Succeeding at the Piano, Theory & Activity Book - Grade 1A (2nd Edition): Piano Book

This workbook respects your teaching time. The activities are short enough that students complete them without frustration, yet substantive enough that you'll see real reinforcement of the concepts they're encountering at the piano. The ear training games (Follow the Leader, Parrot Play) feel like play to students but train the listening habits that separate confident pianists from uncertain ones.

Completing these activities feels productive without being overwhelming. Students move through matching games and rhythm identification with momentum, punctuated by moments of genuine creative choice in the composing sections. The ear training games introduce a playful social dimension to what could otherwise feel like solitary practice.

This book works best for early elementary pianists working through Grade 1A material who benefit from reinforcement beyond their method book. It's equally valuable for independent study and studio settings, where shorter, focused exercises fit naturally between lessons.

• Use Follow the Leader and Parrot Play as warm-ups before lessons rather than homework. Students stay more engaged when these listening activities happen in real time with you.
• Have students compose their own simple melodies in the composition exercises before showing you theirs. The act of creating, not just completing a workbook, builds ownership of pitch relationships.
• Pair the interval naming activities with hand shapes on the keyboard. Naming C-E on the staff means nothing until the student feels that interval under their fingers.

Assign one or two activities per week aligned to whatever concepts you're introducing in the method book. This prevents the workbook from becoming a separate curriculum and instead makes it a natural companion that keeps students engaged during the week between lessons.

• Reading and naming notes on the staff
• Identifying intervals by sight and ear
• Recognizing rhythmic patterns through aural discrimination
• Basic composition with simple melodic shapes
• Active listening and musical memory through Follow the Leader and Parrot Play games