Since the publication of the first Piano Adventures books by Nancy and Randall Faber in 1988, 200 piano books have gone on to be published, with approximately 30 million books being sold. Today the series continues to build upon its reputation as one of the best piano method books, as well as becoming one of the biggest selling in the world.
Top selling publications from the Piano Adventures series are the Method Books, which teach technique, theory and performance. There are four different levels of method books that are all age related: My First Piano Adventures, Piano Adventures, Accelerated Piano Adventures and Adult Piano Adventures.
For the youngest students there are the My First Piano Adventure books, aimed at children aged between 5 and 6 years old. There are three Lesson books, three Writing (activity) books as well as three Christmas books in the My First Piano Adventure series at levels A, B and C. They are beautifully presented, in full colour and all the Lesson books come with a CD. To support the teaching process even further you can find lots of free on-line videos, recordings and lesson plans relating to this series at www.pianoadventures.com/myfirst.
After completing Book C of My First Piano Adventures, students are ready to move on to Level 1 of Piano Adventures, skipping the Primer Level.
For students aged roughly between 6 and 11 years old, there are the main piano method books. Within this series of books there are five Levels with Levels 2 and 3 being split into two parts each (2A and 2B, 3A and 3B). These books will help take the student from a pre-Grade 1 level, right through to Grade 5. The Primer, Level 1 and complete Level 2 books have all been anglicised, with the Levels 3 to 5 following in the near future.
There are two main books per level, the Lesson & Theory book (available with or without CD), and its essential companion book, the Technique & Performance book. Both books offer a complete pedagogy for learning the piano that includes technical skills and musical expression, in a wide range of different styles.
For students aged between 11 and 17, the Accelerated Piano Adventures course is ideal. There are just two books in this series; Lesson Book 1 (covering the Primer and Level 1 of the main Piano Adventures series) and Lesson Book 2 (that covers the skills and concepts introduced in Levels 2A and 2B Piano Adventures books). On completion of Book 2, the student is ready for Level 3A of Piano Adventures. Apart from the Lesson Books at both levels, there are also other separate books that cover other elements of learning the piano – Theory, Technique & Artistry, Performance and Repertoire.
Finally, there is the Adult Piano Adventures series. Once again there are just two books; Lesson Book 1 and Lesson Book 2, with both being ‘all-in-one’ books – available with or without CDs. On completion of Lesson Book 2, the student will be ready for Level 3B of Piano Adventures.
The Piano Adventures series also includes additional repertoire books including: PreTime (Primer Level), PlayTime (Level 1), ShowTime (Level 2A), ChordTime (Level 2B) , FunTime (Level 3A and 3B), BigTime (Level 4) and the AdvanceTime series (Level 5).
The books mentioned in this article can be found on musicroom.com and in musicroom stores.
EVENT
On Saturday 7th March 2015, join Musicroom Bristol as they explore the new All-in-Two editions of Piano Adventures.
This workshop is FREE to attend and will be taking place from 10:00am till 1:00pm. The session will be hosted by Hal Leonard representative and Piano Adventures expert, Philippa Topham, making this an ideal opportunity for music teachers and educators to understand the benefits and advantages of the Piano Adventures series.
Phillippa will present and explain this innovative and exciting method series, which is currently enjoying a fantastic response from teachers and students around the world, helping students to discover new resources that will help all ages to develop their playing.
To book your place at the workshop, please telephone Musicroom Bristol on 01179 290 390 or email bristol@musicroom.com, confirming your name and contact details.