At most craft stores or home centers you'll be able to find unfinished pre-cut wood. I picked up a piece of basswood 4" x 24" for just a few dollars.
The wood is quite soft so it was easy to etch. I needed 25 keys so I measured a little less than an inch per key. There are proper tools for etching, but being a resourceful kinda gal I used a crochet hook...ha ha.
I painted with primer first, then with a second coat of glossy white trim paint.
You'll need a sheet of black adhesive craft foam, which will become your black keys. I cut out 18 black keys at 2 1/4" long by 1/2" wide. Lay them out in their groups of 2s and 3s, then peel off the adhesive backing and stick them on. Easy right?
Ta-da...lovely silent keyboard. You could get fancy pants by gluing felt or foam on the back of your keyboard.
Now if that wasn't enough fun, get ready for part two.
I remember when I was little my piano teacher made a set of teeny tiny flash cards that fit on the piano keys. She just cut them out of cardboard and hand drew the staff, clef and note on each card. I thought they were magical!
So Hetty, this project is for you!
You may download and print my page of teeny tiny flash cards. All you need is one page of card stock in color.
May I also recommend a sheet of adhesive craft foam. If you adhere foam or felt to the backs of your teeny tiny flash cards you won't have to worry about asking your piano tuner to rescue missing flash cards next November.
Carefully cut apart all of your little cards and find a fun little basket for them.
If you haven't noticed yet, I color coded the flash cards:
- Bass clef line notes - blue
- Bass clef space notes - green
- Treble clef line notes - yellow
- Treble clef space notes - pink
- Extras - orange
My beginners are going to LOVE this! They have been working with a set of 15 flash cards for learning steps up and down from landmark notes. This week they earned their next flash card level, which includes all line and space notes. This teaching aid will be a big help!
April 26:
I have had some requests for teeny tiny flashcards using the ledger lines. So I have reworked the file for you. It now includes three ledger lines above the treble and below the bass clefs. I have also brightened up the colors. Enjoy!
Love it. And my students seem to be obsessed with anything in miniature!
ReplyDeleteThis is super cute.
Mini is awesome! And this is a fun little crafty project for a cloudy day.
DeleteI love this! I just finished making my set and I can't wait to use them with my students this week.
ReplyDeleteThat's great Joy, so glad you like them! Happy teaching!
DeleteWhat a wonderful idea! I wish I were crafty enough to make the little keyboard; maybe one day :)
ReplyDeleteOnce you cross over into the crafty world of teaching you'll never want to go back :)
DeleteThese are so cute and its great to have a new way to play with flashcards! Would love to try a set with key signatures on for my students who are working on keys and scales, or even some with ledger lines for my more advanced students. I'll keep my fingers crossed you might find a spare moment some time to extend these cards and share them!
ReplyDeleteHi Alison, hopefully you've seen that the Teeny Tiny Flashcards got an upgrade. The file now includes ledger line notes. Thanks for the nudge.
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