Piano Adventures - Lesson Book - Primer Level

I am a piano teacher and I grew up playing the Alfred series. When I started teaching, I used the Alfred series. As I expanded my knowledge of resources out there, I came across this book. In comparison to the Alfred Level 1A book, this one works much better for young beginners. The introduction of notes on the staff is gradual and gives students a chance to absorb 1-3 notes at a time before introducing others (the Alfred book shows all 5 notes in C Position at once and only gives you 1 song for each hand before students are expected to read the grand staff with 5 notes on each staff. For many young beginners, this is overwhelming and they end up struggling with note reading). This book also emphasizes the difference between steps and skips - while you come across a couple 5ths here and there, they are not formally labeled as 5ths. This allows students the chance to get comfortable understanding the staff and the difference between steps and skips before overwhelming them with intervals galore. The first half(ish) of the book is all pre-reading - no staff, just lettered notes and rhythms. I love having the option to use all these pages for younger beginners who need more time to understand the connections between rhythm, the letters of the keys, and their hands. However, for fast learners or some 8-9 year old beginners, we skip some of these songs. Lastly, there are many teacher duets in this book, which are great for (1) spicing up some otherwise bland songs (what can you expect when you only know 2 notes?), (2) helping kids develop their sense of rhythm (we have to count together to stay together!), and (3) allowing beginners to have fun. Almost all my students love playing duets. My students do better when they start with this book rather than the Alfred 1A book. If you have an older beginner, or one with some experience reading music, this book will probably be too easy for them and they'll race right through. But for beginning kids 8-9 and younger, this works like a charm.

I have used this book with about seven of my students so far, and I LOVE IT! I use it in conjunction with the theory book (I do not use the technique and artistry book or the performance book but they are available) and I really like how the things they learn in the music is what they are also learning in their theory book. I try to reinforce even further during the lesson with a game, and they almost always remember what we've learned. The way they introduce a single note at a time is really great for young learners, and it gives them time to remember and digest that note before learning something new. My younger students a lot of times remember note names better than my older students! The other great thing about this book, though, is that while they learn and use finger numbers to find hand positions and occasionally guide them throughout the song, they really are reading by note name as well as steps and skips (2nd and 3rd intervals) rather than just reading finger numbers. I also love that this book teaches steps and skips and focuses on it just as much as note name. It gives my students two dynamics to learn a song by, and together they make a really strong playing student. This book starts by teaching finger numbers and pre-reading songs off the staff, and then slowly transitions to the staff one note at a time, so I have only used it with younger students (Kindergarten-3rd grade). But if you have an older student with a handicap or who prefers to learn more slowly, I would definitely recommend this book. My students come away with an in-depth knowledge of everything they have learned. I couldn't be happier with this book!

Perfect beginner book!

I ordered this lesson book, along with the Primer Level Technique and Artistry, Theory, Writing Book, Performance and Popular Repertoire books for my five and six year olds, to start them out on the piano. I am teaching them myself and decided on this curriculum because of its great reviews. I am enormously pleased that I did. Within the first few lessons my children were playing songs independently on the piano, and when I play the teacher's accompaniment along with them, and sing along with the provided lyrics, my kids feel like accomplished musicians. They are proud of themselves and eager to learn more. I really like how this curriculum is set up to teach musicianship in a holistic sense, right from the start. The first few lessons get them acquainted with the patterns on the keyboard, and exploring the different sounds it can make. The first ten pages or so have the students playing exclusively on the black keys, which are easier for the children to identify (they are not expected to know the names of the notes at first; once they know the number of each finger and LH/RH, a picture is provided to help them find the right positions, and they are only expected to use two or three fingers on each hand). The only tricky part about this is that I had to play the teacher's accompaniment in keys with five or six flats, which I haven't done in more years than I care to say, so sometimes I was the one making all the mistakes. But the kids flew right through those lessons and mastered them easily. They are next introduced to the names of the white keys, and it is not until half way through the book that they are introduced to reading music on staffs. I use the Lesson Book as my primary resource, but include the similar-skill pages from the other books I purchased to enhance their learning. My kids love the written activities that support their work on the keyboard, which are appropriate and fun for kids this age. I really appreciate how musicianship skills are incorporated right from the beginning: we are only a third of the way through the Primer Level, and my kids already have a musical vocabulary that includes piano (soft), forte (loud), quarter note, half note, whole note, repeat sign. There are exercises that teach sight reading, ear training, dexterity and strength training, and even composition. My kids feel empowered by the skills they are learning through this curriculum and I am confident they are getting a solid introduction to musicianship in general, not just piano playing. This curriculum gets five stars from me.

