I Compared 17 Piano Method Books So You Don’t Have To (teacher guide)

There are so many piano method books out there right now. You might be wondering which one is right for you and your student. Well, today I'm going to go

student. Well, today I'm going to go through 17 different piano methods. No,

this is not all of them. It's not an exhaustive list, but 17 methods that I have right here in front of me so that we can look at some of the key differences and when and why you might

use particular ones. I've been teaching for over 20 years, so this is not every method I've ever used, but they are all the ones I have on hand right now. And

it's going to give you a good overview so that if you pick up a new method that's not on this list, you can think about how do I think about this? How do

I assess it? How do I compare it to what else is out there? And maybe if your favorite method is on this list, you'll be able to see how it compares to other methods and whether you agree with what

I think of it. So, we've got a lot to get through, but before we dive in, I want to do a little call out. Okay, if

you are watching this video and you are a self-arner, like you're an adult who's learning piano for themselves, good on you. But this is not really going to

you. But this is not really going to help you. None of these should be used

help you. None of these should be used without a teacher. So, if you comment saying, "Which of these can I use without a teacher?" My answer is going to be get a teacher. I'm so sorry, but

that is the true honest answer that I have for you. With that being said, teachers who are still here, let's dive in. I'm gonna start with John Thompson.

in. I'm gonna start with John Thompson.

I had to pick some kind of order for this video and I chose John Thompson first simply because this is where it all began for me. Not where I began teaching. This is where I began

teaching. This is where I began learning. My first teacher used John

learning. My first teacher used John Thompson. And hey, I'm still here today.

Thompson. And hey, I'm still here today.

So, it must have done something right.

So, if you haven't come across John Thompson before, wow, that's shocking.

But I don't think it's as popular in some parts of the world as it is here.

And I'd say in the UK, maybe in Australia a little bit too. I've heard

about teachers using it, but it is ubiquitous. There's still many teachers

ubiquitous. There's still many teachers who use John Thompson with their students to this day. Why has it lasted so long? What's it all about? John

so long? What's it all about? John

Thompson is one of the original methods.

It's been around a really long time in different iterations, but it stood the test of time for sure. There's something

though that stops me from using it now.

So, I want to get that right away out there. To be clear, I don't ever use

there. To be clear, I don't ever use John Thompson and that's because it focuses on a middle C position for quite a long time and I just don't like that.

It doesn't suit my teaching. I don't

really agree with it. I've talked at length about why I don't like it in the past, so I won't bore you with it here, but I don't like it. I don't like it when the thumbs share C. For one song,

sure, fine with it. That's grand, but not on an ongoing basis. Not for a whole book or more. So that's why I don't love John Thompson. I also I learned from it

John Thompson. I also I learned from it myself. So I have certain baggage

myself. So I have certain baggage attached to John Thompson that maybe isn't super helpful and doesn't make me the most objective. What is John Thompson good at? Well, I think it is

good at having a steady reading progression. It doesn't baby students

progression. It doesn't baby students too too [music] much, which is where I think some teachers who are diehard John Thompson people and don't like newer methods. They feel they're a little bit

methods. They feel they're a little bit too not too easy, but yeah, too babying.

The progression is not steep enough. Um,

so it is a relatively steep progression with John Thompson. Not crazy, not like, [music] you know, you're meant to play a sonata on day one, but it's relatively steep.

And that is true of most older method books because my hypothesis is students were expected to practice more than they are currently expected to practice. So

yes, it's a little bit steeper. And I

got a comment about this when I talked about John Thompson in the past because I called the music boring. And someone

was like, "Hey, I don't like John Thompson, but the one thing I could say about it is the music's actually pretty good." I agree with you in the later

good." I agree with you in the later books. There's actually some really good

books. There's actually some really good pieces in the later books. I don't like the beginning music. That's what I meant by that comment. So, yes, it gets better, but because of that steep

progression, as a student, which is the main perspective I can give you since I don't use this in my teaching, as a student, by the time we got to the interesting music, I felt like it was impossible to play cuz I felt like it

didn't absorb the stuff going onwards.

And that's not entirely down to the method, right? We get that. But I felt

method, right? We get that. But I felt like the beginning pieces were boring and then the nicer sounding stuff was just overwhelming. So that's how it can

just overwhelming. So that's how it can feel. But maybe if I didn't have

feel. But maybe if I didn't have emotional baggage attached to John Thompson, I would probably use the later books as repertoire books with some students. I've considered looking into

students. I've considered looking into that, trying to question my own biases.

Maybe I'll do that as a project in the future. But yeah, like from book three,

future. But yeah, like from book three, I think from memory on, the music's actually pretty good. So, I can see using them as a repertoire book, but I don't like the progression of them as a method book. As with all of these, you

method book. As with all of these, you do you. I'm not saying you're a bad

do you. I'm not saying you're a bad teacher if you teach out of this method.

That's never what I'm saying. Next,

we're going to dive into the Piano Adventures universe. And I've kept these

Adventures universe. And I've kept these books together back toback so that we can see how they fit together. Same with

other major publishers who do like different versions of the same books basically. So the first one in my Piano

basically. So the first one in my Piano Adventures list is My First Piano Adventures. This is their younger

Adventures. This is their younger beginner book. Now if you look inside it

beginner book. Now if you look inside it says it's for ages 5 to six. And I think it's often recommended for students who are much younger than that. And I think

that's where it can go wrong at times.

three-year-olds, four year olds. That's

not what they meant. As far as I'm aware, as far as what they've written and what I've heard them say about it by young beginner and a young beginner has gotten younger and younger over the time

I've been teaching, like what counts as a young beginner. I think five or six in many parts of the world is actually pretty standard now. It's not considered that young, whereas it used to be standard to start at age eight. Like

that was the perception when I started teaching first. So, my first piano

teaching first. So, my first piano adventures, it is a slower pace than their regular series. Basically, what it does is that was book A I was showing

you there. So, book A, B, and C are the

you there. So, book A, B, and C are the equivalent of the primer in the regular series, which we'll look at in a second.

