You know that moment when your student is cruising through a piece beautifully, then suddenly everything falls apart while shifting hand positions? Those awkward pauses that break the musical flow drive us all a bit bonkers, don’t they? If you’re teaching piano students transitioning from elementary to late elementary levels, you’re definitely not alone in facing this challenge.
Going Beyond “Add On” For Shifting Hand Positions
There’s a reason why the “add-on strategy” is so popular in my studio. Not only does it work for so many different situations and levels, but it also ensures intentional repetition happens. But let’s be honest – sometimes we need a break from the repetition, especially if it’s one of those days, or our student needs a different strategy because they’ve spaced out.
When it comes to that tricky transition from 5-finger hand positions to shifting hand positions across the keyboard with crossover and under fingering, I needed a larger toolbox that met each student in a different way. And, I think you feel the same way.
That’s exactly why I created these 12 practical activities that transform rigid, choppy pauses into flowing, musical transitions your students will actually want to practise.
Why You Should Use One-Hand Pieces
Here’s something that might surprise you – one-handed pieces aren’t just for injured students.
When students can play beautiful, engaging music with just one hand, it removes the mental overload of coordinating two hands and really lets them hear, feel, and understand how developing smooth shifting hand positions should work. All while playing something that sounds complete. Not just another practice activity before they get to the good stuff (AKA the piece hands together).
Think about it. When your student doesn’t have to worry about what their left hand is doing, they can focus entirely on developing those flowing hand position changes that are so important to artistic playing. It’s like removing the training wheels but keeping the support where they need it most.
I used “Sunbeams Through the Canopy” as an example in the video above to show how you can have beautiful, one-hand music specifically designed with these exact hand position concepts in mind. Plus, those black key patterns make it perfect for building smooth transitions while creating gorgeous music that students love to play.
Shifting Hand Position: Hearing Activities
Let’s start with something that might surprise you. Hearing activities for shifting hand positions work really well. I know it sounds odd to “hear” hand positioning, but it’s honestly the best place to start and to return to when troubleshooting as your student masters their piece.
Aural Comparisons
I use this constantly because my students don’t always accurately hear what they’re playing. Perhaps you can relate?
Play the same passage twice. Once with obvious hand position breaks, then with smooth transitions.
Have your student identify which version flows better and describe what they hear differently. Not only does it develop their ear, but it also gets them to think critically about why some piano playing sounds ‘better’ than others.
Counting Hand Jumps
This variation works brilliantly when students have already learnt a section, but those breaks have become habits.
Play a section without smooth shifting hand positions while your student counts how many “hand jumps” or breaks they hear, then play it smoothly and compare the counts.
There will often be at least a few spots in the piece where you should hear a break. Otherwise, it will sound like a run-on sentence. This is fantastic for hearing and understanding that we don’t need to remove all breaks. Just the ones that don’t serve the music.
Connection Quality Rating
Record your student playing, then have them rate each transition on a scale of 1 to 3 (very choppy, somewhat connected, or perfectly smooth).
This builds their aural self-awareness incredibly quickly and helps them make decisions about which sections need focused practice. It also saves you from repeating yourself endlessly about whether a section needs extra practice.
Shifting Hand Position: Playing Activities
Now for the hands-on work that really makes the difference! We know, as piano teachers, that using smooth fingering patterns makes a huge difference. However, it’s not the whole story. And, yes. Even your Elementary to Late Elementary piano students sometimes need a return to the basics.
Bench Position Experiment
This one is absolutely eye-opening and goes beyond just “place your fists against the fallboard” (though good advice).
Have your student try playing the same chord progression from three different distances:
- Too close with “T-rex arms,”
- Too far so they can barely reach the keys,
- And, just right where they can easily reach several octaves of keys on the piano.
They’ll immediately feel how moving their bench position affects their ability to shift hand positions smoothly.
Wrist Height Testing
For students who consistently drop their wrists, have them play chord transitions with wrists:
- Below the keys,
- At keyboard level,
- And, slightly above.
As my students play, I remind them that playing the piano isn’t just on the horizontal plane. It’s also vertical. They should move their wrist up, down, to the right, to the left … any way that ensures their body is moving easily and efficiently to the next notes or chord.
By testing out different wrist heights, your students will discover which position allows the smoothest movement for that particular chord progression..
