TRACY SELLE
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​Follow Your Dreams -
Inside AND Outside Your Piano Studio

​
​

My Completely Honest Review Of "Handy Houses"

1/24/2017

 
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I first started hearing about "Handy Houses: Memorize the Piano Keys in 5 Minutes" on FaceBook last year, but I hesitated to get it. 

It seemed to me that the story would encourage students to "count up" to find certain keys on the piano - and I don't teach keyboard geography that way. I'm pretty adamant about teaching the white keys by looking at the black keys. 

Nonetheless, last semester, I had a couple of preschoolers who were really struggling with keyboard geography and since I'm passionate about reading, I thought I'd give this book a shot.

​Turns out that I like Handy Houses quite a bit.
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How it Works:

Handy Houses is a cute story about 2 houses: a dog house and a people house. The story teaches students what goes on around each house.

Every "character" matches up to a key on the piano. Students learn about the car, then they meet Duke and Ellie. The story continues up to the B key. 

​The author, Samantha K. Perkins, even includes a keyboard where students can draw the story as a keepsake. You can copy the keyboard in the book or she gives you a link to a printable version.

I think this is really brilliant because it helps students recite the story in their own words, thus making it more memorable.

Pros:

  • ​Handy Houses really does teach the keys on the piano. It works for older beginners and your very youngest students.
  • The story is easy to remember.
  • Children who enjoy reading will like this book.
  • The drawings are cute and engaging.
  • You really can cover this book in about 5 minutes.
  • Having the kids create their own drawing of the story is a wonderful idea and is a great way for kids to work on this concept during the week. I have my students tell the story to parents, siblings, friends - anyone!
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Cons:

  • Some really young kids don't understand that "grandpa" starts with a G or "Ellie" starts with an E. You have to supplement and explain that to kids. But once you do, they get it!
  • The story is based on the idea of "counting" up the keyboard. You start with C for Car and the story end on B for Bees. After we've gone through the book - I review it my own way. Which leads me to.....

My Biggest Tip:


​Once my students learn the story, we review the "characters" in a DIFFERENT ORDER from how the book teaches the story.

In the picture below, you can see what I'm doing with this student.

​See how she's coloring the G and A keys before the F and B? We talk about who lives inside the house before we review what's outside the house.

I think that really helps to avoid "counting up" to find the correct key.
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Whenever we review the story - which is weekly in the beginning - I'll quickly run through the story from start to finish to make sure my student remembers everything. 

Then I ask questions based on the HOUSES:

Where's the dog house?
Who lives inside the dog house?
Where is the car?
Where is Ellie?

Where is the people house?
Who lives inside the people house? 
What is outside the people house?

​This completely solves my "fear" of learning the keys by counting up!

The Final Verdict:


​Overall, I think Handy Houses delivers on the promise to teach kids the piano keys in about 5 minutes. I definitely plan to use it routinely with my youngest students. 


​If you haven't tried it, I definitely think it's worth testing out. You can get it on Amazon for 9.99.
​

Helpful Resources:

101 Piano Practice Tips
​How the book "The Dynamic Studio" changed me
Six Reasons To Play Games During Lessons
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Note: Some of links in this post are affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.)​
Barbara
1/25/2017 07:49:51 am

Tracy - thank you for doing this review. I have had this book in my studio for several months now but I have not used it as I should. I first heard about it from Jennifer Foxx. I have a group class with some very young people next week. This will definitely be part of my lesson plan!

Tracy Selle
1/25/2017 08:18:32 am

Oh Barbara - that's exciting! I'm sure your kids will enjoy it and learn a lot.

I'd definitely plan to review it during lessons for the next couple of weeks. Please let me know how it goes!

Rachel
1/25/2017 10:48:37 am

Thanks for letting us know about the book! Having that memory device and visual link really helps. I use something similar that I had found before I knew about the book. http://singanewsongmusic.blogspot.com/2010/09/teaching-white-keys.html Click on the Google Doc link. Depending on the age of the student, I'll just teach the doghouse first or the whole thing and have them practice finding them at home. I have them find all the Gs, for instance, and say "Grandma-Grandma-G-G-G" as they play each G. I save the Circus Story for review once I've taught all the keys. These are printable, so they can go in the student's binder or folder and that way the parents can help them practice finding the keys at home too. Here's another variation with "attic" instead of "apples." http://www.modernmusicteaching.com/blog/dog-in-the-dog-house-teaching-keyboard-geography-to-young-students What's nice about this one is that that you cut each visual out to use on the keyboard--they're just the right size for piano keys and the kids get a kinesthetic boost. The more senses we involve, the better the retention. The last is a tweak for the first one--what a great and easy idea to use index cards for the doghouse! http://studentmusicorganizer.com/blogs/main/15324889-who-lives-in-the-doghouse


Comments are closed.
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    Hi there! I'm Tracy Selle. A Christian wife, mom, and author of 101 Piano Practice Tips. I'm also a piano teacher and founder of Upbeat Piano Teachers.

    Here's a little secret - I'm not always upbeat, but I do strive for an upbeat lifestyle!

    The truth is - I love teaching piano. But....I also love being a wife and mom.  And I believe with God - it's ALL possible!

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  • Home
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    • Disclosure and Privacy Policy
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    • Upbeat Webinars
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