So, you're splitting into three books of almost the same length, I'd say, as the primer, the same level of concepts or the same required level of playing. So,

it's a slower pace. Great. Makes sense.

Here's my take on it. I really like some aspects of My First Piano Adventures, and we still use them in my studio. I

have some quibbles, especially with book A and book C. Book B I really love the most. Book A is great in the second half

most. Book A is great in the second half of the book, but where it falls down for me is that the beginning chunk of the book, if you follow it as it is, you can

mix it up. You're a teacher. You get to decide what you do, right? if you follow it as it is. I feel like there's not enough actual piano playing until you're halfway through the book. So, if you

were actually to do each activity, they suggest thoroughly all the way through.

I feel like you don't get to a real piece until Twinkle Twinkle. And for me, that's too far into the book. So, that's

my only quibble with it. But, if you mix up the order and do things slightly differently, it can work great. And

different teachers will have different preferences. Book B then is on the staff

preferences. Book B then is on the staff and I love that it's really big notation and that a lot of the pieces are actually pretty good. Sure, it starts [music] with like a CC CC kind of piece

as a lot of method books do, but it quickly progresses from there and the backing tracks really sell those pieces.

They're really fun to play with the [music] backing tracks. I love that about them. In book B, there's basically

about them. In book B, there's basically two hand positions going on the majority of the time. There's a side by side middle C. I'll call it the one that I

middle C. I'll call it the one that I don't hate too much where your right hand thumb is on C and your left hand thumb is on B. So they're not overlapping. That's for a lot of the

overlapping. That's for a lot of the pieces. And then the other one is a

pieces. And then the other one is a little bit of a what we generally call a C position where your left hand five is on C and right hand one is on C. So it

does have the danger danger danger warning of students can get stuck thinking impositions and can start to

think of certain numbers as notes. So I

have had students who are in my first piano adventures be who when you ask them what note is this they will say two for D. Okay? So it does have that

for D. Okay? So it does have that danger. A lot of method books do though

danger. A lot of method books do though and that's not like they failed because they did this. I'm just saying you have to watch out for that. You have to teach in a way that doesn't let them think that way. And that's where games and

that way. And that's where games and other stuff comes in. Right. This

[music] is just the reading material.

Now, I said I had a quibble with book C as well. My quibble with book C is that

as well. My quibble with book C is that it's kind of too hard. No, it's that the music isn't as good as book B in terms of today's students connecting with it.

Some of it's really good. Some of the pieces are kind of duds in my view.

Sorry. Sorry. But yeah, that's kind of how I feel about them. And the other thing is the backing tracks really get quite fast. So if we say that the

quite fast. So if we say that the student is, let's say, still five or they've just turned six, it's really quite tough for them to play with the backing tracks unless they practice a lot. If they practice a lot, great.

lot. If they practice a lot, great.

They'll be able to do it, but you know, it would take a a lot of time for a student to be able to play with those backing tracks at their speed that they're at. So for me, you can't use

they're at. So for me, you can't use those as much. Some of them work great, some don't. I go into this in super

some don't. I go into this in super detailed detail in our courses about these books. I have peace pointers

these books. I have peace pointers courses in our membership about these books specifically. And peace pointers

books specifically. And peace pointers courses are where I talk about each piece in a book in detail, how I teach it and what to watch out for and all that stuff. So if you're a member, you

that stuff. So if you're a member, you can go check that out in your vibrant music teaching membership. But

basically, yeah, some of the backing tracks are too quick. Otherwise, folks

is pretty good, but again, bit position based. Moving on to the regular piano

based. Moving on to the regular piano adventures. So, this is the original.

adventures. So, this is the original.

This is older than the My First Piano Adventures. And it's meant for a

Adventures. And it's meant for a standard age beginner. On the back here, they say it's for ages 6 to 11. And they

say My First Piano Adventures is 5 to six, like I said before. So, there's an overlap there. I would take it as really

overlap there. I would take it as really this is for ages 7 to 9 in my opinion.

narrowing that a bit, but giving an 11year-old this book, not every 11-year-old, but you know, in many cases would be a bit slow and a bit would feel a bit babyish for them. So, anyway, my

first piano adventures, fairly classic beginner book. It starts with

beginner book. It starts with pre-ereading pieces. They're just, you

pre-ereading pieces. They're just, you know, shown as finger number notation and and the notes, but no staff. And

then it progresses to reading on staff within that book. As I said before, the idea is that at the end of this, they've ended up at roughly the same level they have at the end of My First Piano

Adventures, book C, in much less time because they're an older student. I like

these books when I want something very vanilla.

It's sort of not hugely illustrated, not hugely plain. The music is like not

hugely plain. The music is like not particularly of any special genre. The

pieces are accessible. The pacing is fairly gentle and it works well when I just need something pretty straightforward, which sometimes you do.

