Books for Beginners

I love it when I get a new beginner student.  This kind of student means one thing to me: a fresh slate!  It wasn’t always this way.  For a long time I dreaded having a beginning student.  They had a reputation of forgetting simple concepts week after week.  And, it seemed like I could never get them to stay focused.  But now I have just the right set of books and tools to keep them occupied during the lesson — 45 minutes worth of goodies!

For most beginners, I buy the same set of books.  Its my start-up kit.  For the first two weeks or so I focus mainly on the method book.  Somewhere close to the third week I introduce another book that will facilitate varied practice, while still focusing on the foundational elements of learning to play.  This way I can reiterate the same concepts throughout the lesson, viewed through different windows.  Repetition is key!  As lessons progress I will continue to add more material based on each student’s readiness.

Here are the books I use, along with a short explanation of their purpose and value in the lesson.

The Music Tree: Time to Begin, by Frances Clark, is an oldie but a goody!  I didn’t even know it existed until about fours years ago.  But I will never go back now that I’ve found, and discovered its value.  I love this series because it is methodical in its presentation and implementation of concepts.  It starts by introducing THE basic concept of reading music: direction and pattern.  Gradually simple, varied rhythms are added to this concept.  The student is offered plenty of material to use and develop these simple skills.  About midway through the book the student will begin reading on lines and spaces.  The staff appears first as two lines and one space, and finally develops into a grand staff by the final unit.  This book purely uses the intervallic approach, which develops students into well rounded readers.  If you use this book you can forget about the age old question: “what’s the position?”!

The Music Tree: Time to Begin, Activities reinforces the fundamentals that are taught in the lesson book.  Students love this book because it is colorful and approachable.  Main concepts include: quarter, half, whole, and dotted half rhythms; directional reading; musical alphabet; finger numbers; and interval recognition (up to a fifth).

Just the Facts is pretty self-explanatory.  A new theory fact is stated in each lesson, and then reinforced in future lessons.  Repetition of the facts helps students truly grasp the knowledge.  There is a book to accompany each “school” grade level so students begin this series as a beginner and continue it through their musical education.  Each book has twelve lessons, so there’s plenty of time to finish in a year.  In addition to learning theory, students are also exposed to ear training exercises that include dictation.

I have to admit it, some students love this book while others don’t like it at all.  I see both sides.  A Dozen A Day, by Edna Mae Burnam, offers students simple one-lined exercises that develop technique.  I think its great because it allows technique to be taught from the very beginning.  Students who have this advantage go further faster.  And students who can go further faster stay motivated, and are more likely to continue lessons longer.  The short exercises appeal to most students because they gain fulfillment in conquering each one.  This causes the student to crave each new exercise until they’ve successfully mastered “the dozen.”  For the students who find this book to be less of a motivation, I will assign the exercises in small doses.  That way students still get the technique without burning out.

I saved the best for last.  Solo Flight, by Elvina Truman Pearce, is my favorite book for beginning piano students.  These compositions offer full fledged recital repertoire.  Students can easily master two or more of the pieces from the this book within the first three months of lessons.  Solo Flight appeals to students because the compositions sound like “real” music.  If a student struggles with reading, this book gives them the opportunity to make beautiful music.

When you first get the book you may think the print press ran out of ink.  But don’t be fooled by the lightly printed staves of music.  The music is meant to be taught by rote in the beginning, therefore the light print puts more focus on directional reading and patterns, rather than the technicality of the music.  As the book progresses, the print becomes darker so that students can either learn by rote, traditional reading, or a combination of the two.  While this book is great for beginners, I will often use it for a year or longer if the student is really into playing out of this book.  Students work so hard to constantly move forward, this book will give them a well deserved break.  Any student will be rewarded (and motivated) by the genuine musicality found in these compositions.