John W. Schaum Piano Course, C: The Purple Book: Piano Book

The Schaum method endures because it respects the student's intelligence while meeting them exactly where they are. This newly revised edition preserves what made the original work—logical progression, clean pedagogy, accessible repertoire—while the fresh engraving, color highlighting, and updated song choices make these pages inviting to open. Your students will move through this book with genuine momentum.

Pages of this book feel purposeful and uncluttered. The full-color illustrations and strategic highlighting create visual interest without distraction, while the repertoire ranges from familiar melodies to original pieces designed to build specific technical and musical skills at a steady, confidence-building pace.

This book serves Grade 2 piano students in private lessons or group settings who are building beyond basics and ready for longer pieces and more complex rhythmic patterns. It works equally well for students learning through traditional private instruction or school music programs seeking a structured, proven curriculum.

• Work through the color-highlighted concepts first before playing through each piece; these visual cues anchor the learning target and prevent mindless note-reading.
• Establish a steady practice routine using the book's carefully ordered progression; skipping around undermines the cumulative skill-building by design.
• Encourage students to play the pieces expressively, even the early ones; the Schaum repertoire rewards musical phrasing, not mechanical accuracy alone.

Position this as the core method book for your Grade 2 private students or as part of a structured keyboard curriculum in a school setting. Its 48-page scope works well for a full academic year of consistent weekly lessons, with the progressive design allowing you to assign 1-2 pages per week and move at your student's actual pace without forcing ahead.

• Reading notes in treble clef with expanding range
• Understanding key signatures and major scales
• Rhythmic accuracy in simple and compound meters
• Hand position, finger independence, and basic technique
• Phrasing and musical expression at the elementary level
• Sight-reading confidence through consistent, scaffolded repertoire