like Wheel of Fortune, The Price is Right, and The Game of Life for decades. There is something about watching a wheel of chance slowly come to a stop while hoping it will land on the option you want.

I use the Decide Now! app to bring the fun of a wheel of chance into my piano lessons. It is a fantastic tool for music lessons whether you teach in person or online (I found it enormously useful when I was teaching virtually during the pandemic). I love its versatility, since it allows me to create any wheel I can think of. I’ve used it for a multitude of things in my lessons:

• music theory games (you can create a wheel for any concept you want to drill with your students! From finding keys on the piano, to intervals, chords, roman numerals, keys… the sky is the limit!)
• tempo markings
• transposing music (create a wheel with the names of different keys)
• composing music (choose a form, a key, a rhythmic motive, etc.)
• challenges (play with your eyes closed, sing the melody while playing the left hand accompaniment, etc.)

It can also substitute dice in any game you play with your students. Although I do love using dice for activities (the sensory appeal of dice is very satisfying as well!). But I like to have a variety of options and Decide Now! also allows me to write things that I would not be able to fit on the face of a die.

For a great compilation of ideas on how to incorporate Decide Now! into your lessons, I recommend Leila Viss’ 50 Ways to Use Decide Now!

Examples of Decide Now! Wheels

Here are a few wheels I have come up with to use during my lessons:

How to Set Up Decide Now!

You can download the Decide Now! app from Google Play or the Apple App store for a small fee (I receive nothing from recommending this app, I just really like it).

When you open the app, the last wheel that you used will be on the home screen. To create a new wheel or to select a different wheel you have already created, tap on the “File” button in the bottom right-hand corner. A list of all the wheels you have created will appear.

To create a new wheel, tap on the + button at the bottom right-hand corner.

The first thing to do is create a name for your new wheel. Tap on the “Wheel name” rectangle and type in its name. I like to use descriptive names (as opposed to catchy names) to make it easier to find when I need to drill a specific concept. When you are done typing, just tap “Return” on the keyboard.

You can then choose the Color Scheme of your wheel. The color scheme determines the colors of the wedges of the wheel. Just tap on the color you’d like to use.

Next it’s time to add the labels for each wedge of the wheel. Tap on the rectangle next to the green “+ Add label” and type in the label for the first wedge.

When you are done typing, tap “Return” on the keyboard and another label will appear. Keep adding labels to the wedges until you have all the labels you need.

To edit a label, simply tap on the label and type.

When you are finished creating your wheel, tap “Save” at the top right-hand corner.

Your new wheel now appears at the top of your list of wheels. To select a wheel to play, simply tap on the title of the wheel. The wheel will open and it’s ready to play.

If you would like to change the order in which the wedges appear on the wheel, tap the three dots in the top right-hand corner and select “Randomize”.

To spin the wheel, tap on the circle at the center of the wheel.

When the wheel stops spinning, the selected wedge of the wheel will light up and the text inside the wedge will appear below the title of the wheel (in this case, “B E A D G C F”). Note that a “Deactivate” button also appeared. You can deactivate the wedge by tapping on the Deactivate button. When a wedge is deactivated, the wheel will not land on that wedge. This can be useful if a student has already mastered that particular concept and you want to focus on the others or if you are having a student complete tasks one-by-one.

To reactivate a wedge(s), just tap on the “Reset All” button that appears when a wedge(s) is deactivated.

Let the games begin!!!

• How to Make your Own Music Theory Dice
  Music theory dice are a great tool to have in your piano teacher arsenal but most of the time what you need isn’t available to buy anywhere. DIY Music Theory Dice are so easy to make and they are completely customizable for any concept you would like to work on with your students.
• Pot of Gold Rhythm Game
  Put those music theory dice to good use with this easy rhythm game for your beginner/elementary students. The value of each rhythm note or rest will determine how many coins go into the pot. Who can fill their pot the fastest?! This game can be adapted for any time of the year or use mini-cauldrons for a fun Halloween or St. Patrick’s Day game.
• The Die of Destiny
  Sometimes a student will walk into my studio without their usual bounce in their step. I’ve found that a little silliness and a dash of chance gets them in the mood to pull out their piano books and play music. The Die of Destiny is a fun and quick lesson starter to get students playing.

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Birthdays are really important to kids, they care A LOT about how old they are and get really excited counting down the days until their next birthday.

One way I like to celebrate my younger piano students’ birthdays is by giving them a special Piano Birthday Crown! It’s quick to make (less than 5 minutes!) and it makes them feel so special!

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The bottom band of the crown comes in three colors (blue, pink, and purple) and it includes the melody of “Happy Birthday” in the key of F major. Not only is it a special way to celebrate your student’s birthday but you can use it to teach them how to play “Happy Birthday” on the piano during their lesson! 

Preparing the Piano Birthday Crown:

All you need to make a piano birthday crown is:

• Print out the piano birthday crown on a sheet of cardstock (it will sit more firmly on your student’s head than regular copier paper)
• Scissors (I like the Westcott brand a lot. My pair is still going strong after more than 10 years!)
• Hole punch (I do a lot of crafting so I like the soft grip handles on my hole punch)
• Yarn or string
• Optional: Transparent tape (I use this for everything)

Print out the piano birthday crown on a sheet of cardstock and cut it out.

This part is optional, but I like to reinforce the edges of the colored “Happy Birthday” band with a little bit of tape. This is the spot where we will be punching a hole through the crown, so the tape provides the paper with a little extra strength to support the tension of the yarn once it is tied around your student’s head.

Punch a hole on each ends of the colored “Happy Birthday” band through the paper and the tape.

Cut two pieces of yarn or string to size. Thread the yarn/string through the holes.

Tie a knot to secure the yarn/string to the crown.

And there you go! An adorable piano birthday crown for your piano student.

Just place the crown on your student’s forehead and tie a bow at the back of his/her head with the yarn. Time to play some “Happy Birthday” on the piano!!!

You can purchase and download the piano birthday crown at the Toucan Piano shop. You can print as many crowns as you’d like, so you can use it for any student you teach directly for years to come! I hope your students enjoy this cute crown as much as mine do!

• Rainbow Manuscript Paper
  This colorful manuscript paper is available in the Toucan Piano shop as a free printable! They are available in three sizes, so they can be used for a variety of ages and activities, like writing out original compositions, explaining music theory concepts, music dictation, games, and so much more!
• Musical M.A.S.H.
  This free printable game tests your student’s knowledge of the spaces on the grand staff. It’s a fast, easy game to play, and will predict your student’s musical future with hilarious results!

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