Succeeding at the Piano, Theory and Activity Book - Grade 3: Piano Book

Purposeful and playful. Students feel like musicians solving puzzles rather than students completing assignments.

Grade 3 piano students working through their first year or two of formal instruction. Works best for students who respond to variety and hands-on reinforcement rather than straight method-book playing.

• Rotate through the activity types within a single lesson to maintain momentum; students disengage quickly when worksheets dominate.
• Use the ear training sections as warm-ups before technique work so students arrive at scales and exercises with sharper listening skills.
• Have students complete the matching and fill-in-the-blank games in pairs so they teach concepts to each other rather than passively completing them.

Assign one section per week as take-home reinforcement alongside your primary method book. The composition activities make good showcases for end-of-month student recitals, where original pieces sit naturally alongside transcribed repertoire.

• Internalizing rhythm through counting and repetition
• Music symbol and terminology recognition
• Ear training and listening discrimination
• Basic composition and musical decision-making
• Music notation reading across different contexts