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 a Tree. Rotation
In Level 2 of Piano Safari, students learn Five Finger Patterns, Triads, and other Special Exercises for keyboard patterns and choreography in Technique Book 2.
Enjoy the video!