Playing With Colour: Book 1: Piano Book

Colourful and approachable, with a methodical pace that respects the beginner's perspective. The illustrations and numbered staves create a friendly learning environment where reading music feels like a natural extension of playing, not an obstacle.

This book serves students beginning their first year of piano study who benefit from visual reinforcement and a structured, sequential approach to notation. It's also suited for adult beginners or students returning to piano after a break who want a clear, accessible entry point into music reading.

• Use the coloured staves as a visual anchor during the first weeks. Point to the colours as you play, reinforcing the connection between hand position, staff placement, and sound.
• Play the graphic hand illustrations aloud before opening the book. Have students trace their fingers over the diagrams to internalize left-hand and right-hand patterns before reading the staff.
• Return to earlier pieces once new concepts are introduced. Revisiting familiar melodies with newly learned rhythms or theory elements builds confidence and reinforces concepts without feeling like repetition.

Use this as the primary early-elementary piano method book in your studio or classroom, progressing through it sequentially over the first year of instruction. The embedded exercises mean students develop sight-reading and ear training skills organically without requiring supplementary materials.

• Reading coloured notation and transitioning to standard staff notation
• Hand position and finger independence between left and right hands
• Rhythm recognition through graphic and numbered staff presentation
• Basic ear training through improvisation and listening exercises
• Sight-reading fluency in early-elementary keys and meters