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Unnecessary Lane Changing

By: Tanya Swartzman

One of the common problems with students learning piano is that they do not know how to use all the width of a keyboard. They have to become comfortable playing in between the black keys. They need to understand that doing this is not an exception and playing on the white keys close to the edge is not a rule. Playing next to the middle line of a keyboard is the most convenient and prevents jerky movements, awkward appearance, and hectic tempos. I found that a metaphor that uses real-world examples helps students a lot not only to understand the problem but also to deal with it. For this particular case "Lane changing" metaphor gives a student an easily understandable description of the problem. Imagine you are driving a car. If you stay in one lane and change lanes only when it is necessary - either to pass a car or take an exit - your drive is smooth and steady, and you are in control. If you are changing lanes all the time, your drive is haphazard and dangerous - an accident is more likely to happen. So, try to be a good driver and stay in a lane.

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