Category: Pedagogy Articles

The Young Beginner: Keys for Connecting — My First Piano Adventure

What is this world of the young beginner? It is fun, fantasy and exploration. Seriousness? Teacher-driven rules? Tight control? These close down a young learner’s intrinsic interest. Not only is this young beginner’s world substantially different than the adult world and qualitatively different than ages 7–8, the young beginner does not “meet us halfway.” 4–5 year […]

Level 3B: Playing Fast

This is what the student has been waiting for—a chance to play fast. “Now I can really show off!” Then we tell the student, “The first lesson in playing fast is … slow practice.” We’ve just taken the wind out of their sails. Well … almost. There are secrets to playing fast. And if we […]

Level 5: The I‑IV‑V Tapestry

As we read and create music, we weave through a I‑IV‑V tapestry of primary chords. At Piano Adventures® Level 5, we ensure that the student can see and feel this structural tapestry for each tonal piece. Scales “Why learn scales?” students ask. Our answer? A scale reduces 88 keys to seven. Five keys are eliminated in […]

Five-Finger Scales and Pattern Recognition

Pattern Recognition Why are five-finger positions a necessary part of piano pedagogy? Because our hands have five fingers. So the relevance of five-finger patterns applies at virtually any level of piano playing. Major and minor five-finger patterns are taught in Level 3 (Spanish Edition) of Piano Adventures® after the basics of reading are acquired in the […]