Is It OK to Use Colour-Coding in Piano Lessons?

Jade Robinson
Jul 23
3 min read

If you’ve ever looked at a colour-coded piano resource and thought, “Is this really proper teaching?” it’s a common doubt. Colour-coding can sometimes feel like cheating, like you're bypassing the ‘real’ skill of reading music. But here’s the truth: colour-coded notation isn’t a shortcut. It’s scaffolding, and used well, it can be a powerful teaching tool.

Colour-Coding Is Not a Crutch

For many beginners, standard notation is visually overwhelming. There’s a lot to decode at once: pitch, rhythm, fingering, dynamics, hand position, all before a single note is even played. Colour-coding offers a way to simplify that process without dumbing it down.

Think of it like training wheels. The colours help pupils build confidence, focus on key skills (like fingering, direction, or rhythm), and gradually make sense of what they’re seeing and playing. Once the core concepts are secure, the colours can be removed, just like taking the stabilisers off a bike.

Playing Music Is More Than Reading Notes

Learning to play the piano isn’t just about reading a note on the page and pressing a corresponding key. Music is more than mechanics. It’s about expression, creativity, pulse, flow, and connection.

If a child is solely focused on trying to decode every symbol in the notation, the art of playing music can be lost. Their brain is so busy working out what to do, there’s little space left for feeling, listening, or enjoying.

Musical notation can be confusing and overwhelming for many young learners, especially in the early stages. Isn’t it better that they can access playing as a priority and develop music reading skills alongside it, rather than at the expense of it?

Scaffolding Is Good Teaching

In the classroom, we scaffold all the time. We model. We demonstrate. We break big tasks into manageable steps. We use visual cues, sentence starters, and writing frames. So why should music lessons be any different?

Colour-coding can help pupils:

Build fluency and muscle memory
Focus on posture and hand shape without panicking about the stave
Understand patterns and shapes in music
Stay motivated by achieving small, clear wins

And crucially, it can open up access for pupils who struggle with traditional notation, including those with SEND, dyslexia or visual stress.

It's a Temporary Tool, Not the End Goal

Using colour-coding doesn’t mean pupils never learn to read music. In fact, if used intentionally, it can accelerate reading by reducing the cognitive load early on. That’s why Piano Umbrella’s curriculum uses a step-by-step system:

Step 1: Watch – Pupils see each note in real time, along with the corresponding finger and key. This helps them absorb what the music looks and feels like before they try it themselves.

Step 2: Learn – All the colours are shown on the music, with a coloured reference keyboard and fingers below. Pupils are encouraged to read the musical line and anticipate what comes next, using the colours as gentle support.

Step 3: Perform – The colours are removed from the musical notation. Reference guides remain at the top of the screen, showing the stave, coloured keyboard, and fingers to support confident, independent playing.

The goal is always to remove the scaffold when the pupil is ready, not before.

So... Is It OK?

Yes. It’s more than OK. It’s thoughtful, responsive teaching.

If colour-coding helps a pupil access music, enjoy their lessons, and make progress, then it’s doing its job. There’s no badge for struggling through notation before you're ready. There is joy in making music from the very first lesson.

Want to See Colour-Coding in Action?

Piano Umbrella’s video-based curriculum uses colour-coded notation in a structured, pedagogically sound way. If you’re curious about how it works, take a look at the free Foundation-level videos on YouTube, or explore the full curriculum to see how we support reading, creativity and musicianship from day one.

Find out more