Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Piano Teachers Forum Skipping a method book level

Yes.

I agree, but I'm saying that you can be working on many different things at different levels of polish, and this keeps things moving.

Every student needs a few things that can be used for showing off.

So, you'd agree that it is not necessary to polish everything in method book pieces before moving on, right?

I guess for the youngest beginners I do make them "over-study" the pieces, since their pieces are so short. Even the non-practicers will sound competent just by sight reading during lessons. I'm teaching this really bright boy who just started 1st grade, and even with ZERO practice at home he's making more progress than some of the other kids who claimed to have practiced.

So his 30-minute lesson consists of re-learning the 3 pieces assigned last week, and I make him call out letter names and read intervals and figure out the finger numbers and improvise on some notes, etc. etc. etc. And we still have time to go over his 3 new pieces in great detail. I'm not sure if this is what you call "over-study," but it sure feels like we've juiced every last milliliter of liquid out of every piece. And then some.

Or maybe this is one of those kids who could sprint, but since he doesn't practice, anyway, we'll just have these jam-packed lessons. It's mostly repetition, repetition, repetition, and then variations on those repetitions.

First, you've all convinced me to make a quick pass through 2A. I'm still a little frustrated at the slow progression of method books, but ok.



I find it's too difficult to work on technique as a part of their "meat and bones" pieces because they are focusing on notes and rhythms instead of the physical aspects. At least at the elementary levels.

I suppose every teacher finds their own balance of mastery/progression. For my own (elementary-level) students, their pieces are at a more polished level after the first week of practice than my transfer students. Their baseline work is at a higher level because I have focused more on mastery of each piece.

I have two goals that are above all others.

The first is to make sure that my students can read well.

The second is to make sure that they can play on a level that will allow them to play for their parents/family, for their friends, for a talent show. And to play in anything that gives them an opportunity to play.

I also believe that part of being a great reader is to understand chord structure and structure in general, so the ear part is also very important to me.

I don't care about memory. To me memorization and playing from memory is icing on the cake. It is impressive to non-musicians, but I am far more impressed with someone who plays very well with music than with someone who plays fully from memory but not as well...

FWIW- My son skipped Faber 2A in second grade and it's had no ill effect on him. He went from Bastien level 1 in 1st grade to Faber 2B. He completed Level 3 (Glover/Carr) last year.

I don't understand why teachers switch method book series at every level. In the past, I have changed series, or added series, for students who are struggling and need more reinforcement. Some series move slower than the others, so if I switch a student to an easier series, he/she won't feel like being held back, when in fact that's exactly what's going on.

The key issue is that not all series are aligned in what they teach at each level. At best, there's an estimation of rough "equivalents" when you switch from one series to another.

School districts adopt new textbooks every couple of years. But changing the course of piano method book series is akin to changing textbooks every couple of months. There will be holes and gaps to be filled.

AZN- I think the reason my son has switched so many times really has more to do with me. My son's first teacher had just purchased primer 3 before leaving. I think my son's current teacher saw he could move faster so instead of asking me to buy new books, she gave me a set of old level 1's she had. Then she moved him back to PA 2B after he finished. My husband then found a whole bunch of piano books second hand for almost nothing..so many different level 3's and she chose to use the Glover/Carr we had rather buying new. We told her either way was fine with us. Other ones we had were Hal Leonard, Bastein and JT. We have no books for this school year...so I'm excited to see what she picks out.

And even I can see that some of the methods move faster than others- it's been fine for us though either way. He plays more pieces each week when he's in what appears to be an easier series. I Glover 3 seemed A LOT harder than Faber 2B (at least it was for my son).

Teaching pentascales is a great way to teach transposing and major and minor chords. As for uh switching levels, some books start eighth notes and quarter rest very early, others dabble and drip.

I have even been known to tell some students, okay, the lesson they want you to learn this next page or two is blah blah. If you can demonstrate blah blah to me now, and come back next week and easily demonstrate blah blah, then I will check off your page and be done and move on.

Some pieces, I am picky on, and I even asked that the student write down a few facts about the composer. I want them to fall in love with the piece and create music, instead of just notes.

