Video description: Tom Gerou’s workshop for piano teachers presented at the San Francisco Community Music Center on February 1, 2018.
Link to earlier Sheet Music Plus interview with Morty Manus, co-author of Alfred’s Basic Piano Library: https://sheetmusicplus.wordpress.com/2016/02/04/sheet-music-plus-interviews-morty-manus-co-author-of-alfreds-basic-piano-library/
Video description: Lori Bastien’s workshop for piano teachers presented at the San Francisco Community Music Center on January 23, 2018.
Link to earlier Sheet Music Plus blog post: “Method Spotlight: Bastien New Traditions”: https://sheetmusicplus.wordpress.com/2017/04/20/method-spotlight-bastien-new-traditions/
Shop the whole Bastien New Traditions series at Sheet Music Plus.
by Jacy Burroughs
Piano teachers, have you ever wondered about the creative process that goes into developing a piano method? In September 2015, I had the privilege of interviewing Morty Manus, former president of Alfred Music Publishing and co-author of the popular piano method series Alfred’s Basic Piano Library. He and his wife, Iris, shared with me the story of how the popular piano method series Alfred’s Basic Piano Library was born.
I was deeply saddened to hear of Morty’s passing early in 2016. He was so charming and full of life just a few short months earlier. How lucky I was to have participated in this interview and, with the support of Alfred Music’s fine recording studio staff, publish these videos in honor of him. The interview is separated into thirteen chapters, each of which is summarized below.
In memoriam: Morty Manus (1926-2016)
There are so many different piano methods that as a new student or piano teacher starting out, it can be hard to know which to choose. We shed some light by providing a summary of each of our top ten selling piano method series.
Husband and wife team Randall and Nancy Faber have combined forces to develop piano methods and supplemental materials popular for all ages. Basic Piano Adventures progresses gradually and logically through middle C and multi-key approaches. One of the hallmarks of Piano Adventures is that students begin learning a limited set of notes in the middle C position, but play these notes with varied fingerings. This prevents students from associating a particular note with a particular finger. In addition to the Lesson book, each level includes Theory, Performance, Technique & Artistry, Popular Repertoire and Christmas books. The Piano Adventures series also includes My First Piano Adventures, Accelerated Piano Adventures and Adult Piano Adventures. To learn more, watch our interview with Randall Faber.
Take Note 
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