Silent Melody

I'm not going to take credit for this idea, but I will take credit for implementing it vociferously.  The Faber book has a game it calls Silent Melody, inspired by none other than the big B himself.  Ludwig was known for composing music on long walks, silently moving his fingers as if he were playing it out on a piano, so the game it suggests is to close the keyboard and play a melody on the lid, saying the names of the notes or finger numbers as you go.  Since we use an electric keyboard, I just turn it off and WG plays the keys silently.

I do love that my child has a great ear, but sometimes it's nice to watch her fingers working without an ear to help her out.  I've done this also with violin students as well, with an added goal of being able to hear the notes if they press hard enough - and the "air bow," or practicing a bowing without touching the strings. Just file this away as a nifty idea to mix things up when you see your wee one's mind start to wander!