Primer Level - Lesson Book: Piano Adventures

I ordered this lesson book, along with the Primer Level Technique and Artistry, Theory, Writing Book, Performance and Popular Repertoire books for my five and six year olds, to start them out on the piano. I am teaching them myself and decided on this curriculum because of its great reviews. I am enormously pleased that I did.

Within the first few lessons my children were playing songs independently on the piano, and when I play the teacher's accompaniment along with them, and sing along with the provided lyrics, my kids feel like accomplished musicians. They are proud of themselves and eager to learn more.

I really like how this curriculum is set up to teach musicianship in a holistic sense, right from the start. The first few lessons get them acquainted with the patterns on the keyboard, and exploring the different sounds it can make. The first ten pages or so have the students playing exclusively on the black keys, which are easier for the children to identify (they are not expected to know the names of the notes at first; once they know the number of each finger and LH/RH, a picture is provided to help them find the right positions, and they are only expected to use two or three fingers on each hand). The only tricky part about this is that I had to play the teacher's accompaniment in keys with five or six flats, which I haven't done in more years than I care to say, so sometimes I was the one making all the mistakes. But the kids flew right through those lessons and mastered them easily.

They are next introduced to the names of the white keys, and it is not until half way through the book that they are introduced to reading music on staffs. I use the Lesson Book as my primary resource, but include the similar-skill pages from the other books I purchased to enhance their learning. My kids love the written activities that support their work on the keyboard, which are appropriate and fun for kids this age.

I really appreciate how musicianship skills are incorporated right from the beginning: we are only a third of the way through the Primer Level, and my kids already have a musical vocabulary that includes piano (soft), forte (loud), quarter note, half note, whole note, repeat sign. There are exercises that teach sight reading, ear training, dexterity and strength training, and even composition. My kids feel empowered by the skills they are learning through this curriculum and I am confident they are getting a solid introduction to musicianship in general, not just piano playing.

This curriculum gets five stars from me.

I love the Piano Adventures books! I teach beginner piano students from ages 6-36, and Piano Adventures has an option for all of my students! I use the Primer level starter books for my youngest students, Piano Adventures for advanced beginners for my teenage starters (especially for those with a little music background already -- these are perfect), and the Adult Piano Adventures books for my adult beginners. I love how all the books are outlined and the way they progress, and my students do very well with them! I definitely recommend these books to other piano teachers!

My piano teacher recommended this book because it introduces the keyboard, note values, and the grand staff to kids and mini 2-page mini-songs. My 8 and 10 year old has been taking piano lessons for 1 year. and they really enjoyed these ones. The notes are large and clear and easy to understand. It was easy to understand for kids about 6 months in.