I would not skip a level, but I would try to go quickly through the easier parts. And easier simply depends on the students level of understanding. What one student finds easy, another student may struggle with. It is different for everyone.

Just like in a math class, or even a literature class, some parts may seem simple review and then something comes along that is new and glorious, and can be built on as time goes on. Glossing over something that you think the child understands, but not thoroughly checking a week or two later because you have pushed on, may come back in the future and cause a misunderstanding.

Most method books have a pretest and then a post test, and also a corresponding sight reading book. Use those to check progress.

It should be a fun team effort to progress as quickly as the child can do the work, and remember it and demonstrate it

Which ones???

I use Piano Adventures.

I will sometimes also do a placement in general test using Joy Morin's ColorInMyPiano.

Test A is naming finger numbers and keys, and each test progresses up to M and m scales, circle of 5ths, rhythms. Etc...

Pretty good look at what a student knows, without book hints.

With other methods, you can create an oral exam by asking,
"Tell me everything you can about this piece, before playing a single note."
Time and key Sig, vocab, articulation markings and definitions, form, etc...then ask follow up questions.

See how they "attack" a piece.

Some methods intro rests and eightth notes early on. So, check a couple of ways, because you might be surprised at what they do or do not know.

Assume nothing. 😉

This sounds very reasonable. But my question is, what does "reasonable mastery" look like? This seems very subjective. I am moving a kid through Alfred for Later Beginners Book 1 and having a hard time deciding whether or not a piece is mastered. It's true if we spend too long on it, I notice that he is simply using his good ear and not properly reading.

Lots of kids, usually the brighter ones, will end up memorizing short pieces without prompting. My strategy for these kids is to constantly change pieces. If their reading is weak, I supplement with 2 or 3 extra books in the same level.

Of course judging what is "reasonable mastery" is 100% subjective. You are the teacher! Make your best judgment call depending on the student's progress and history. I know a couple of my students need several weeks per piece in order to move on; they are the slower learners who never practice so we use lesson time as extra practice time.

And I have students who, after getting through to the end of a book, I would move them not to the next book in the sequence but to a different set of method books altogether. It is to give them the illusion of moving forward when in fact I'm putting them into a book that moves more slowly.

Every student learns at a different pace. Some pick up most concepts easily and I will go through several pages with them in one lesson. Others require a lot more review and plug along at page or two a week in the lesson book (I tend to use a lot more supplemental material with these kids to keep things interesting). To me the true test if they can come back and play it at their next lesson!

I do still go through the whole book to make sure that they have learned all the concepts. The music funding in our local school districts has taken quite a hit, so its hard to know anymore what concepts they've been introduced to at school and what they have not due to staffing changes!

Eating a little bit of humble pie today. My son's teacher moved him into Faber 3A today. He completed 2b in 2015. Sort of surprised because he earned extremely high scores in Guild...way above the cut off for superior plus in his Glover Carr Level 3 book. His motivation hasn't been very good recently...hopefully the repeat of the level (with a different book) will give him more confidence. The good thing is that he's only 9 years old.

Don't worry mom. Remember, the real prize is to raise a kid who grows up to be a decent human being.

I think your son is at a point where some teachers would no longer use method books and perhaps, his teacher wants to make sure he has all the necessary skills to be successful.

If your son is getting restless with method books, I recommend letting him learn pieces from his favorite movies and other fun pieces he can play for his friends.

My little one recently went through a phase of low-motivation and noncompliance. I did not want her to learn piano on top of violin so I was secretly relieved that she appeared to have lost her interest but...after a few months of having the freedom to pick up her own pieces and not having to practice scales and etudes, she is back, more driven than ever and she seems to have made a big leap in her skills even if she didn't have structured lessons or practice during this period. I wonder if children sometimes need their own space to sort out their development.

Anyway, I think as long as your son continues to love learning, it would all come out okay at the end.

Thank you both for the kind words.

Little Blue Bird- My son's teacher knows that I'm hopeful that he'll be playing piano for a long time so I really do believe she is doing what is best for him so that he'll be able to continue rather than getting frustrated and quiting.