Piano Camp, Primer: Piano Book

Montgomery has distilled two decades of studio and classroom experience into a structured, purposeful approach to group piano instruction. The inclusion of scheduling guidance and sample session plans removes the guesswork from camp design, while the five themed units give teachers a ready-made progression that covers all essential foundations without requiring extensive prep work.

Structured yet playful, with clear learning objectives balanced by group games that keep energy up across a full session. Students move from focused skill work to collaborative exploration, building confidence through variety rather than repetition.

Piano teachers organizing group instruction for early elementary pianists (Levels 1A through 3) who want a complete, pacing-tested curriculum for a camp format. This resource works equally well for studio teachers new to group piano or for music specialists running school-based programs.

• Use the group games strategically between skill-focused units to refresh engagement; they're designed as incentives, not downtime.
• Rotate students through different stations during a two-hour session so each unit receives attention without fatigue.
• Anchor ear training to the note reading and intervals work so students connect sound recognition to written symbols in real time.
• Post the composer page visually during that section so students can discuss the musician while their hands stay at the keyboard.

Deploy this during a summer piano camp, a Saturday morning group class series, or a school-based enrichment block. The modular unit design means you can run one two-hour camp session or adapt it across several weeks of instruction depending on your schedule.

• Reading ledger lines and note positions across the grand staff
• Identifying and playing intervals by sight and ear
• Recognizing and performing different note values and rhythm patterns
• Understanding music symbols, terms, and notation conventions
• Sight reading at the early level with accuracy and flow
• Ear training through interval and rhythm dictation activities