Accelerando, Book 7: Late Intermediate (all ages) Piano Book

Book 7 strikes a careful balance between ambition and achievability. The five-part structure (melodic scales, accompaniments, octaves/chords, combination studies, specialized skills) means every student gets exactly what they need without wasting time on material they've already mastered. Teachers report that students progress faster through this book than through collections that lack this kind of intentional organization.

Working through Book 7 feels like gaining independence. The studies no longer hold your hand; they ask you to synthesize what you've learned and apply it in new combinations. There's real satisfaction in executing a clean finger substitution or bridging across a wide interval, and the ornaments start to feel musical rather than technical.

Late intermediate pianists of any age who are ready to tackle relative major and minor key signatures, ornaments, and more complex accompaniment patterns. This book works equally well for teenagers progressing through a traditional curriculum and adults returning to piano after time away.

• Isolate the ornament studies before attempting them in context. Students often rush through trills and turns when they appear inside larger phrases; running them as separate exercises first builds the muscle memory needed to execute them cleanly.
• Apply the circle of 5ths reference strategically during scale figure work. Having the diagram visible during practice sessions helps students internalize key relationships rather than memorizing finger patterns mechanically.
• Anchor the waltz bass patterns with deliberate left-hand weight distribution. Late intermediate students often play these figures too lightly; encouraging them to think of the bass note as the downbeat anchor transforms the accompaniment from accompaniment from accompaniment from accompaniment.

Assign Book 7 studies as the technical spine of your studio's curriculum during the winter and spring months when students have time to dig deeper. These materials also work well as supplementary technique work for ensemble members preparing for solo festivals, giving them focused training on specific technical challenges without requiring separate method book switching.

• Reading and executing scale figures through relative major and minor keys with up to 5 sharps and flats
• Playing waltz bass and patterned accompaniments with rhythmic clarity and independence
• Executing ornaments (trills, turns, mordents) cleanly and musically
• Finger substitution technique for legato passages
• Playing 2-against-3 rhythmic figures with independence between hands
• Managing octave slurs across 4-5 octave spans
• Bridging interval gaps (particularly 10ths) through finger planning and hand position shifts
• Legato 6th intervals and repeated-note figures with consistent tone