What about the black notes?
When you learn about music notation, any line or space can represent a sharp or a flat. The line or space DOES NOT CHANGE. What you would see in the notation is either a sharp (#) or a flat (b) PRECEDING the note and then that means that you would alter the note when you play it. But as you slide up or down, the notes that are represented are the primary letter names only.
Why is the plastic slider not permanently attached to the card?
This is INTENTIONAL. It allows for friction-free movement.
I was hoping this could be used by my students. However, the slide is very loose and can actually slip and show the wrong note!! I use it myself to demonstrate. The concept of this is great. Maybe if the slide piece went all the way around?
The slider is intentionally created to be loose and removable. The design would not allow for a wrap-around approach due to slight variability in card dimensions — some would end up too loose and others would end up too tight. The user simply has to hold the slider at the point where it connects with the card and keep it adjacent to the card while sliding. This will insure that the alignment remains constant.
Why aren’t the names of the notes printed on the Slide-a-Note?
This would defeat the purpose of the tool. By NOT including the note names, it give the student a better chance to test himself or herself.
Why don’t you show the whole piano and ALL the ledger lines?
This would not be practical because in order to do it, the scaling of the image would have to be much smaller in order to fit on a card and then it would become less accurate. The Slide-a-Note is a SUPPLEMENTAL tool, as a companion to note-reading training, such as what you would learn from Super Sight-Reading Secrets. The skill of learning how to quickly gauge the lines and spaces above and below the staff should be a technique of skipping from a reference note, rather than rote-memorization.
What should I do if the slider becomes loose and doesn’t stay in position?
Run the slider up and down several times against the card. This will increase the static charge which will improve the surface tension. Also, you can press slightly along the crimped edge.