Engaging Young Pianists with Rote Teaching and Musical Storybooks

Group Piano Lesson after learning a rote piece

Rote Teaching: Not Just a Shortcut

Rote teaching is often misunderstood as a shortcut, but I like to compare it to how we first learn to communicate in our native language. Just as we read stories to young children before they can recognize letters, rote teaching allows young musicians to engage with music through listening, feeling, and expressing rather than decoding notation.

How to Teach Rote in the Studio

Here’s a step-by-step approach to make rote teaching a natural and enjoyable part of your lessons:

1. Introduce the Rhythm: Before even touching the piano, start by chanting the rhythm with your student. If the piece has lyrics, use them to emphasize rhythm and expression. If not, create your own sounds like "ba ba ba" to highlight rhythmic patterns.

2. Add Movement: As you chant, clap, sway, or tap along to the rhythm. I use phrases like "up, up, down, down, same, same" to describe movement without focusing on specific notes. This approach helps students connect with the physical feel of the music.

3. Play and Observe: After establishing rhythm, play the piece for your student and sing along, encouraging them to join. Let them see and feel the rhythm, musical phrasing, and overall mood.

4. Break It Down: Now, we dive into learning by ear and by feel. Sit with your student at the piano and break the piece into manageable chunks, starting with simpler parts, like single-hand passages. Avoid using note names initially—instead, focus on intervals, steps, skips, and patterns.

5. Let Them Try: As they play, remind them to use intervals and patterns, not specific notes. Allow them to experiment with dynamics, tempo, and hand positions. If it's a group lesson, I’ll have students take turns and observe each other, fostering a collaborative learning environment.

6. Reinforce with Practice Videos: Send a reminder video or tutorial link for students to reference at home. Piano Safari and similar programs have excellent resources that allow students to review what they’ve learned independently.

Why Rote Works Across Ages

Rote teaching isn’t just for beginners.

It can be a powerful tool for introducing intermediate students to more complex elements like dotted quarter notes, compound meters, or new scales.

In fact, teenagers learning their favorite songs from YouTube tutorials are engaging in a form of rote learning. This kind of training builds their ear, technique, and sense of pattern recognition.

Bringing Stories into Music Learning

Storytelling is one of the oldest forms of communication, and pairing it with music can amplify students’ engagement and comprehension. Musical storybooks combine the narrative and emotional elements of storytelling with rote learning, helping students connect deeply with the music.

One storybook I created, called *Scaredy Dog*, features my dog, Coda, on a Halloween adventure. Each chapter includes a simple rote-based song that younger students can learn by ear. It’s a hit with students because they’re invested in Coda’s “scaredy-cat” adventure! These simple, yet engaging pieces allow students to explore dynamics, tempo, and expression on their own terms.

How Storytelling Benefits the Brain

When students play a story-inspired rote piece, both hemispheres of their brain engage. The analytical left brain connects with patterns and sequences, while the creative right brain responds to the mood and storyline. This dual engagement strengthens memory, empathy, and self-expression—skills that benefit students far beyond the music studio.

Final Thoughts

Rote teaching and musical storybooks are transformative tools for students of all ages, connecting music with imagination and expression. Whether you're working with preschoolers or older beginners, these approaches help students see music as a way to tell their own stories.

If you’re incorporating rote teaching or storytelling into your studio, I’d love to hear about your experiences!