I remember being a new piano teacher in my early 20s.
What do I teach at the first lesson?
What books do I use?
How do I make it fun for the student and impress the parent?
What if I run out of things to do and there’s still time left in the lesson?!
I created these piano lesson plans to help guide new piano teachers to step into that first lesson feeling super confident and prepared!
I’m offering this piano lesson plan for free because it uses my own authored piano method books: Piano Skill Set. However, if you already know you’d like to use different books, I also have lesson plans for other commonly used piano methods and I’ll link those down below.
Materials List for Teaching with 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 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 Piano Skill Set Method Books?
For all of my 20s, I worked at music stores. I had access to all of the piano method books out there! For a new piano teacher who loved options and research, this was a dream come true! And I did find several method books (lesson books) that I liked and used over the years.
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 method series I was using.
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 – coming soon
- Level 1B – coming soon
- Level 2A – coming soon
- Level 2B – coming soon
- Level 3A – coming soon
- Level 3B – coming soon
To preview and learn more about Piano Skill Set books, check out PianoSkillSet.com.
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!
Piano Adventures, Wunderkeys, and More
If you have your heart set on using a different piano method series, I may still have lesson plans to help you out.
So far, I’ve created:
- Faber Piano Adventures Piano Lesson Plans
- WunderKeys Piano Lesson Plans
And I also have lesson plans that combine Piano Skill Set books with these series:
- Combo of Faber Piano Adventures Primer Lesson Book WITH my Piano Skill Set Pre-reading Writing, Technique, & Songbook
- Combo of Wunderkeys Primer A WITH my Piano Skill Set Pre-reading Writing, Technique, & Songbook
But I know there are a lot more piano method book series out there. While I don’t endeavor to create lesson plans for every single series, especially the ones I am less experienced using, I am open to your suggestions.
If there is a piano method series you would like Lesson Plans for, let me know by contacting me!
I can’t make any promises, but if I get enough requests from my followers, I will certainly create more in the future.
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!
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!
