Guest post by Ingrid Jacobson Clarfield and Phyllis Alpert Lehrer, editors of Classics for the Developing Pianist and Study Guides for Preparation, Practice & Performance Books 1-5
Our 5 anthologies contain the 100 pieces that pianists should learn to play. In the 5 companion Study Guides for each piece. Problems are IDENTIFIED and problems are SOLVED.
Continue reading ‘Great Editing: The Difference between Success & Frustration!’RSL Awards Academic Director Tim Bennett-Hart takes us through everything Rockschool
Rockschool is part of RSL Awards, an international awarding body based in London, UK. For the last 30 years we have been producing material to help people learn musical instruments and assess their progress.
What’s more it really works! Artists such as Ed Sheeran, Jess Glyn, and Wolf Alice have all taken RSL Awards qualifications and gone on to have incredible careers.
It’s not just for super stars. RSL Awards assess over 80,000 people each year across 50 countries – this is a world-wide community of creative people.
 What’s in a Book A typical book like Electric Guitar Level 3 contains – 6 full transcriptions of hit songs, 6 original songs, backing tracks and example audio to download, scales and technical exercises for the level. Nirvana – Smells Like Teen Spirit Ike & Tina Turner – Proud Mary Taylor Swift – I Knew You Were Trouble Ed Sheeran – Thinking Out Loud Bryan Adams – Summer of ’69 Otis Redding – (Sittin’ On) The Dock Of The Bay |
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:
Nancy and Randall Faber are pleased to announce the release of their newest digital support tool, the Piano Adventure Sightreading Coach. This innovative technology provides immediate feedback and assessment, making it the perfect companion to the Piano Adventures Sightreading books.
The Sightreading Coach “listens” to the student play along with the score, and instantly grades rhythm and pitch by highlighting incorrect notes and rhythms. Students can practice the exercise as often as they wish, and upload their best performance to the teacher in between lessons. Teachers can monitor student progress without using valuable lesson time, making at-home practice more accurate and efficient.
Continue reading ‘Sightreading. Solved.’
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/
The Faber Piano Adventures Correlation Chart is a helpful resource for piano teachers because it shows what topics are addressed at each Piano Adventures level and how that corresponds to books in other piano methods series. For example, if you have a student who you just finished the Bastien Piano Basics primer book, you would start her with Piano Adventures 1B.
Piano Methods Represented in Chart:
To save a copy of this chart for your future use click here: Faber Piano Adventures Correlation Chart
Shop piano methods on Sheet Music Plus
Did you used to play the piano? Would you like to play again? Aimed at returning players who have spent some time away from the keyboard, Play It Again: Piano by Melanie Spanswick gives you the confidence to revisit this fulfilling pastime and go beyond what you previously thought you could achieve. This book is designed to get your fingers speeding comfortably across the keys once again.
Continue reading ‘Play It Again: A New Piano Book Aimed at Returning Players’
Originally posted on In Tune: ECS Publishing Group Blog and News.
Galaxy Music recently welcomed the new Mix and Match performance method series from dynamic duo, Stephen Chatman and Tara Wohlberg. The series is designed as a rare, innovative mix-and-match complement to any standard piano method book. We sat down with composer Stephen Chatman to learn more about the vision behind Mix and Match.
Continue reading ‘New Piano Method Books from Stephen Chatman: Mix & Match’
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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