Spider Walk Practice
Using any chord progression from their piece, have your student practice “walking like a spider” to move between chords.
When shifting hand positions, typically, we have a contraction (hand position moves in) followed by relaxation.
Have your student contract their hand position as they move between 2 chords, then immediately relax into a natural hand shape once positioned.
Pausing once they’re in the new position gives you a perfect moment to check their technique and helps them be intentional about the movement.
Alternative Fingering Exploration
We’ve all had that student doing “finger gymnastics” or playing Twister with their fingers, making us wonder, “How did you think THAT could be more comfortable?” I’ve asked my students. The answer is always “I don’t know.” Oh, dear.
Take any awkward chord progression and try 2 – 3 different fingering options – like 1,2,4 versus the traditional 1,3,5.
In my studio, we have done some truly weird finger combinations that would have put a Twister champion to shame as we experiment. But my students tend to remember it much longer than anything I could have told them.
Let your student choose which option feels the most comfortable and creates the smoothest transitions for their hands. This activity also works brilliantly when your student is going through growth spurts, where the keys seem to get smaller from week to week.
Activities like these work because they connect practical movement to musical understanding. Exactly the kind of flexible teaching approach that makes your work week so much easier. Sign up for the “Best. Piano. Email. Ever.” for more activity ideas and sheet music to help every aspect of your teaching.
Shifting Hand Position: Reading Activities
Now that your students can hear and feel the difference, let’s help them see these concepts on the page.
Hand Position Mapping
This bridges perfectly with Activity 2 (counting hand jumps) because it connects what your student hears and sees.
Have them mark where shifting hand positions occur in their music, then plan their “spider walks” before playing to avoid surprises.
Tension Trouble Spots
Get your student to circle or highlight places where they typically get tense or choppy, then write reminders about relaxed hand shape or bench position.
I usually write “RELAX” in my music (sometimes a measure ahead if I really want to prompt myself), and my students have their own preferences.
Let your student use whatever wording or symbols work best for them so it actually sticks. This could be stickers, words or symbols, and, if your student struggles with writing, you could add this for them. Just make sure they tell you exactly what they want so it stays student-led.
Student-Identified Problem Solving
I know it’s tempting to jump in and find the problem spot for your student and decide the strategy. It’s much more powerful and longer lasting to have your student identify one choppy transition in their piece and tell you their strategy for making it smooth. Maybe it’s a fingering change, hand shape adjustment, or something else entirely.
Shifting Hand Position: Writing Activities
These final activities put the ownership directly in your students’ hands by having them document and continue to create their own solutions.
Body Position Checklist
After going through the playing activities (#4 through 7), have your student create a personal reminder list or graphics about bench distance, wrist height, and hand shape that work best for their body and hand size.
If your student is artistic, they might love creating a visual reminder. For forgetful students (we all are sometimes), this jogs their memory between lessons.
You can compare it to building a habit over time. For example, I have reminders in my digital calendar for daily and weekly tasks, plus I write the habits I’m building in my weekly task list. It frees up my brainspace for other things, sure. But the visual reminder helps me become a better person and piano player, just one small step at a time.
Student-Choice Fingering Notation
This is a huge step forward in building ownership in your studio programming! And, it ties in beautifully with the experimentation in activity 7 (alternative fingering experimentation).
Have your student write their preferred alternative fingering options above difficult transitions. They should choose based on what creates the smoothest movement rather than automatically just following standard patterns.
When students feel they have a say, they’re more engaged, plus it saves you from endless repetition because they understand WHY those finger patterns work.
Building Musical Connections
Mastering shifting hand positions transforms how your students approach every piece they’ll ever play.
When students can move flawlessly between hand positions, they’re free to focus on the musical story they’re telling rather than worrying about awkward finger gymnastics. It’s that seamless blend of technical skill and musical understanding that creates truly engaging performances.
Developing smooth shifting hand positions gives them the technical freedom to express those musical ideas without interruption. Similarly, understanding the emotional connection between relative Major and minor keys helps your students make deeper musical choices. You can get those teaching strategies here to keep building your toolkit.
What’s been your biggest breakthrough moment when a student finally “got” smooth shifting hand positions?
I’d love to hear your success stories and any creative variations you’ve tried with your students!
