Piano Method Books

I have had a few people ask me recently which method books I would recommend for beginning piano students - what do I like?  what do I use?  what do I teach my own kids out of?  So I've decided to write a little post about it.

I used to be a big Leila Fletcher/John Thompson fan.  I started Madi and Mac in these and they have managed to pick up the foundations well enough. I have never liked the Bastien or Alfred Series very much, and I find kids don't love them either.   But now I have discovered the Faber Piano Adventure Series.

Why did I not know about these before?




If you have a little one from about 4 to 6 years old, I would definitely start them in the My First Piano Adventure series.  Spencer and I have been doing this now for a week and he is so excited he can hardly stand it.  And who wouldn't be?  It comes with a CD so they can listen to all the little rhymes and songs they learn in lessons, a workbook with fun activities to reinforce the theory, and they present basic piano concepts to pre-readers in a colorful, bright, super fun way.  Even I have fun!



If you have an older beginner, go right into the Piano Adventures Series.  There is a primer that they would probably fly through pretty quick, but I just did my first lesson with Madison and Malcolm in Book 1 yesterday and for the first time in recorded history they were both laughing and bursting at the seams with the fun of piano lessons.  These books are great because they don't limit kids to playing 10 basic keys in the middle of the piano for the first year.  They range all over (play the highest/lowest note on the piano, pick any C to play this, etc.) which helps keep them from being stuck in one playing position.  Also, they get to use the pedal right away, which was a big draw for Mac who just couldn't wait to get his foot on it.  Plus, the songs are fresh and fun with funny words and the sound of the pieces fit the title and mood.  No dusty primer songs here!

So there's my recommendation.  Now remember, every kid is different.  Some don't want flash and fun.  I have one who is in Suzuki and probably will remain there forever because he is very methodical and technical.  But I made him take home the Older Beginner Piano Adventures Popular Book 1 (tings like Harry Potter and Star Wars) and choose a song last week - for fun!  Because it should be fun.  They need to love playing to keep playing.

For more information on this series, complete with videos and lesson ideas, follow this link:

http://pianoadventures.com/

First Fishing Trip of the Year

On the coast we spent our weekends at the beach catching crab.  Now we are back in Alberta so our fishing has reverted back to good ol' fashioned rod and reel fishing.  Dan took the kids out on the long weekend Monday and they all caught one.  I was shocked.  Fishing for me is usually sitting around for a very long time while catching pretty much nothing.  Everyone was so thrilled, but this is the only picture we got before the camera battery died...

Our First Visitors

On the long weekend we had our first visitors to our new place.  My mom and dad and brother came to see what's what here in the exciting town of High Prairie.  I was a little worried what we might find to do all weekend, and the weather was looking pretty iffy, but it turned out to be wonderful.  The sun came out and we spent a lot of time outside just exploring the area.  They don't call it the M.D. of Big Lakes for nothing!

Clayton and Grandpa lounging on the beach in the sun at Lesser Slave Lake

This isn't a very good picture, but I thought it was funny cause it looks like Madi has ears or something?

So it turns out there's lots to see here and a whole lot of places to camp and hang out at lakes.  We also found out our house really is big enough to comfortable have people come visit, just don't expect to sit on any great furniture (hee hee).  We are now officially welcoming any summer visitors who want to come and see what the great Canadian north is all about.  Just give us a call to reserve your room...

Pics Update

Just a few pictures to update what's been happening around here.  Good thing I've got this blog cause my journalling has become non-existant!  So here's what's been happening...

We went out to Winagami Lake a few weeks ago and the lake was still frozen over (in May!). 

Here we are playing on the boat docks (I guess we miss the ocean so we take what we can get!)  But the next picture is what they are fishing out of this lake....

Great big ice chunks that actually looked pretty cool.  Everyone wanted a picture of theirs, but this 'castle' was the winner.  This pic doesn't do it justice.  In the sunlight it sparkled like a real crystal fortress.

On our walk we found a tree that had been hit by lightning and split in two...

Then we watched the ducks and geese through the binoculars.

And, finally, the beginnings of a real piano studio.  Each student is adding their ideas for how they can stay engaged in music outside of piano lessons, then hanging their fish on our fishing lines.

Funny, yet amazing, classical performance

This is a video I embedded on my piano website for my students to listen to this week.  They are assigned to notice how one piece of music can be played in many different forms, thus changing it's mood and sound, but you can just enjoy.  This is a group from Spain called PaGAGnini (a play on Paganini) and not only are they funny but extremely talented.  Take 10 minutes and have a giggle while enjoying a fine rendition of Pachelbel's Canon in D.

Freedom!

No one ever tells you how truly awesome it feels to reach this stage.

Our kids are now all old enough that we can all go for a bike ride together.

No complaining, no tired legs, no one that can't keep up.

Yesterday we rode for almost two hours.

So much fun!

Valuable Lessons Everywhere...

My family and I stay connected playing this little game "Words with Friends" on our various tablets and phones.  I have a game going with each of them and I generally add a word or two, or three, every day.  Dan likes to laugh at me and try to compare it to the time they spend on the Wii.  My addiction he says...

But I would like to point out the educational benefits of this game.  I am learning words and what they mean more than I ever did in school.  The beauty of this game is you can just throw some letters on the board and try your luck with submitting them.  It will let you know if you have a real word.  And sometimes this pays off in a big way.

Take, for instance, the word I played this morning (for 57 points, may I add): 

VATU

Ever hear of it?  Me neither.  It was just a desperate attempt to use a V and a U before the game runs out.  But here comes the learning...

When I end up with a word it accepts and I don't know, I like to look it up.  (My sis used the word qoph.  Turns out it is the 19th letter in the Hebrew alphabet.  Who knew?)

But I digress.  Vatu is apparently the national currency for the island of Vanuatu.

I thought for a moment that was a made up place from literature or something.  Kinda sounds Fantasy Fiction worthy, right?  Turns out it's in the South Pacific  near Fiji and the Solomon Islands.

Turns out I don't know much geography in my own world.

So here's to those great little time wasters that turn out to be fairly educational after all...