Are you a Piano Adventures teacher looking to expand or replace some of your usual piano method books? Curious about alternative theory or technique books for beginners?
In this article, I’ll explore one method book combination that has worked for me: combining Piano Adventures with Piano Skill Set.
Written as a resource for new piano teachers, or piano teachers looking to try out this method combo with a new student, I’ll cover:
- A list of books and materials needed to successfully teach a beginning piano student using these methods
- A short intro to Piano Adventures and Piano Skill Set
- Additional resources available to you
Materials List for Teaching with Piano Adventures and Piano Skill Set
This list assumes a couple of things (that we’ll discuss more later on). We’re assuming you’re teaching a brand new beginner, age 6-10, and using Faber Piano Adventures Primer Level Lesson book in combination with the Piano Skill Set Pre-reading Level books. So if that fits your situation…
Here is Your List of Materials to Order:
- Books!
- Digital Piano, Keyboard, or Acoustic Piano (duh!)
- Metronome or metronome app
- Printer or access to a printer to get started (you’ll want one eventually)
- Sticky Notes to mark pages (2″x2″ work best)
- Set of dice (you can get by with just one)
- Stickers to mark completed pages
And a couple of additional optional items:
- First Lesson Interview Sheet – a great way to get to know your student at the first lesson, especially if you’re doing a trial lesson
- Colored pens or a set of markers to mark pages
Why Use Faber Piano Adventures?
Faber Piano Adventures is the most popular piano method book series in the U.S. It has been a teacher go-to for decades, and for good reason.
In my experience (20+ years of teaching piano), I haven’t found another method book series that matches its balance between covering the fundamentals and making it fun for the student, while also keeping the perfect pace for most students and making it easy for a piano teacher to teach.
For a brand new piano teacher, this series would be my number one recommendation, for a main Lesson book.
You can read more about the Faber Piano Adventures series in my full review here: Faber Piano Adventures Review [article/video]
Why Add Piano Skill Set Method Books?
About a decade into teaching, I started to really explore other possibilities for piano method series that could replace or combine with Piano Adventures. I liked Piano Adventures, but I wanted to know what was out there!
Honestly, that’s how my whole “piano method review” journey began! Curiousity and a lot of money spent brought me to discover some pretty cool resources out there for piano teachers.
However, I noticed that I couldn’t quite find the exact theory (writing workbook) book that I wanted for my students and I didn’t love the Theory books that accompany the Piano Adventures series.
Same with Technique books.
So, I created my own series!
Piano Skill Set is a supplemental series of books designed to compliment any method book. They cover everything a student needs (hence the “skill” in the title), they review a lot, they have games, they are fun and colorful and inviting.
Piano Skill Set books come in three categories:
- Writing Books (theory workbooks + games + review)
- Technique Books (perfectly correlate with Writing books and include games and mastery pages as well)
- Songbooks (fun complimentary short songs that help the student prove their mastery of each skill)
Piano Skill Set is available (or will be available) in these levels:
- Pre-reading (the beginner level we’ll be using with Piano Adventures Primer Lesson book)
- Primer (matches up with the end of the Piano Adventures Primer level books)
- Level 1A
- Level 1B
- Level 2A
- Level 2B
- Level 3A
- Level 3B
To preview and learn more about Piano Skill Set books, check out PianoSkillSet.com.
Choosing the Right Piano Method Books
Not totally sold on using Faber Piano Adventures with your piano students?
I get it. Choosing a piano method book series is a big decision!
First of all, know that you can always start with Piano Adventures and Piano Skill Set, and experiment with other series later on. This combination is a solid starting point!
But if you would like to do more research of your own, here are some helpful resources for you:
- Choosing the Right Method / My Top 3 Picks [article/videos] – This looong post will walk you through my categories for comparing different piano methods, and highlight my favorite three series for beginners. Lots of info on this page! Plus links to two YouTube videos to explore.
- Faber Piano Adventures Review [article/video] – My full review of the books linked above. Walk through an overview of all levels of this series to see if you like it.
- The Ultimate Piano Method Comparison Chart [free download] – If you want to explore more series, check out this two-page chart of 20 different methods. It’s a great list to keep handy for further research.
- Other Piano Method Reviews – I’ve done many method reviews both on this blog and on my YouTube channel. Here’s a list…
- If you like to READ:
- Faber Piano Adventures Review Article
- My First Piano Adventure Review Article
- Adult Piano Adventures Review Article
- Alfred’s Premier Piano Course Review Article
- WunderKeys Review Article
- WunderKeys Preschool Review Article
- WunderKeys Supplemental Books Review Article
- Piano Made Fun for the Young Review Article
- Piano Safari Review Article
- Piano Safari for Older Students Review Article
- Piano Pronto Review Article
- If you like to WATCH:
- Faber Piano Adventures Review on YouTube
- My First Piano Adventure Review on YouTube
- Accelerated Piano Adventures Review on YouTube
- Adult Piano Adventures Review on YouTube
- Alfred’s Premier Piano Course Review on YouTube
- WunderKeys Review on YouTube
- WunderKeys Preschool Review on YouTube
- WunderKeys Supplemental Books Review on YouTube
- Piano Made Fun for the Young Review on YouTube
- Piano Safari Review on YouTube
- Piano Safari for Older Students Review on YouTube
- Piano Pronto Review on YouTube
- If you like to READ:
What About My Piano Studio Setup?
While our list does include a piano and a printer, we aren’t requiring too much for your studio setup to get started. Of course, eventually you’ll want to create a more ideal studio space. But I recommend starting with what you have and building as you teach. You’ll learn what’s important for a successful and inviting studio space, and what isn’t so vital.
For more information about setting up your studio on a budget, check out this article: How Much Does it Cost to Start a Piano Studio?
And What About the Business Side of Things?
Great question. There are so many things tied to the behind-the-scenes of running a successful piano teaching studio.
I recommend starting with my 30-day Email Challenge “Start Your Studio” which will walk you through twelve actionable steps to set up your business on the back end.
Once you’ve completed those tasks, if you still want guidance, read on. I’ve got a couple of resources that can really makes things run smoothly in these first few months!
Piano Lesson Plans Done For You
For a done-for-you outline of how your first six weeks of teaching a new piano student should look like (we’re talking minute-to-minute, task lists, suggested materials…), I have a pack for sale that will give you everything you need to feel confident going into that first lesson with your new student!
New Piano Teacher Survival Kit
And for the ultimate in guidance for new piano teachers, I recommend investing in my Complete Piano Teacher Kit. This comprehensive tool kit includes the Lesson Plans mentioned above, along with all the printables and templates you’ll need. This kit will answer all of your questions before you even know you have them!
