Succeeding with the Masters®, Baroque Era, Student Activity Book, Volume One: Piano Book

This activity book transforms passive listening into active learning. Rather than assigning isolated history worksheets, students connect composers' biographical details to the actual music they're playing, deepening retention and musical understanding in the process.

Exploration rather than instruction. Students move through stories, games, and creative tasks that feel like discovery, discovering why these composers mattered and what made their music distinctive.

This activity book is designed for piano students working through the Succeeding with the Masters Baroque Era Volume One Performance Book. It works equally well in group piano classes, private studios, and homeschool settings where teachers want to build music history knowledge alongside technical study.

• Assign listening activities before students encounter those same pieces in the Performance Book so they develop expectations and curiosity about what they'll be playing.
• Use the drawing and creative writing prompts as reflection assignments after rehearsal to deepen musical understanding without adding practice time.
• Have students share puzzle solutions and story completions aloud to create peer accountability and generate classroom discussion about stylistic features.
• Coordinate activity timing with your concert programming so students have fresh context for pieces they're preparing.

Use these activities as weekly assignments that correspond to the pieces students are learning from the performance book. The combination of stories, games, and creative tasks sustains engagement over a full unit of Baroque study, making the era feel alive rather than distant.

• Understanding Baroque period history and context
• Connecting composer biographies to musical style
• Active listening and score awareness
• Music notation and terminology recognition
• Creative expression through music-related writing and drawing