Twinkle, Twinkle, Ivory Keys

Twinkle Twinkle Ivory Keys,

How Can I reach with Arms like these?

So, I'm teaching my little guy piano.  Mostly because I'm cheap and can't yet justify paying someone to entertain my son for a half hour.  He is actually doing quite well - not because I'm awesome, but because he is - but there is a slight problem.  And slight is actually the best choice in words.  My little guy is only seven, and he takes after his father and myself in that he is slight ... or slightly short ... in stature.  This, of course, makes him super cute, but also hampers his ability to reach the keys and keep his wrists in the right position.


I tried the cheap solution, a few phone books, and he just couldn't stay on. Then, I bought a piece of thick styrofoam from Home Depot (actually, I already had a sheet of it because I had to seal off a vent area below our house) but he kept sliding it around as he played ... he's a wiggler ... and once or twice actually fell off the bench.  Oops.  Plus, the white styrofoam clashed with my lovely living room.


So, I decided to make a piano bench booster, and make it pretty and functional.


First off, with white styrofoam, when you cut it, the edges get all crumbly and suddenly you have inedible popcorn bits all over you, the floor and anything within walking distance - especially if you walked into the kitchen to get a drink of water before checking the soles of your shoes.  And no, it doesn't vacuum up nicely.  My suggestion to avoid that would be to tape the edges of your project with packing tape.

Now, I made the pillows in my living room with a gorgeous red/gold fabric (dual sided, so two for the price of one!  Yay!).  I figured, if I'm making a 'pillow-like' cover for the piano bench, it should match - plus I didn't want to buy more fabric. I'm cheap.  I've mentioned that before.  Unfortunately, the leftover remnants of my fabric looked a bit like the number 5, so I had to get creative with the top.  

At first, I thought I would sew in an elastic bottom to hug the bench, but then I realized I wanted a cleaner look.  Also, a sturdier hold to the bench would ensure my little guy's safety as he wiggled through Old MacDonald. So, I had to sew a bottom to the booster and buttonable straps to wrap around benchtop. 

The above picture shows the seat attached to the benchtop (the weird peach color is why I painted the piano black). Now, I'm sure you'll notice the ragged edges and frayed bits.  I don't really care what this looks like on the bottom. Anyone who cares what it looks like will simply have to sew me a well-edged replacement.  Each strap is bound with a snap-button so I can take it off when I get the chance to tickle the ivories. 

Well, here it is, sitting on the piano bench.  I'm rather proud of the design on top, since I just quickly pieced it together by eyeballed measurements. 

So, doesn't it look nice?  It matched perfectly with the design of the room, stays perfectly in place under a squirmy seven-year-old and makes me happy that it's no longer a white, popcorny mess.  I wonder what my next project is ... Wish me Luck!