Music by Me, Book Two: Late Elementary Piano Book

Book Two balances structure with genuine creative freedom in ways that keep late elementary students engaged without overwhelming them. The four-part framework in each unit (Tool, Explore, Improvise, Compose) models real compositional thinking while the playful unit titles like "Breakfast Food Rhythms" and "Dominant Detective" make what could be dry theory feel like discovery.

Playful and purposeful at once. The lighthearted scenarios and humorous touches create permission for mistakes and exploration, while the underlying pedagogy ensures students are building real harmonic, rhythmic, and structural understanding with every improvisation and composition they create.

Students working at late elementary level who are ready to think beyond note-reading and begin understanding how music actually gets made. This book works for private studio teachers and classroom settings where you want students composing confidently alongside their technique work.

• Start each unit's Tool of the Trade section as a focused warm-up before moving into exploration. This gives students solid ground before they improvise or compose.
• Encourage students to play their compositions back for the studio or at lesson showcases. Hearing their own ideas in real time builds ownership and confidence.
• Use the seven-unit structure as a curriculum map for the year. Spacing them out gives students time to absorb each concept before the next unit begins.
• Let improvisation feel messy and experimental in the moment. The best learning happens when students aren't worried about "getting it right."

This works beautifully as a foundational text for a full year of late elementary study, especially if you want composition and improvisation woven throughout rather than treated as occasional add-ons. You can also pull individual units to target specific concepts your students need to strengthen.

• Rhythmic notation and rhythm reading across multiple meters
• Melodic construction and phrasing
• Harmonic thinking and chord function (including dominant chords)
• Bass patterns and left-hand accompaniment
• Musical form recognition and application
• Improvisation within specified harmonic and rhythmic frameworks
• Original composition in various musical styles