Nothing wrong with that. So, there's not anything that stands out, but there's not anything to hate about it in my view either. The teacher duets are fine. The

either. The teacher duets are fine. The

music is fine. There's nice themes to it. All in all, a solid method. Can't

it. All in all, a solid method. Can't

believe I'm saying that about Piano Adventures. Obviously, it's a solid

Adventures. Obviously, it's a solid method. It is the most popular as far as

method. It is the most popular as far as I'm aware in the world. So yes, it's solid. Next in Piano Adventures Land is

solid. Next in Piano Adventures Land is for the older beginner, Accelerated Piano Adventures. So this is book two,

Piano Adventures. So this is book two, but book one exists obviously. This is

really an accelerated version of the main series. Okay, so it has some

main series. Okay, so it has some different material, but a lot of the logic, the pedagogy, the pieces even are actually from the main series. and then

they've put them together slightly differently for a faster pace and it's meant essentially for teenagers. So it

says for the older beginner, you could use it with adults as well, but yeah, basically teenagers and up. So when it says it's accelerated, how accelerated

is the question. So book one basically takes primer level plus book one of the regular series. This is going to get

regular series. This is going to get confusing really fast. Stay with me. But

the accelerated book one is like primer [music] plus book one of the regular series and accelerated book two is like 2 a plus 2b. So that's not super

accelerated. They're not tiny books

accelerated. They're not tiny books either. So you're not cutting out that

either. So you're not cutting out that much material, just a little bit and then restructuring it slightly differently, which I think they do a really good job of to suit that older

beginner student. It's still a

beginner student. It's still a relatively gentle pace. [music]

It's not super accelerated, right? It's

not actually that demanding of the student, but [music] it is better suited to that older beginner student. I tend

to use this mostly with teenage beginners who sort of don't really know what they want. If I have someone who comes to me with a very specific goal in mind, I'll pick a more specific method

that I think takes them in that direction. But if they're like, "Oh, I

direction. But if they're like, "Oh, I don't know what music I like. I don't

know what I want to do. I don't really know why I'm learning piano, all that stuff. Then Accelerated Piano Adventures

stuff. Then Accelerated Piano Adventures is an absolutely classic choice. After

that, we have a beast.

Adult Piano Adventures. Now, this is something I think that the Piano Adventures universe does well. Actually,

Adult Piano Adventures is a bigger book than Accelerated Piano Adventures. And I

said Accelerated is primarily for teens.

I would tend to use it with teens and like younger adults in their 20s, maybe 30s, not so much older adults. If

they're an older adult, and I was choosing from the Be Adventures book, I would go for the adult one because it's slower. Adults can't always move faster.

slower. Adults can't always move faster.

That's not really how it works. But you

do need something that's directed toward [music] them. You don't want to give

[music] them. You don't want to give them super childish music in like the landscape format and all those things that kind of make me you think you're being babyed a little bit. That's where

Adult Piano Adventures is useful because yes, it moves faster with some things like theory, but it doesn't move too much faster technically [music] and for

an older adult, and I don't really mean older, like I'm talking about like my age [laughter] basically, and older than that, anything sort of out of the 20s, cuz when you're still in your early 20s

especially, you still have that capacity that teenagers have for just like picking up new physical skills very quickly. And when you get older than

quickly. And when you get older than that, I'm sorry, but it's harder to do.

It just is. And so that's why Adult Piano Adventures is actually slower than accelerated. And I think that's as it

accelerated. And I think that's as it should be. It does a pretty good job of

should be. It does a pretty good job of balancing repertoire that they mostly tend to be interested in. The exception

with my students being [music] some of the like American super American ones, but like that's fair enough. It's

an American method, so we can skip over those. But it's a pretty good steady

those. But it's a pretty good steady progression that helps adults feel like they have a good pace going on. By the

way, if you have an adult student who's in that method or in another one, but you have an adult student who is interested in popular music, they have

an adult piano adventures popular collection that's actually very good and especially good for your older adult students. They'll generally recognize

students. They'll generally recognize all the songs in it or most of them and the arrangements are really solid. Next

up, we have a little bit of a wild card option. Maybe not as known, still

option. Maybe not as known, still popular for sure. That's Keith Snell's piano course for the adult beginner. I

picked this up when I was at a conference and we've been using with an adult student of ours. I would say it leans more towards the classical end, which can be great for some adults. And

it does explore technique in a more methodical way than say Adult Piano Adventures in my opinion. It's a little bit drier than something like Adult Piano Adventures, but that can actually

be a good thing for some adult students who just want to get down to business, get to the things, learn the things, and they have that studious mindset where they just want to sit down with something and learn things in a very

systematic manner. Keith Snell's course

systematic manner. Keith Snell's course can be really good [music] for that type of a student. It definitely includes a lot more theory pages,

scales, things like that. So, it is more in in-depth, more holistic in a more traditional way, but I don't mean that as a negative. I don't mean old-fashioned, but it is more traditional [music]

foundational skills to go really far with music if that's what your adult student wants to do. Next, we're

entering a different universe, piano pronto. This is newer maybe on the

pronto. This is newer maybe on the scene. Feel like pretty well known at

scene. Feel like pretty well known at this stage, but there's still some people who haven't heard of it. They're

not always carried in all major bookshops. It's a more independent

bookshops. It's a more independent company, not under a major publisher, although we could consider her a major publisher by now. I feel like with the catalog that they have at pianorronto.com.

pianorronto.com.

So, Jennifer Ecklland is the one behind this. And this is my representation of

this. And this is my representation of the whole main method for pianoto. So,

this is movement one. It is not the first one. As with many method books,

first one. As with many method books, movement one is sort of the second one cuz there's usually a primer that comes first. So this is the part that can get

first. So this is the part that can get confusing about piano pronto. And in

case you are new to it or you haven't grasped this, I'll just clarify this first. There are two things that come

first. There are two things that come before movement one. Basically in the main series, there is keyboard kickoff and prelude. Originally there was just

and prelude. Originally there was just prelude. I was I've been around this

prelude. I was I've been around this stuff long enough to remember when keyboard kickoff came out. So originally

there was just prelude and that led to movement one. And then she brought in

movement one. And then she brought in keyboard kickoff which is like an easier [music] start than prelude. It's meant

for a younger student, not a preschooler, but a younger student beginner [music] than Prelude, which is really, I mean, her method book is designed around an older beginner student. I'd say like

nine and above. Prelude is a classic choice for, but keyboard kickoff is meant for a slightly younger student. It

uses note names in the note heads, which Prelude only does a little bit, but you can't go keyboard kickoff movement one.

