Premier Piano Course, Lesson 6: Piano Book & CD

Level 6 strikes an excellent balance between teaching harmonic sophistication and keeping students engaged with music they enjoy. The ii-V7-I progression and diminished triads arrive alongside Romantic and Contemporary masterworks rather than in isolation, grounding theory in repertoire students actually play. The dual-tempo CD recordings make this book self-teaching friendly while still giving you full control over how students approach each piece.

This collection moves fluidly between moods. You'll shift from the lyricism of ballads to the rhythmic complexity of pieces that ask you to think in multiple meters simultaneously, then settle into the approachable warmth of familiar melodies recast in jazz or contemporary colors. The stylistic variety keeps practice engaging without sacrificing musical substance.

Level 6 students ready to engage with harmonic language beyond basic triads and comfortable navigating multiple keys. These pianists benefit from guided exposure to Romantic and Contemporary idioms alongside jazz styles and folk arrangements, making the book ideal for students aiming toward intermediate performance repertoire.

• Listen to both the performance and practice tempos on the CD to understand the full interpretive arc before diving into technical work.
• Isolate the ii-V7-I progressions in pieces that feature them; play each chord slowly, then gradually increase tempo until the progression becomes muscle memory.
• When switching between meters within a piece, tap or count through the transition first without the piano to lock the new pulse into your body.
• Record yourself playing the lyrical ballads and compare your phrasing to the CD version; notice where the recording breathes and shapes phrases.

Use this book as your primary curriculum for Level 6 study; its breadth across genres and harmonic concepts prepares students for upper-level repertoire without requiring supplementary materials. The mixed-meter focus makes it especially valuable if you're preparing students for performance in contemporary chamber or solo contexts where metric flexibility matters.

• Reading and performing in mixed meters (combinations of 2/4, 3/4, 4/4)
• Understanding and playing ii-V7-I chord progressions
• Recognizing diminished triads and using them idiomatically
• Expanding tonal range through additional scales and keys
• Stylistic interpretation of Romantic and Contemporary music
• Improvisation and comping in jazz contexts
• Maintaining rhythmic independence and phrasing across genre shifts