The three goals of the book: learn finger numbers, learn to find notes on piano, learn beginning notation. It starts with finger number exercises on black keys, and simple songs that kids can do easily with a little guidance. I find I have to remind students to remember to look at the page, as it is easy to memorize the pattern and never meet the goal of connecting the numbers to the fingers mentally. Next, it introduces notes on the keys by working with the two sets of keys: C, D, E, first; then F, G, A, B second. That approach seems sensible and effective. The letter names appear in the note-heads, as quarter note and half note rhythms are introduced. Finally, we start putting notes on the staff. This is where some students struggle. Notation does seem to be a hurdle for some kids. We teachers can use additional aids to help with learning/connecting the staff to the keyboard. I recommend this book for young learners. Older students may benefit as well, but they'll need to move pretty quickly through it, so they don't get bored or annoyed by the whimsical kid-oriented drawings.

This is a consistently good piano method that always produces excellent results: students who can read music and enjoy what they play. However, it is a little slow paced for my taste. I prefer Celebrate Piano 1A. I find its music a little more engaging. But in truth, I use both in my studio.

This book is great for piano students. It starts out just playing different patterns on the piano, and every unit adds on something new. One of the things that I like the most about these books is that they do not focus only on "Middle C" placement for the fingers. Changing which fingers are playing which notes prevents the student from associating a finger number with one note (i.e. Middle C is always 1, Treble G is always 5, etc). Unit 1: Intro: Students learn finger numbers, and play "songs" and games using all the white keys, then all the black keys. There are also optional improvisation pieces to do with the teacher. Unit 2: Rhythms: Starts teaching rhythm - quarter, half, and whole notes. After introducing a new rhythm, there are a few songs to play before learning the next one. Unit 3: Note Names: Students learn the musical alphabet broken up into CDE, FGAB, and CDEFG. Unit 4: The Staff: Students learn lines and spaces, clefs, Middle C, Treble G, and Bass F. These are very simple songs meant to reinforce each note as it is introduced. Unit 5: CDEFG with the RH. Unit 6: CBAGF with the LH. Unit 7: Skips: Line to line skips, space to space skips. Lots of review! Unit 8: Bass Notes CDEFG with the LH Unit 9: The Tie Unit 10: The Quarter Rest This is a great book to use alone, but there are books to use that add to each lesson as well: Technique & Artistry, Theory, Performance, and Sight Reading. If you use all of these books together to teach students, they will have full lessons with lots of review, reinforcement, and better understanding of what they are learning and reading.

I like these books for young kids to learn.

This Faber Piano Adventures primer level lesson book is a fantastic resource for anyone starting their musical journey; the layout is clear, and the pieces are genuinely engaging and fun to play. I love how it introduces concepts like rhythm and note reading in a way that feels natural and not overwhelming; the illustrations are charming and help keep younger students motivated. It's well-paced and provides a solid foundation for more advanced study; I've seen great progress in just a few weeks of consistent use. Whether you're a teacher or a self-learner, this book is an absolute must-have for the primer level; it's a high-quality educational tool that I highly recommend.

Book Is good for starters

Bought for my 7 year old daughter who has been learning to play the keyboard/piano for a few years now and this was a book which her teacher recommended so that she can progress further with the piano. I would recommend this product.

As described. Very helpful for kids.

Me gusta que es muy progresivo y me gustaria que los dibujos o ilustraciones no estuvieran coloreadas, para algunos niños pequeños la experiencia de colorear sus dibujos es sumamente reconfortante y los motiva mucho.