Scalerail - Teaching Piano

Teaching the piano with SCALERAIL

SCALERAIL will never be a substitute for a good teacher, but from a student's first lesson SCALERAIL can make a difference! SCALERAIL is not a 'Piano Method'. However, its use can be incorporated into any good piano course for students of all ages.

SCALERAIL also minimises the need for a teacher to make physical contact with the student when teaching the correct way to play a scale or arpeggio. In fact, SCALERAIL is far more effective than a teacher's manual positioning of a student's hands because it remains in contact with the student throughout the playing of the scale, arpeggio or exercise. With SCALERAIL the student learns good habits from the start - habits that will become the basis for future success.

From the first five-finger exercise the student begins to learn what the correct posture and hand positions feel like. With physical memory this becomes the student's habitual way of playing and continues without SCALERAIL's help. By using SCALERAIL each time a new scale or exercise is learned, and by returning to SCALERAIL to practise previously learned material, good habits are constantly reinforced.

Flying Elbows

With SCALERAIL elbows no longer fly outwards to facilitate the passing of the thumb under the hand or the hand over the thumb – a major fault that many teachers still attempt to correct by instructing students to hold their elbows firmly against their sides or even by placing a book under their arm! Both these methods can promote tension in the hand, arm and shoulder, and restriction of movement. SCALERAIL promotes relaxation and freedom of movement – two essential elements in the development of a good piano technique.

Extending Fingers

As scales with sharps and flats are introduced the student learns how to extend the necessary fingers onto the black keys (rather than moving the whole hand forwards in order to play the correct notes) whilst maintaining the thumb in the same position on the keyboard.