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Am I the only person who thinks those Theory Workbooks that come with method book series are too thin? We'd spend two or three weeks on a piece or two, but by the first week we'd be out of theory pages to do.

At some times, I do.

I find that most kids are more adept at working with worksheets because they are in a format that they are used to (from school). The translation that takes place when they sit at the piano to read music is still a little foreign to them, even after a year or so of lessons.

I sometimes supplement their work sheets with harder ones from other books, or sometimes I make my own - as long as they correspond with the material/repertoire they are currently working on.

Also, some of these theory books make it very easy to find the answers by referring to a chart, drawing, or table - instead of one's own memory.

I never use the theory books attached to the method books. I think they are busy work. Instead, I teach the theory of each piece in the lesson, and review it at the next lesson.

My theory book of choice is the Fundamentals of Piano Theory by Ashleigh and Snell. It is very, very thorough from start to finish. If you have a theory book from outside of their lesson book, you add another dimension to their playing and understanding.

It's easy to pigeonhole ourselves as teachers into one 'method,' which is something I think needs to be re-evaluated. Of course, it's good business for the music publishers to create these series which teachers follow and buy religiously, but is it really helping advance our students?

I would say it isn't helping. A broad knowledge of the different methods can help a teacher to assign songs, activities, etc., that will strengthen children where they are weak instead of plodding along and doing what the method says they should learn next. Also, if a particular student doesn't respond well to one method, another might work better. I'm still not as familiar with Faber as I wish I were, but I'm using Bastien, Alfred, Music Pathways, and Music Tree in tandem with almost all my students, with good results.

Really? I find them to be really helpful--I just wanted more theory pages to go with the lesson pages. Also, don't underestimate the power of "busy work" for younger students. You and I may hate busy work during high school, but elementary students do need heavy repetition in order to learn anything.

When paired with good teaching, yes. I am witnessing a trend among younger piano students: They are playing better and better, and some of that can be attributed to better method books.

I was just thinking about this and thinking the same thing!
Decided to use only one theory book and it's Mark Sarnecki's Theory book! It comes with an answer book too, and I actually let the student correct their own work! And I'm going to start kids as early as possible on Mark's theory books! I can't say enough about them, and at the end of completing, they can go to the university and write an offical theory exam! It's precise, has instructions in boxes, and I can't say enough about this!

Gone are those tedious extra theory books that are supposed to go alone with methos book! I have created a few of my own theory sheets that I use for the very young student, but as soon as possible, I am starting the student on Mark Sarnecki's Basic, Intermediate, and Advanced Theory! . . . ONLY!

EDIT! Sorry, I can't spell today! Changed my post because I went in and corrected the spelling of Mark Sarnecki's name! There, hope I spelt it right!

I use the theory that comes with the method. It is simple to understand, and the student can find answers in their lesson book if they forget. And it's not too much for the student to be overwhelmed by.

I tried using the Snell theory, but my students didn't do it - felt overwhelmed.

In addition, I keep a folder full of theory worksheets printed out from various free websites. That allows me to target problem areas on weeks when we're all caught up on the correlated theory. I like Susan Paradis's site, for example. http://www.susanparadis.com/catalog.php?type=wholeCatalog
And a few more:
http://colorinmypiano.com/printables/
http://www.musictechteacher.com/worksheets.htm
http://www.sheetmusic1.com/ns.gs.html

I find that the theory books with most methods don't give enough practice in a skill. I use the Snell, also, but I carefully coordinate it with their method material and only assign bits at a time so it does not become overwhelming.

I use the method theory books, and yes, they do end up running out of theory to do that week. But then there are flash cards (I have free printable ones I give them) and separate worksheets I can give them as well. I generally move them out of a method once they complete 2B in Faber, and that is when I give them the Preparatory level in the Fundamentals of Piano theory. I love these books as they have lots of review. I think gradually getting them used to doing the theory is better than overwhelming them to start with.

Still, I have to nag a bit about doing the theory with some students. That's OK, I was one of those kids too.

I've never seen Mark Sarnecki's Books, but I'll order in a set and see how they measure up. I agree the theory books that go with the lesson are a bit weak, but I use a some graduated worksheets that help students on the theory tests for our state MTNA competition. They are difficult to get through, and kind of old fashioned looking, but they do the trick!

Hey, great idea/excellent strategy, Morodiene!

I think the size of the book is intimidating. I haven't used the Snell/Ashleigh book in years. They wrote some excellent questions and reviews, but the sight reading section is not so good, and not enough ear training examples. That series was written to match the CM program.

I use the sight-reading and ear-training on the first day, as a mini-test to see where the student is. We then decide what to do from there.

Uh, you do realize the sight reading examples in the Snell books are WAY too hard for the stated level? And they give the same exact advice in every level. Not much thought was put into it.

I don't do it based on CM or anything, and by the time they're doing the KS theory, I have them playing a bit higher (having done a majority of the pieces at the level), so I don't find them *too* hard for most of the students.

And I don't use their advice either. We basically ignore those pages except for the one day.

I don't use those pages anyway. All of my students are using these books and seem to do just fine. To each his own.