Debbie Cavalier of Debbie and Friends, a music educator and Sr. Vice President at Berklee College of Music/DEO Berklee Online and one of the top children’s music artists in the nation, published Learning To Play Piano for the Very Young to provide a fun, engaging introduction to the keyboard. Cavalier created the book with her grandfather, noted arranger/composer Marty Gold.
With this fun, new pre-primer piano method, young children may:
- learn to read the treble clef and note names using colorful pictures
- get started playing familiar melodies with their right hand
- learn to play seven well-loved songs including favorites such as “Twinkle, Twinkle” and “Jingle Bells”
- enjoy family sing-alongs with the guitar chord chart and lyrics included
Learning to Play Piano is designed for the parent and child to experience making music together. The pre-primer method book is filled with active participatory activities: writing in note names, tracing hands, writing in finger numbers, clapping, singing and playing melodies. The pull-out Keyboard Tent (included) provides a fun visual reference to associate notes on the page to keys on the piano. Children learn to play familiar melodies and gain the readiness skills needed to graduate to any standard piano method. The full-color book is filled with words of encouragement and praise from the familiar Debbie and Friends cartoon character.
Keyboard Tent from Learning to Play Piano for the Very Young
Cavalier says Learning To Play Piano is a readiness method for the parent and child to experience together. “The songs included are familiar to kids, so there’s immediate satisfaction as they learn to play songs they know. Parents do not have to be trained musicians to enjoy working through the material with their child from start to finish,” explains Cavalier, who has written several other music method books for children.
Parents and kids who have tested the book are raving about the book’s kid-friendly features. “I LOVE the tracing of the hand and the little pictures of cats, dogs and elephants! What a clever way of associating the notes with letters,” says one parent. Dr. Gail Fischler a nationally recognized music teacher known as the “Piano Addict,” recommends the book as “a great way for families to introduce the piano to their young children and to get them excited about further musical study.“
A Few Parent Reviews:
“I placed it on the piano, and without any prompting, my 4-year-old, 7-year-old and wife (none of whom know anything about piano) discovered it and were all able to play a simple song with their right hand. All had smiles on their faces.”
— Peter Apel, musician and dad
“The piano book arrived and the girls LOVE it. They went to the piano right after it arrived and started playing. It is a wonderful book.”
— KC Mancebo, Clamourhouse Kids owner, mom
“All of a sudden I hear the piano playing. My 6-year-old son is playing songs and has learned the notes up to the letter G. He did this all on his own thanks to your book.”
— George Triebenbacher, dad
About the Authors
Debbie Cavalier
Debbie Cavalier is a Sr. Vice President at Berklee College of Music/CEO Berklee Online, and the lead in the award-winning kids/family band Debbie and Friends.
Marty Gold was an A&R man for RCA in the ‘50s and ‘60s and recorded dozens of records with the Marty Gold Orchestra. He was Debbie’s grandfather and piano teacher.
Take Note 
I like the presentation but have some questions. What do you cover in the book, is it only treble clef/RH? How many pages in the book? Is there a follow up book/level? Thank you.