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The John Thompson thread had me wondering what books the teachers here use for their beginners.

All of my beginners work from at least two books at the same time. I like at least one of them to have a CD for the child to play along with at home.

I do sometimes use the first two John Thompson red books with CD(for some of my students, depending on their age and abilities), but only in conjunction with other books. I often scribble out the finger numbers, and skip some pieces to go back to later. The reason I like JT is because I find the melodies the most interesting. Also, occasionally allowing the child to learn complex sounding pieces by reading finger numbers is a nice boost to their interest.

I also use the John Thompson monster series with CD (does not use finger numbers and also works outwards from middle C).

I don't particularly like Bastien (for me the pieces are boring and I don't like the presentation).

For really young beginners I enjoy mixing in some Faber "My First Piano Adventure" with CD. The CD is superb.

I also occasionally use Turner and Scott's "Progressive Piano" with CD.

However, I'd like to know if there are some amazing books I'm missing. Anyone care to share what they use?

I like Faber's MFPA, but I do supplement a lot since there aren't many pieces for them to play at first.

I have recently been using Piano Town and enjoying that quite a bit. It moves at a faster pace than Piano Adventures and the tunes are likable enough. I also use regular PA, because I like to have a different series to use for siblings.

Morodiene, I love Piano Town's halloween books, but I browsed through the Level 1 piano, and think that most of my beginner students (even the adults) would have difficulty absorbing so much information so quickly.

I just saw an ad for Bastien's Piano Party series for young children. It looked visually appealing. I may look into those. I usually use Faber with additional pieces thrown in for variety and appeal.

Suzuki teacher here. (The Suzuki books are just repertoire collections, don't expect the books to explain how to teach Suzuki.)

I like Piano Adventures, Bartok Mikrokosmos and Fundamental Keys for sight reading practice. FK is good as a stand alone method for older beginners who are turned off by the nursery rhymes in Suzuki, while being compatible with the instincts of a Suzuki teacher.

Piano Town is one of my favorites, and a go-to method book for me. I typically use the Lessons book, the technique book, and the performance book. Usually the Theory for Prep level and Maybe 1 only. Piano Town tends to move fairly fast, I agree. I think it works best with an average to good student.

I also use Alfreds, both Premiere and the older.

I use Faber, but I don't like the page layouts. So I only use this one when there is a specific reason.

I supplement heavily with other material, no matter what method series I'm using.

Does anyone use the Succeeding at the Piano series?

Piano Adventures mainly, but I have a few in Piano Town and one family in Hal Leonard because that's what they came to me with from their previous teacher. Piano Adventures is my favourite because kids absolutely love it. My First Piano Adventures is fantastic!

Hope you don't mind an adult beginners thoughts.
I'm pretty amazed with this: Artistry Alliance
I couldn't begin to get this kind of understanding anywhere else. Just from a teacher?...an hour a week doesn't begin to cut it in the time it takes. I think the music is exceptional also.

Of course I don't mind an adult beginner's thoughts!

I had a look at the link - the "Introduction to Music" example pieces look very advanced for an "introduction", but they are interesting pieces.

Was this your very first book?

I'm a 'proud' graduate of Alfred's One. I didn't like my scattered mind I had. I was not focused. In fact, I could practice a piece for an hour...take a 15 minute break...go back to it and it was like I never looked at it before. I asked Mary about this. She said she had seen that before. No problem. We'll take care of that. Well, she is doing just that. There is a brilliant method to her madness. Everything is very logical, makes sense, one thing builds upon another. Not trying to learn two things at one time. She even addresses building your ability to pay attention to two and three things at once.
The only problem I have right now is that my old mindset keeps popping back up. I hate it. Wish I could just flush it out.
The pieces are brilliant. They pull on a person to learn. Myself, I can only rationalize that when a person (even a child) isn't confused trying to learn more than one thing at a time. They can play what appears to be more advanced. When there are no tricks in the music. Like I know alfred's does. Everything is very straight forward and logical. Easy to pick up on. But one needs to follow the System and don't pass up what comes before actually playing.
EDIT: I wanted to add. Another very smart thing on the music is that they are all very short. That allows a beginner to be very focused. Get it down. Then proceed to the next. Longer can be later. Not now. It has to do with how the brain learns.

I'll get off my soap box here. No informercial intended. I'm just so happy with the System, Mary, and her husbands music. To me it's like I stepped out of the twilight zone and everything makes sense.

I have. Alfred Premier is better, though.

Why

It's probably the luck of the draw, but all my students who started with Succeeding at the Piano are all terrible players. They hated the music in it and got very discouraged by the speed of the playing on the CD. I was able to switch several of them to Alfred Premier at the 1B level, but the other kids all quit lessons before even finishing book 1.

For complete beginners I have been using (mostly, not exclusively) the Faber series as a reference point. I say "reference point" because no series is perfect or can address all the issues that arise for a beginner. I illustrate a good deal in the beginning, so any book series is a reference point but not a completely authoritative guide I can rely upon.

I find it necessary to skip over certain pages in any book series that have proved either unacceptably boring, or that accidentally increase confusion in the beginner. At the same time I do not want a scattered approach or any essential skills to be left unaddressed, so this editing and supplemental process means extra work for me, something I accept, but I cannot comfortably 'lean back' with confidence upon what any editor has devised as an 'ideal' progression.

BTW, the Faber Primer Sight Reading book is excellent because it presents smooth lineal writing in large print. Tiny print annoys me, and the hopscotch interval identification exercises of some books do not promote fluent reading (unless the child intends to be a Arnold Schoenberg specialist. LOL) However, I have found that the subsequent three books of that rather short series accelerate faster than the average student can keep up with comfortably, so I wish that series would be extended at each level; the Primer book should be stretched into three books, and Level One into another three books, and so forth, because for most students that is what it takes to become accustomed to the process. (I should write to Faber about that in supportive way and encourage them along those lines).

I mention that particular matter because I work overtime to keep sight reading on the front burner at every level, and finding appropriate material during the initial stages is the most important challenge. Over the years, hundreds of 'transfer' students have come to me whose fingers are reasonably nimble, and can play this or that piece fairly well, but can barely read at all. They received no support in that endeavor at all. You have all gone through this to many times, no? And getting a student to address sight reading at later stages is often challenging because they want to sight read at their current technical level and do not want to feel like they are stepping 'backwards' by reading more simple material.

Doesn't everyone sight read at a less advanced level than the repertoire they practice and perform? I don't see any problem just explaining that to the students, then giving them different pieces to sight read than the ones they practice to perfection.

In my experience, students who are in the 2B book or lower (any method book series) tend to be able to sight read the new piece quite well. Starting about the 3A book, when the pieces become more complex and longer, students will struggle a bit more with sight reading.

I have taught students who almost exclusively sight read their pieces because they don't have time to practice at home. But since their sight reading is already so proficient, they get some enjoyment out of purely sight reading the pieces. Obviously, they don't advance very far, but if they enjoy it, why not?

It varies a good deal, and it all depends on their past practicing habits. Most students read well below their technical level as you indicate. I have only one student currently who can sight read at his technical level and is almost advanced now - but that is all he wants to do - sightread and nothing else.



We completely agree about that. Some transfer students have presumptions that reading music means they should be able to read absolutely anything correctly and are distressed they cannot.

There is never any problem explaining something we know. However, having the other person understand what you explained is another kettle of fish. As teacher you have the whole picture and you know how it works. It isn't anything like that for a student, who may have all kinds of wrong ideas. He can base himself on his wrong ideas to get at a wrong understanding of what you are saying.