Last weekend I received the e-newsletter from the fabulous Music Educator’s Marketplace and saw this brilliant new product: Nate’s Scale Plates. They were developed by a 9-year old piano student, and they are exactly what several of my students need! It baffles me that scale fingerings are as difficult as they are for some students, but even some of my most diligent students struggle to master them. These scale plates seem like the perfect solution. According to the newsletter, Music Educator’s Marketplace will be at the MTNA Conference next month, so I’m putting this at the top of my list of things to buy. I can hardly wait to give it a try!
If you don’t already receive the free e-newsletter from Music Educator’s Marketplace, you can sign up for it at the bottom of their home page. I highly recommend it! In addition to product information it also contains some great teaching tips and other helpful links.
Me too!
I am already making a list of booth’s I need to visit at the MTNA Conference. I’ll have to make sure I put this at the top of my list because I think they will sell out at the conference.
What a wonderful resource! I teach fingering in families of course, this is excellent for visualizing them.
That Happens with all the instrumenmts.Though being a student my self i kinda keep on figuring out new methods to master the scales..Goshhh needs a lot of patience
I purchased Nate’s Plates after reading your post. Initially I was skeptical! I only use Nate’s plates if a student has been stuck on a scale for a 3 or more weeks. At that point I tell them to use the plates hands separately to get the muscle memory down for 3 days, then use the last 4 days before lesson put hands together slowly. It has worked beautifully for both Bb Major and Bb minor for two of my students! I am happy to report success with Nate’s Plates…oh yeah, and the students really liked them! +=D