You can't really go keyboard kickoff prelude movement one. You're going to want to, if you're doing keyboard kickoff, which I don't really use anymore, but if you are, you would start keyboard kickoff about halfway through it. You would also start prelude and you

it. You would also start prelude and you would overlap them and then keyboard kickoff would be finished and you'd finish out the second half of prelude.

Roughly like that is how you would use them together in my opinion. I'm not the creator, but that's how I would use them if I was using both. But I prefer just the starting with Prelude maybe or

generally what I use is movement one and above now. Um because I usually have

above now. Um because I usually have other methods that I prefer that cover the areas that prelude would cover. It's

not a bad bad book at all, just how my preferences have shifted. So what's

piano all about? Well, pianoto has sometimes been called an unmethod by certain people. It is super clean,

certain people. It is super clean, simple, no colorful illustrations, no extra stuff on the page. Anytime there's

an explanation, [music] it's not on the page of the piece. So

where in Piano Adventures, you'd have like an info box and then this and then that and then all the stuff kind of surrounding the piece and that's how they fit it all in. Piano Pronto would put that on the page before most likely

or the page opposite. Right? The peace

page is simple and plain like you'd find in a repertoire book. It's just the piece, no extra stuff. So, that's one thing that's different about it and can be really a great fit for a lot of

students. The other thing that Piano

students. The other thing that Piano Pronto does really well is arrangements of well-known tunes. Not every student is going to know every tune. That's just

not realistic. But a lot of them will be familiar. And I really like how in

familiar. And I really like how in Prelude and a good chunk of movement one, a lot of the tunes are like folk tunes and then she progresses to more

classical themes. So like the first

classical themes. So like the first piece I think in movement three is the blue Danube just to give you a reference point. There's a lot of those like I

point. There's a lot of those like I have heard this before kind of pieces that students will react to and she does really good arrangements. Jennifer is

the master arranger in my view, especially for translating things into playable, but still sounding like the thing for beginners. So, this does a

great job of that, and it's a super one to explore if you'd like to have something in your arsenal that's simple, free of clutter, especially good for students who get distracted by things,

and really good for students who want recognizable tunes. What are the

recognizable tunes. What are the pitfalls? It is position based. A lot of

pitfalls? It is position based. A lot of methods are, you know, that's not throwing shade. That's just how it is.

throwing shade. That's just how it is.

But the danger zone with this one is if your student moves slowly. So again, if they don't practice, let's say, or they're finding things difficult, if they move slowly, they really will get

stuck in positions and think in positions. If they move at a good

positions. If they move at a good [music] pace and they're practicing, they will be fine. They won't, in my view, in most cases, [music] get stuck in positions. Of course, we need

in positions. Of course, we need supplemental books to help with that and all that kind of thing, but because the first half of movement one, so all of Prelude as far as I remember, there might be some exceptions to that, but

definitely the first half of movement one is all C position and then the second half we see G position and then we go to F after that. So, it's very much thinking in these blocks and they

do spend a long time in C position. It

again, if they move slowly, we don't want them to move slowly. if this is the right fit for them, they'll be eating up these pieces. And that does happen with

these pieces. And that does happen with many students and that's when it works so well. My final note about pianoto

so well. My final note about pianoto main method is how I use it in my studio and we do sometimes use it as a standard method, but where we use it the most

often and where it is honestly hard to to fill in with a different method is with transfer students because it has that unmethod feel because it's not very methody. If we need to go back a few

methody. If we need to go back a few levels with a transfer student, it doesn't really feel like that's what we're doing and they feel like I'm still playing real music. It's really good, but we can take their reading back to a

level that we know they're actually able to read at and fix some issues that might have cropped up from their previous teacher or through them teaching themselves or whatever has

happened before. Next in piano pronto

happened before. Next in piano pronto land is road trip. So this comes squarely before the main piano pronto method and it's quite unique. It's quite

interesting. So these are meant for younger beginners and each book goes on a journey. So it's like kind of a a

a journey. So it's like kind of a a continuous story throughout the book and the songs illustrate that story. So like

this one is to the lake. So they go to the lake and they fish or something and then they're driving home from the lake.

Each song is kind of a step on that on that journey which is really fun. They

are all quite simple pieces and their line that this the sort of tagline is that they can be taught by wrote, note or number. So you get to decide which

or number. So you get to decide which way you want to teach these pieces. They

can just be taught by wrote. You can use the finger numbers. You can read the notes because they're taking this approach. Unlike the main piano pronto

approach. Unlike the main piano pronto method, they are not position based at all. They move all over the place and

all. They move all over the place and they show the position [music] to the student on keyboard maps to make them accessible. Some of the pieces are

accessible. Some of the pieces are pretty challenging if we have, you know, a young beginner, which is what they're for. Some of the pieces can be pretty

for. Some of the pieces can be pretty challenging for that young beginner.

