Weird Hand Position

“Play C major for one octave with your right hand.” It seemed like a simple task that I gave my nine year old student. Up went the hand to the keyboard. With her five fingers covering the first five notes, she played her fingers consecutively from one to five. Then her hand flipped over (palm up) and she played the last three notes with the back of her fourth, third and second finger respectively.

I looked on in disbelief and admiration. What resourcefulness. Unfortunately, the moment of awe came to an end and I had to correct the innocent one. There’s never a dull moment in this profession.