by Dr. Julie Knerr

Katherine Fisher has created the video below explaining the seven Animal Technique Videos found in:

Piano Safari Repertoire Book 1
Piano Safari Technical Exercises and Rote Pieces Book (excerpts from Repertoire Books 1 and 2)

The seven Animal Techniques were derived from my dissertation research on beginning piano technique. I interviewed eleven teachers known for their success with pre-college students. After finding the commonalities among how they teach, I formulated these exercises, and we gave them animal names to make them more appealing to students. You can read my dissertation here.

The seven exercises are:

Lion Paw. Arm Weight
Zechariah Zebra. Repeated Notes with Firm Fingertips
Tall Giraffe. Non Legato Articulation
Tree Frog. Legato Articulation with a Arm Bounce
Kangaroo. Repeated Notes with Firm Fingertips
Soaring Bird. Legato Articulation with one Arm Motion for the Three-Note Slur
Monkey Swinging in …

By Dr. Julie Knerr

In Piano Safari Repertoire Book 1, students read intervallically from the landmark notes of Treble G and Bass C. At the beginning of Repertoire Book 2, we introduce all the note names on the staff using the process explained in this video.

This process of introducing note names works with any reading approach and can be used with any method.