Hand placement on RN streams
Found in: Reading
Nancy J., Canada
When doing the Streams projects in Reading Notes, how do you explain how to start each line? In the Streams up to 3rds, the first line starts on finger 1 and is easy to figure out on the piano. But the rest of the line you would have to start on different fingers (i.e. second line is bass clef and starts on an E. The student would have to know to start on finger 3 so they could eventually go down to the C and D). Do you explain how to know which finger to start on? How can they do these projects at home if they don’t know?
Laurie Richards, Nebraska
I spend a little time on this with my classes. I explain that each of the streams on RN is written within a 5-note range, so there is no hand repositioning necessary. We look for the highest (or lowest) note in the stream, then place finger 5 (or finger 1) on that note. Then determine where the starting note is in relation to that note. Then play through the stream, voicing aloud the direction and interval as you go. We go through the process aloud together until I’m convinced they all understand. I also make sure to do some streams with RH and some with LH, regardless of the clef.
