Accelerando, Book 5: Early Intermediate (all ages) Piano Book

Book 5 strikes the balance that early intermediate teachers desperately need: it introduces genuinely new technical challenges (16th notes, triad inversions, double thirds) without abandoning the motivational design that made earlier books work. The inclusion of transposition studies with relative major/minor keys means students grasp harmonic relationships through doing, not explaining.

The studies feel purposeful rather than tedious. They're constructed so that the technical challenge becomes musical almost immediately; students discover that mastering a dotted rhythm or inverted triad isn't separate from making music, it's the foundation of it.

Early intermediate pianists of any age working toward solid fundamentals and greater technical facility. This book serves students ready to move beyond basic five-finger patterns but still building the muscle memory and theoretical understanding required for more complex repertoire.

• Approach the 16th note studies methodically by isolating them at slow tempos first; the metronome work integrated throughout the book is designed for this, so use it before attempting tempo.
• When tackling double thirds, ensure students understand the hand position and interval stability required before layering in speed; rushing past the foundational work undermines the study's purpose.
• Let the circle of fifths diagram and transposition chart be active tools, not references. Have students map out the key relationships before diving into each transposition study.
• Black key studies benefit from marking hand position landmarks on the keyboard itself; this builds the spatial awareness that transfers to faster technical passages.

Use this as your primary technical foundation book during the early intermediate year, working through it systematically alongside performance repertoire. The studies work best when paced across the full year rather than rushed; a student finishing Book 5 in spring is well-positioned to tackle intermediate-level sonatas and classical etudes by fall.

• Reading and executing 16th note rhythms in various metrical contexts
• Playing scale figures that extend into two sharps and two flats with fluency
• Building and inverting triads across the keyboard
• Performing black key passage work with consistent tone and speed
• Transposing material between relative major and minor keys
• Expanding broken octave patterns with control and evenness
• Executing double thirds with proper hand alignment and independence
• Using the metronome as a practice tool for incremental tempo building