I'll be honest, if we're expecting real mastery of some of those quicker moving pieces, it's probably not going to happen. But where this works is if we

happen. But where this works is if we don't expect real mastery of every single piece along the way and we're just kind of like washing music over our student. I sometimes think of it like,

student. I sometimes think of it like, you know, we're just going to come back to these things again and again. We're

exploring these concepts. We're finding

our way of making music. Where I tend to use road trip is as part of a melting pot with a young beginner student. So,

I'll often add in a road trip book if like my student just needs a little bit of something different. Or I'll start off in road trip if I've been working with them for a couple of weeks without

a book, thinking I'd like to add a book, but I'm not set on what I want to use with this kid because of one reason or another that I just like aren't sure which is the best fit. I will start a

road trip book because it's very easy to use as a supplement. So, that's kind of how it fits for me. And there are various road trips. I think there's five. I could be way off on that. There

five. I could be way off on that. There

might be 10. Jennifer is prolific, but there are definitely four that I know and use in my studio. And they each have a different one of these stories. Two of

them are roughly the same level and then another two are roughly the same level, but they're like all very close in leveling so that you can go on a little journey, wash the music over your

student, go on another little journey, and over time things develop. and

especially like dexterity with younger beginners and stuff, they might need a while to adapt to that. So that's what this is great for. The final one we're looking at from piano bronto is fired up. So this is for the older student.

up. So this is for the older student.

We've had regular student, younger student, now older student. So fired up again like road trip, there's nothing else really like this that I could point to. They're very different styles of

to. They're very different styles of pieces for a method book. It has that piano pronto feeling of like not tons of clutter on the page. The piece is just the piece. There's not illustrations and

the piece. There's not illustrations and information and blahy blahy blah all around the page. Not loads of distracting stuff. So, that's different.

distracting stuff. So, that's different.

What's different to the main piano pronto series is that these are not familiar tunes. They're like composed by

familiar tunes. They're like composed by Jennifer. I think they're all originals

Jennifer. I think they're all originals as far as I remember. And they're all in [music] a specific style which is very appealing to many students. Some

students come to us and they want to learn pop music, film music, video game music, those kinds of genres. And yet we need something that's step by step progressive that makes sure we didn't

miss [music] any steps on their reading journey and all of that stuff. And so

individual pieces don't usually form the whole picture of that. And this is where Fired Up can be really good because it has that feeling to the music. You know,

they [music] feel like contemporary styles of music and it has that natural progression and it's nice and short, too. So if you've got a student like

too. So if you've got a student like that, they're generally impatient to just get to the [music] real stuff. We

don't want a journey of like six years with a method book. So, there's just two levels of Fired Up and I actually think that's a good thing. It covers the beginnings of reading. You can do other stuff on the side. Of [music] course, you're still doing, you know, all the

other stuff that needs to be included in a lesson, but it has the reading progression covered. [music]

progression covered. [music] And then, you know, it's two levels. You

could be done within 9 months if the student is moving nicely through the pieces. Done with the method book. That

pieces. Done with the method book. That

is, you still plenty of [laughter] other music to learn. Okay. Next, we'll do the biased one. This is my own method, so

biased one. This is my own method, so take any of this with a pinch of salt. I

don't mind. And feel free to ask me questions in the comments. My method is called piano paint books, and it is for young students. So, there's a level A,

young students. So, there's a level A, B, and C. And the idea is that by the end of C they'd be able to start level one or two of most method books depending on the method books whether it

be one or two cuz things work differently but generally around there and they could fit right in because they'd have the foundations in place.

It's for younger beginners as I said but you can use it with anyone. I

deliberately didn't put like for young students for preschoolers whatever on the cover or anything like that cuz I don't want it to be restricted to that.

Sometimes we just need something that moves at a gentle pace for any number of reasons with a student and it doesn't matter what age they are. If they need that gentle pace, that's what they need.

Why did I put this out there? I've

already talked about other beginner young beginner methods and you know what I like about them and some of them are really good. What I wanted to exist was

really good. What I wanted to exist was I'll try to be extremely brief about this and I'll put the link below of the full explanation the webinar I did about piano paint box what it's about

foundational pedagogical principles within the books but briefly I wanted something that got young beginners playing more like that was my core

frustration and I started creating the method book from not how can I make a child read music but how can I make a child play music and that doesn't mean we don't include reading. Reading is an

important part of it and they will learn to read pretty successfully by the end of book C. But the point is playing is the center for me because when we have a young beginner student, the main thing

we need to do is get them playing enough and the pieces be simple enough that they can successfully play them so that they develop coordination and dexterity and all these things that are actually

standing in the way of their progress.

Normally the reading is often standing in their way because we're asking them to do too much at once. And it's not to say that they can't learn to read or

they couldn't learn to read faster than we do in Piano Paint Box, but it comes at the detriment of them being able to play successfully, [music] experience music successfully. And so Piano Paint

music successfully. And so Piano Paint Box includes improvisation and composing and rope [music] pieces and reading. And

it goes at a slower pace without adding fillery fluffy activities still with plenty of time at the piano. You all

know I believe in time away from the piano too, but we still need to spend enough time at the piano that they're playing enough that it's really a piano lesson. And that's what Piano Paintbox

lesson. And that's what Piano Paintbox does. Next, we have Piano Safari, which

does. Next, we have Piano Safari, which is well doumented as one of my favorite piano methods. So you can find me all

piano methods. So you can find me all over the interwebs talking about Piano Safari, how I use it, why I like it. But

in case you're new to it, I'll give you a brief overview. So Piano Safari, like Piano Paint Box that I just talked about, my method also includes rope pieces. It includes a little bit of

pieces. It includes a little bit of improvisation, too. So we have that in

improvisation, too. So we have that in common. It's a fantastic method book

common. It's a fantastic method book that is really strong on teaching technique and teaching reading based on intervals and patterns rather than note

by note. Not that any other method

by note. Not that any other method doesn't do that, but they are very strong on that. The rope pieces that are included are beautiful and rich and so

fulfilling for students to play. So as a student moves through level one, there is no primer in piano starts at level one. So, a student moves through level

one. So, a student moves through level one. They start with pre-ereading fairly

one. They start with pre-ereading fairly early on, assuming they're moving at a good pace. They get onto the staff and

good pace. They get onto the staff and they're reading by seconds, the next chapter by thirds, next chapter by seconds and thirds. So, it's very logical progression in terms of reading by interval. And in the first book, it

by interval. And in the first book, it just focuses on two landmark notes, and that's the only note names they're expected [music] to know. Bass C and

treble G. Then in level two, we work on

treble G. Then in level two, we work on notes all over the staff and they continue to expand their intervals.

