your favorite method books!

[berniano]

Teachers of piano,

    What are your favorite method books for teaching beginners, and why? I have been teaching for about five years now (bc I'm in highschool), and originally started by using the Bastien method books, which I learned the basics from. However, after two years, I just couldn't take the repetition and (in my opinion) dryness of the compositions, even when using the duets in lessons. My students never seemed to thrive on them either. Then, about two yrs ago, I basically tossed out the Bastien, and bought a whole new set of Faber piano adventures--- which so far my students love!! Which makes teaching young beginners so much easier for me too..... . The compositions are much more interesting to teach and (obviously) to practice........I don't dread teaching anymore, and most of my students seem to enjoy their lessons quite alot. But, now the point of this post wasn't to rat on Bastien, which I know many teachers have had alot of success with..........I just want some opinions since currently I'm unfamiliar with alot of teaching methods besides Bastien and Faber.  And......... since I'm going to school for piano next year, it looks like I'll be teaching for quite a while to come too . Advice and opinions?    Berniano

[go12_3]

I don't use any Method books, my students learn enough method from me.  =)

[berniano]

Haha, I get your point. I'd say my students get their method from me too...............probably more than they'd like  . But what books do you prefer using to teach note reading, rhythms, etc?

[go12_3]

My students use the Faber & Faber Piano Adventures and Fingerpower and
that's about it for the fundamentals...but learning the rhythm and so forth ,
mostly comes from me because my students do not have time to use a lot of
books for method and techniques, plus, it would cost more, so  they use the lesson and performance books of the Piano Adventures.   

[jinfiesto]

Faber is fun.
Pace is great, but you have to work through it yourself, as most of us aren't brought up on the stuff and it's definitely a paradigm shift.

[csl-lady]

I have been teaching for over 35 years.  I some little tests I have come up with to check out a beginning student or transfer students.  I love the Faber and Faber books.  They have a wonderul series for the very young beginners called "My First Piano Adventure".  These are great!  I went to one of their workshops about 2 years after I started using this with very young ones and found the workshop to be delightful.  This has increased my income as I can start younger children with fun books that keep their attention.   I also used these books for a "Downs" syndrome child. He loved playing along with the CD's included in the first two books.  The writing book is a nice addition to reinforce the lesson book. Their series "Piano Adventures" is great because it has good piano pedagogy.  It has ear training, sight reading, and a sound theory basis.  I use the lesson, performance, technique, and theory books for the students I believe will enjoy it.  For slower learning students I use the Alfred's Basic prep course.  It goes at a lot slower pace.  The students don't get frustrated and seem to enjoy the pieces.  There are workbook, activities , theory, notespeller, lesson, performance and technique books.  You can tailor the set to what the student needs.  Fabers also have a great scale, chord, arpeggios and chord inversion supplement book.  I have had great results with these books.  My dropout rate is very very low.  The students love them.  I don't get bored.  I also supplement with many other pieces.  I still love what I do.  That must say something about the books.

[tdow]

Our studio of over 300 students uses the Piano Adventures Series by Faber and Faber (as well as their My First Piano Adventures Books for preschoolers).  We use these books for everyone and the students love them.  Specifically we use the Lesson Books, Peformance Books and the Popular Books.  When choosing a method book there are some important things to consider that helped us to choose the Faber method books.  However, if you're looking for other options, take the following into consideration:

1)  Visual appeal - these are children who will be using the books and they appreciate visual stimulation.  Stay away from books with no pictures, colour or that have pages that seem full of text.  The book should make your student feel confident to carry on at home when you are not there.  Pages that seem confusing will cause reluctance to "try" at home on their own.
2)  Pacing - it will be very important that the method book you choose follows the learning rate of an average piano student.  Books that move slowly will lose their interest as they don't feel challenged.  Books that move quickly will make your students feel uneasy and will make your job ten times harder
3)  Levelling - choose a book that works for both beginners and advanced players. Switching between method books as your students progress causes nothing but headaches as they will need to continually adjust to different teaching philosophies and there will be time spent both reviewing what they've already learned as well as filling in "blank spots" from what they've missed out on.  If the method book you are considering only works for beginners, don't use it.

Even taking such things as paper quality into consideration sounds silly but is important - you're asking your students to use these books every single day - they need to be massively appealing.  Piano Advenutures ticked all these boxes for us!
---------------------------------------------
The Art and Business of Piano Teaching
www.teachpianotoday.com

[liordavid]

I was taught with the suzuki method for three years and then my teacher started assigning me pieces out of the method. I dont think that an entire teaching career can be based on one method. I defenitely think that the suzuki method can be great for some people but if it doesn't build up, I would just start asigning the students random pieces.http://

[sgearry]

Hi Berniano, how are you? I strongly agree that piano 'method' books by their very nature run the risk of imposing a style of teaching that might not be a good solution for all as everyone has their own unique style and methods. It was mainly for this reason, that I self-published a flexible 'resource' as opposed to a linear 'method'. As a teacher myself, I was also tiring of 'Ode to Joy' arrangements et al, and so also decided to have a go a writing some music for beginners in an accessible system.

I would be very grateful if there are any teachers out there who would be willing to have a look and let me know what they think. I've created a website with a printable preview and live recordings of music in each book so I hope there is enough sample material to make an informed decision. The website is www.zebralinemusic.co.uk.

All feedback would be greatly appreciated.

Many kind regards,
Stephen Gearry

[jhvisible]

As a pianist I was intrigued by Bartok's Mikrokosmos books. As a teacher they are very interesting to work with, you can see and discuss the structure of the pieces, and the sounds are lovely and unusual.

As a composer I was also inspired by Bartok, whose music also lends itself to improvisation and extension. I have written many pieces for piano, including a set of three books called POCKET PIECES (61 in total), suitable for older children and adults of all ages.

Jean Hasse
https://visible-music.com/jh_ppinfo.htm

[pianoplayjl]

The leschitsky method.