Premier Piano Course

Teachers keep coming back to Dennis Alexander's core method books: Premier Piano Course, Lesson 1A and Theory 1A are the collection's strongest sellers, followed by the Lesson 1B and Theory 1B volumes. The Performance 1A and 1B books, also by Alexander, give students appealing repertoire to work toward as they master fundamentals. Carol Matz's Sight Reading 1A is another solid choice for building reading fluency early on.

Dennis Alexander has over 400 publications to his name and brings decades of experience teaching piano pedagogy at the University of Montana. His method books in this collection set the standard for how the course progresses, and his prolific output has made him one of the world's most recognized composers of educational piano music.

Victoria McArthur, who directed piano pedagogy at Florida State University, is one of the co-authors behind the Premier Piano Course itself. Her dual role as a leading pedagogue and longtime keyboard editor at Alfred gives her work both classroom authority and editorial polish.

Gayle Kowalchyk and E. L. Lancaster bring similar credentials to the table: both are piano pedagogy specialists with university teaching backgrounds and significant contributions to this method series. Their combined experience in group piano instruction and curriculum design shapes how students move through each level.

Martha Mier rounds out the standout voices with 119 titles in the collection. Her international reputation for writing engaging, accessible piano music for all levels means students will encounter her work across multiple volumes and difficulty ranges throughout the course.