How to practice hands together on the piano

To play hands together, a child first learns each hand alone until it is easy. Then the hands join at a slow speed, one beat or one bar at a time. Playing with both hands is a new skill, separate from playing each hand alone. It is normal for it to feel hard at first, and it gets easier with each piece.

Why it is hard

Each hand has its own notes, its own fingers, and often its own rhythm. The eyes read two lines at once. The mind has to line all of it up in time.

A child who plays each hand well may fall apart when the hands join. Nothing is wrong. The joining is its own job.

The steps

1. Make each hand secure

Play the right hand alone three times without a stop. Do the same with the left. Use the right fingers each time.

Many children skip the left hand. Give it extra turns.

2. Find what lines up

Look at the two staves. Notes that sit one above the other sound at the same moment. Draw a light pencil line between them in the first few bars.

Read the grand staff explained.

3. Tap it

Close the lid, or use your lap. The right hand taps the right-hand rhythm, and the left hand taps the left-hand rhythm.

Say what happens on each tap: “together, right, right, together, left.”

Tapping takes the notes away, so that the mind can work on the timing alone.

4. Play one beat, and stop

Play the first beat with both hands. Stop. Check both hands. Then play the next beat.

It will not sound like music yet. The stops give the mind time to plan.

5. Play one bar

Play one bar hands together, and stop on the first note of the next bar. Do it until it is right three times in a row.

6. Chain the bars

Join bar 1 to bar 2. Then learn bar 3, and join it on. Keep the speed slow enough that there are no stops.

7. Raise the speed

When a line works at a slow speed, move the metronome up a little. If mistakes come back, go down again.

Five tricks that help

Ghost one hand. One hand plays out loud. The other hand touches its keys without pressing them down. Then swap.

Sing one hand. Play the left hand, and sing or hum the right-hand tune.

Block the chords. If the left hand plays the notes of a chord one at a time, play them all at once first. The hand learns the shape, and then spreads it out.

Count aloud. A voice that counts the beats gives both hands one clock to follow.

Start from the end. Learn the last bar hands together first, and then the bar before it. The piece gets easier as you play on.

What comes first

Method books often bring the hands together in stages such as these.

Stage	What the hands do	How hard
1	They take turns	Easy
2	One hand holds a long note while the other plays a tune	Easy
3	Both play the same rhythm and move in opposite directions	Medium. The same fingers play at the same time
4	Both play the same rhythm and move in the same direction	Medium. The fingers differ
5	One hand plays a tune over a steady pattern in the other	Harder
6	Each hand has its own rhythm	Hardest

A child who struggles at stage 5 may need more pieces at stages 3 and 4.

Common problems and fixes

Problem	Fix
One hand stops when the other moves	Go back to tapping, and say “together” on the shared beats
The left hand copies the right	Play the left hand alone and count aloud
It works slow and falls apart fast	Raise the speed in smaller steps
The same bar breaks every time	Take that bar alone, one beat at a time
The eyes cannot follow both lines	Memorize one hand of the hard bar, and read the other
Tears	Stop for today. Go back one step tomorrow

Read when practice ends in tears.

How long it takes

In traditional lessons, many children play short pieces hands together by the end of the first year. Each new piece is a little quicker to join than the last.

A new and harder piece may send a child back to hands alone for a few days. Advanced pianists do the same with hard passages.

How a parent helps

• Ask to hear each hand alone before the hands join.
• Praise slow, steady playing more than fast playing.
• Keep hands-together work to a few minutes, and then move to something easy.
• Tell the teacher if one piece has been stuck for more than two weeks.

Print and play

Print the weekly practice chart. Read how to learn a new piece, piano finger numbers explained, and first piano songs for kids.