My First Piano Adventure, Book A-C (Lesson & Writing)

With students at age six or less, piano teaching becomes an adventure for both the child and the teacher. We’ve set aside our seriousness and inhibitions to join the child’s world in a playful exploration of music and the keyboard. Through imagery, metaphor, and a diverse world of sound, we seek to develop a foundation of aural perception, eye tracking, and physical coordination. There is special opportunity to develop perceptual ability at a young age. Skills unfold while we engage the child’s inherent love of music. In My First Piano Adventure, five delightful “friends at the piano” engage the student with fun songs in many genres — folk, classical, blues, and originals. Unique technique activities and reading and rhythm games provide a wholistic learning approach. These develop a foundation of aural perception, physical coordination, and eye-tracking for note reading. Each Lesson Book includes audio recordings that offer a unique listening experience with outstanding orchestrations and vocals. The recordings demonstrate a key principle of the course: when children listen, sing, tap, and move to their piano music, they play more musically. Remember that music lessons for the young are activity-based. Some songs and activities engage the child wholeheartedly. Celebrate these. Repeat them from week to week so as to glean all their capacity for musical development. In many cases, adding a variation will provide fun and challenge. Check out the online Teacher’s First Lesson Plan for specific ideas.