Level three, the rope pieces disappear.

It does have a method book style progression, but it feels a little bit more like a repertoire book than the other two do, I would say. Now, like any method book, it's not perfect for me.

Might be exactly perfect for you, but there's very little chance of that. We

don't have any method book out there that is perfect for everyone or even perfect for one individual person because perfect is just unattainable. My

only really major qual with Piano Safari that I don't love but isn't a dealbreaker for me at all is the use of the single stave. So where we have pieces that are on the grand staff like [music] just the treble cliff, just the

bass cliff. I do feel like that kind of

bass cliff. I do feel like that kind of gets in the way of students getting the context of the whole thing. And [music]

I would prefer those just had an empty basscliff, which is why that's what I did in piano paintbox. Now, you might love that, but in my view, for my

preferences, I would prefer there always to be both staves so that we can get used to seeing things like that, get used [music] to how things pass from right to left, all that good stuff. Not

a deal breaker at all. Still a fantastic method, but just something to think about. Also from the piano far world, we

about. Also from the piano far world, we have their older student version. Piano

safari for the older student. This

follows a lot of the things I said about piano safari. So logical reading

piano safari. So logical reading progression based on intervals, good technique teaching ideas and exercises and again starts with some pre-ereading

but moves on to the staff master which makes sense for an older student method and does include rope pieces as well. In

the older student version, they renamed the technique exercises as just the thing like fast repeated notes versus kangaroo, which it is in the main

method. I get why they did that. I still

method. I get why they did that. I still

call it kangaroo with adult students, but that might just be me. But yeah,

there's little changes like that to make it feel more sophisticated, more suitable for your teenagers or your adult students. Other than that, it's

adult students. Other than that, it's mostly just moving at a slightly faster pace, especially when it comes to reading, I would say, is the main [music] thing that moves much faster or

a bit faster in the older student method. So, who would I use Piano for

method. So, who would I use Piano for the Older Student for? Because we've

talked about other adult and teen method books. Piano for the Older Student is

books. Piano for the Older Student is fantastic all-around method book. I

would tend to gravitate towards this for a student who I can feel that they have an appetite for really diving in and putting in a good bit of practice so

that they can move super quick and that they don't have a strong preference towards popular music cuz it is more of a classical direction. It doesn't mean all of the pieces are super classical in

nature, but it does mean it leans that direction. But other than that, it's a

direction. But other than that, it's a great overall method. [music] You really can't go wrong with it. I would say the pacing in piano far in general main method and [music] this one is on the

slightly faster end. Not John Thompson fast in terms of reading, but on the slightly faster end, and more [music] is expected of students really, which can be a great thing. But if you have a

student who puts in zero practice, and you soldier your way through book one of Piano Safari, the regular series, say, and then you're getting to the end and thinking, "It took us 2 years to finish

book one. Should we go to book two?"

book one. Should we go to book two?"

[music] I'm afraid my answer is no. Go

to something easier. Normally, if I have a student in that position, either they're just struggling, they're finding things difficult, [music] or they're just not practicing most commonly [laughter] as the culprit, if they're getting to the end of Piano F1 and

they've been somewhat successful, but relatively slow with that method, I would tend to [music] switch over to Piano Adventures, slower pacing, easier wins, better fit for that student. We

have five method books left and these are going to be quicker, I promise because these are ones that I have used less or not used at all. So, I'm just going to briefly talk about how I see

them fitting in. But take this with a pinch of salt. I have not personally used these books in some cases. So, if

you have, I would love to hear from you.

Please leave a comment about your experience, what I got wrong about them or any other methods and how your opinion differs from mine or just expanding on my knowledge of these methods. So the first one of these is

methods. So the first one of these is wonder keys. It's in the kind of I've

wonder keys. It's in the kind of I've used it but not really. I haven't used this specific edition of this book. So I

cannot talk in detail about what that is like. I can only look at it as a like I

like. I can only look at it as a like I can see the pedagogy going on. I can see what's happening. Here's what I think is

what's happening. Here's what I think is going on kind of feeling. What I have used is originally when I first started teaching preschoolers, I used their old

version of the Wonder Keys series. So,

it used to be just this preschooler method. These three I think level I

method. These three I think level I think there were three levels of the original books and then from there they developed a whole regular method as well. Um, and a new edition of the

well. Um, and a new edition of the preschool books. So, I'll briefly cover

preschool books. So, I'll briefly cover the preschool books cuz that's what I know more and then we'll talk about this regular method. This is the primary

regular method. This is the primary level I have in front of me. The

preschool books I'm so grateful to because they got me my start teaching preschoolers. If there was nothing out

preschoolers. If there was nothing out there for teaching preschoolers, I don't know if I would have had the confidence to start it in the beginning cuz it was such a foreign thing to me. It's not

when I started piano. I hadn't done it.

You know, all of that. As time went on, I grew to feel like I needed more piano playing in my preschool lessons and that my students were capable of playing more

than they were. loved all the games. As

you know, I love games. Um, and I created my own to expand on them and all of that. But that was the reason for me

of that. But that was the reason for me that I didn't use that on an ongoing basis that I don't still use it. I find

that still to be true with the newer editions. I know they're different, but

editions. I know they're different, but they still don't quite fit with how I like preschoolers to play at the piano.

