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Hi

I'm new to this site and it looks great! I'm also quite new to teaching piano, and would really appreciate some advice.

I'm about to take on two 11-year old beginners and have not taught beginners before (I've only taken on pupils already on their grades so far).

Could anyone recommend a good series of books to start with? I know there are lots out there and it's best to use a combination, but while I'm finding my feet I'd like to follow one main book. Any ideas?

Thanks very much

Bella

Hello Bella, just wanted to say hello and welcome. I'm just like one of your students, only some 11,300 days older. Wishing you loads of luck. It must be wonderful to be able to pass your skill on by teaching.

Jan

Piano Lessons by Fanny Waterman and Marion Harewood is a good reliable book - if a little staid. I'm noticing a lot of Pauline Hall books as I go around tuning, and kids seem to enjoy the pieces, and are eager to show me what they're playing. It's quite jolly stuff, jazzy mixed with classics.

Gill the Piano wrote:Piano Lessons by Fanny Waterman and Marion Harewood is a good reliable book - if a little staid. I'm noticing a lot of Pauline Hall books as I go around tuning, and kids seem to enjoy the pieces, and are eager to show me what they're playing. It's quite jolly stuff, jazzy mixed with classics.

The Waterman/Harewood book is fine for bright, well-motivated pupils, but it moves very quickly in the early stages. Most pupils need more material to consolidate all the basic stuff. I happily used it in the early 70s, but there's a far better range now. Pauline Hall is OK; as are the Bastien, Alfred and Chester series. It's worth trying out these and others like them.

I find The Joy of First Year Piano by Denes Agay very helpful: excellent, progressive pieces, moving at a suitably deliberate pace and without a lot of didactic distractions which a good teacher does not need. It's also useful to return to periodically as sight-reading material.

I would also suggest that it's a good idea not to overdo the jazzy Pamela Wedgwood/Christopher Norton books. They have a place, but can soon become repetitive and very predictable!

good ol' john thompson 1 and 2 work quite well too

Thanks for all the advice.

Does anyone have experience of using the Alfred series? If so, do you think they are good?

Also, at what point can you move on from tutor books to the Prep grade or Grade 1? How long does it usually take to build up to doing a grade (if the pupil wants to do grades)?

Many thanks again

Hi Bella,

I have tried using the Alfred method before. For me, it would depend on what the student was looking for as to whether I would use it again. If the student's interested in learning to play mostly 'classical' music and doing their grades and so on, I probably wouldn't use Alfred - I think it's a bit too chord based for that, and doesn't really stretch the left hand.

As for when to move on to Prep or Grade 1, it really depends on the student. I have an 8 year old at the moment who has only had 5 lessons, but is ready to start trying Prep pieces. I also have other students who are older and have come for longer who are not quite ready yet. The ABRSM gives the average progress as being 9 months to reach Prep Test level, and then a further year to reach Grade 1. Personally, I think it's a bit ridiculous to generalise like that. In saying that, I never move from the tutor book to the exam pieces, but rather introduce the exam pieces alongside the tutor book - maybe when they've reached near the end of their first book, or sooner in some cases.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that every teacher needs to find their way with each student. It's really scary when you start teaching at first! But the more you become experienced, the more natural it starts to feel. I'm sure you'll do fine!