Music by Me, Book Five: Intermediate Piano Book

This book refuses to treat composition and analysis as separate from technique. By threading creative work through every unit, asking students to compose after exploring a concept, then scanning scores to see how professionals handled the same challenge, Olson builds musicians who understand that all the "rules" they learn are tools invented by real people for real purposes.

Discovery-driven and intellectually engaging. Each unit unfolds like a mini-masterclass where students become investigators, discovering how composers solve musical problems and then testing those solutions in their own work.

Intermediate pianists ready to understand the architecture of music rather than just execute it. Students in this book are typically comfortable with solid technique and can handle theoretical concepts; they benefit most from teachers who want to cultivate independent musical thinking alongside performance skills.

• Start each unit with the Tools of the Trade section before students touch the keyboard; understanding the concept first prevents them from fumbling through the exploratory exercises.
• Have students play through the Scanning the Score examples multiple times, tracking how the featured musical element functions in context rather than isolating it as an abstract idea.
• Set aside dedicated time for the Compose Your Own sections rather than treating them as homework afterthoughts; peer sharing of student compositions transforms these moments from exercises into genuine creative experiences.
• Encourage students to listen to professional recordings of pieces that use the unit's focus (modulation, altered chords, compound meter) so they hear the expressive potential before composing their own versions.

Weave individual units into your regular lesson sequence rather than treating the book as a separate workbook. When your student is learning a piece in E-flat major, that's when the transposition unit hits hardest; when they encounter a modulation in their repertoire, Scanning the Score becomes concrete rather than theoretical.

• Reading and writing compound meters (6/8, 9/8, 12/8)
• Transposing melodies and chord progressions to new keys
• Identifying and voicing altered chords (borrowed chords, diminished sevenths, augmented sixths)
• Recognizing and composing modulations between related and distant keys
• Analyzing extended musical forms beyond simple binary and ternary
• Manipulating rhythmic patterns systematically (augmentation, diminution, syncopation)
• Connecting harmonic theory to creative composition