So, that's my only quibble with it. But,

it's a great place to learn how to teach preschoolers. And there are absolutely

preschoolers. And there are absolutely diehard fans out there who love the preschool series. More power to you. you

preschool series. More power to you. you

go ahead. It's just not quite for me.

It's not the perfect fit for my studio anymore. That being said, what we're

anymore. That being said, what we're looking at here is the regular series.

So, this is primer book two, which I think is interesting. So, they split the primer level into multiple levels.

Wonder keys, from what I've seen, of various levels of it focuses on a pretty gentle pace, which can be great to have for some students, and injecting lots of

fun and storytelling. So, where I think wonder keys can be really great, the main method this is, is you have a student who really loves to use their imagination,

maybe don't practice the most, and so they need that slower pace, but they really get involved with the storytelling aspects and the fun and the characters and all of that stuff. And

that brings the piano to life for them.

That's great. [music]

My quibble with this particular book in front of me is that it uses middle C position. We've already talked about

position. We've already talked about this. So, I won't go on about it, but

this. So, I won't go on about it, but it's not my favorite to be in middle C position for too long. It doesn't get stuck in it. It does swap between C position and this and that. And I love

that the books include activities and games, ideas, and different exercises to get teachers thinking in different ways, especially if teachers haven't taught in that way before. I think it can be a

great place to learn these skills of making lessons really fun and interactive and play-based for students.

For me, there's a couple of things that have stopped me diving into it. And

again, you can correct me about these things. If you've used it more than me

things. If you've used it more than me and you disagree, or maybe you just like these things about it, that's fine. For

me, a lot of Wonder Keys materials focus too much on [music] note names, like learning individual notes on the staff.

Not the most of any method by any means.

See, much worse, or better as the case may be in your mind. But yeah, a little bit too much focus on individual notes and note names rather than intervals, although they do cover intervals a bit.

And I don't have the need for this slow of a pace as much in my studio. But

again, if you do, I think that's a great fit. Next one is Me and My Piano. This

fit. Next one is Me and My Piano. This

is another one like John Thompson that just, you know, some people are die hard for this one and they just they've never used anything else and they won't even consider it. So it must be doing

consider it. So it must be doing something right. This is in the category

something right. This is in the category of kind of but not really use this because I remember using it in my early days of teaching but I also do not remember anything about the experience

at the time. The first book I used in my early teaching I do not have with me now. It's called Gibbid F and ACCE. Some

now. It's called Gibbid F and ACCE. Some

of you will know it. It's a classic.

That's what my teacher at the time suggested I use with my first students.

So that's what I did. But I I know I used this one as well. I just can't remember in detail that experience cuz it was like 20 years ago. So what is my

impression of this book? Well, it starts uh fairly early on to get students on the staff. So it's not a big

the staff. So it's not a big pre-ereading one. There's a little bit

pre-ereading one. There's a little bit of pre-ereading in the beginning and then it focuses on single staves for most of this part one book which as I've mentioned I don't love that much but it

doesn't bother me enormously. The music

is fairly simple and fairly traditional I would say sort of like folk tunes or tunes in that style if they're composed for the book. The thing that would

really hold me back in this book, and maybe you think it's great, so you know, tell me if you do, but the notation's really small for a beginner book, and

it's not what we're accustomed to seeing in newer method books. And I do find it makes a difference for students being able to see the [music] patterns clearly when they're not used to looking at the

systems of lines. Having big notation really does help them [music] to get used to that. So, I really prefer bigger notation. The other thing I don't

notation. The other thing I don't absolutely love is the use of finger numbers, as in too many in my view. Of

course, you can just wipe them out. I

mean, that if that was the only problem.

Something majorly alarming about this, but it's not something that would stand out as like, wow, I have to use it. It's

just okay. Next, we have Bastian Piano Basics. I just have a copy of this. I

Basics. I just have a copy of this. I

have never used it with a student, so you know, [laughter] that's where I'm coming from here. It's

just my impressions. What I like about it is that it moves around a good bit.

There's a good richness in the music, a little bit John Thompsony in that way, like in the style of music that it includes. A lot of it is in C position,

includes. A lot of it is in C position, but it is it does have a decent variety to it. And it's a fairly quick pace in

to it. And it's a fairly quick pace in getting students to play hands together and all of that stuff. There are two things that bug me about this that probably would bother no one else.

Number one is the printing style, crispness, quality. I don't think that's showing up on camera as much, but it's slightly fuzzy. It's kind of that

old style of printing. And obviously,

that shouldn't be a dealbreaker. It

shouldn't really bother me, but it does.

I don't like it. [laughter]

I just like things to look crisp and nice and be digitally printed. This

looks like lithop printing, maybe. And

yeah, probably no one else would even notice, but I don't love it. The other

little insignificant thing, which you won't even see on camera, is the style of the time signatures. Basically, I'm

talking about the musical type setting.

[music] Just don't love the style of it. It's

not something you see very often, so it feels a bit weird as an introduction to music, but again, nothing that would make or break a method. There's nothing

really wrong with any of the pieces in here. It starts with pre-ereading. It

here. It starts with pre-ereading. It

goes to some single stave stuff and then pretty quickly puts them on the grand staff and gets them [music] to put their hands together. So, as reading material,

hands together. So, as reading material, not bad at all. Now, we have Alfred's Basic Piano Library. This is something I'm sort of aware of in Periphery, but I'm going to be honest, pretty ignorant

about the real difference here because to me, it's not a method that particularly appealed to me at any time.

So, I haven't looked in detail. But I

know people are either very strong on Alfred's basic versus Alfred Premier, right? I don't have Premier with me

right? I don't have Premier with me here. I know some people are like,

here. I know some people are like, "Well, it's totally different and it's amazing or it's terrible and basic's amazing." Going to hold up my hands and

amazing." Going to hold up my hands and say, I don't know, guys. I'm only going to talk about basic for this video. So,

this is level 1A of Alfred's Basic. It

starts with a good chunk of pre-ereading with some pretty big notation and some focus on white keys and lots of stuff you would want for a beginner of like

averageish age 6 78. Then it goes on to the staff and the notation is kind of small. Not the smallest we've seen, but

small. Not the smallest we've seen, but kind of small. Especially the note size.

That that sounds a bit weird because staff size and note size are related, but with the style of the typography that the notes are small. Again, if you don't care about this stuff, fair

enough. It's just the kind of thing that

enough. It's just the kind of thing that I care about. But what I don't love when we get on the staff is this right here, position C. It's

even calling it position C. Now, I'm not saying there's anything wrong with positionbased methods actually, per se, because a lot of method books do this as a way to get

students going. There's always some

students going. There's always some crutch in every method. There's no such thing as one that's like, you know, doesn't have some compromise somewhere

because otherwise we would just give them impossible music to play and say go. You know, that's not a method book.

go. You know, that's not a method book.

So, there's always going to be something as a way to make things easier. For

instance, in my own method, piano paint box, I give them keyboard maps to tell them where to put their hands because I don't care in the beginning at those

stages if they can name the notes on the staff and find them. So, I'm actually helping them figure out where they are so that they can focus on the reading

and the playing. In this one, they're focusing on positions as a way to make reading a little bit easier. But really

calling it out as position and focusing too much on position tends to lead to students with this technique where they just get stuck on the keys. Have you met

any of these students? I have. And it's

really a hard thing to get students out of. Um, we actually made a whole concept

of. Um, we actually made a whole concept collection for Vibrant Music Teaching, which is a book where I invite composers to compose on a specific different theme. We made one in the past to get

theme. We made one in the past to get students unstuck from positions like to for composers to specifically compose pieces to help teachers with this

because when students get really stuck, they will like, you know, even to reach up to a note, they'll they'll really want to get back. They

feel so safe in this spot and that's not how we play piano. So, I do have a bit of a problem when we focus too much on positions. But, I like a lot of other

positions. But, I like a lot of other things about this book. I like that they do focus on intervals, that they talk about that, and that they progress in a way that would help you teach intervals.

I just don't like that we're getting stuck in this position and then that position. The music itself is good, if a

position. The music itself is good, if a little old-fashioned, if I'm being honest. Like good for a student who's

honest. Like good for a student who's not going to be bothered by that. And

many students wouldn't. Many students

just be like, "This is a nice little tune. That's fine." But some would feel

tune. That's fine." But some would feel a bit like, oh, this is a bit I don't know what way they would put it, but they would just have this feeling if it was a bit dull or a bit traditional [music]

or something. Again, that can be a plus,

or something. Again, that can be a plus, but for some students, it wouldn't be.

They do introduce accidentals in this book, book 1A. Um, so that's nice and early on. What I don't see in the first

early on. What I don't see in the first book at all, and again, I could have missed it because I don't use this method, so correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't see any quavers or eighth notes

to those of you in the US in the first book, which I do like those to be introduced nice and early. Some teachers

disagree, but that's just something to note. The last one, these have really

note. The last one, these have really been in no particular order other than keeping series from a particular publisher together. Now, the last one I

publisher together. Now, the last one I have for you today is Hal Leonard Student Piano Library Piano Lessons.

I'll try to say that title in a way that makes it sound like one title. And this

is book one. This one has a fairly gentle pace from what I've seen in my experience with it. It has a lot of pre-ereading pieces in book one. Nothing

wrong with that, just making a note of it. And then it progresses to the grand

it. And then it progresses to the grand staff. Fairly big notation, which I

staff. Fairly big notation, which I prefer. But all the way to the end of

prefer. But all the way to the end of book one, there's no playing hands together. So, it's a grand staff, but

together. So, it's a grand staff, but it's generally like a melody between two hands. Passing from one hand [music] to

hands. Passing from one hand [music] to the other hand is how it's set up. Now,

that makes for a really steady and fairly straightforward reading progression. It does mean that

progression. It does mean that especially an older student, but some younger students as well, won't feel like they're playing big impressive pieces. They won't feel like they're

pieces. They won't feel like they're playing real music. In some cases, they'll feel like they're playing a simple little beginner piece cuz that's what they're doing. I will note here, cuz I've noted it about the others, that

again, this uses middle C position. So,

the thumbs [music] are sharing C. There

may be some pieces that are not, but all the ones I looked at were sharing C. So,

just to note that again, not something I prefer, especially for a good chunk of a book, but it may be what you love. So,

there you have it. That's 17 method books that I had on hand today to show you. There are many others that I've

you. There are many others that I've used as well. I would love to hear your thoughts about your favorite method books, ones you hate, but please be kind and respectful to the publisher and the

creator when leaving comments about the ones you don't like. These were all thoughtfully and carefully produced by someone, so I hope my tone reflected

that as I talked about each one, and I hope your tone will too in the comments.

But I would love to hear your thoughts and contradict me. Tell me what I missed. Tell me what I got wrong. I'd

missed. Tell me what I got wrong. I'd

love to hear your thoughts. We do also have piece pointers courses for my first piano adventures, piano safari, and piano paintbox that I've talked about

today in the membership at vibrant music teaching.com.

teaching.com.

>> [clears throat] >> These courses talk about each piece in turn in a whole book or a whole several books in these cases to give you

detailed ideas of how to teach it, how to practice it, what to watch out for with students. So if you want to check

with students. So if you want to check those out, they're in the membership at vibrantmusicteing.com.

vibrantmusicteing.com.