The Kids' Music Collection: Piano Book

This collection pulls from the exact songs kids already love singing, which means your students arrive with the melody already in their ears and the motivation already built in. Coates's arrangements honor these beloved melodies while keeping the technical demands in the early-intermediate range, so students can focus on musicality rather than wrestling with notation.

Opening this collection feels like discovering a shortcut between the piano book and the real world. These are songs kids hum in the car, reference in conversation, and recognize immediately; learning them on the piano transforms them from passive entertainment into something the student created.

This book belongs in the studio of any teacher working with early-intermediate pianists who need engagement more than challenge. It also works well as supplementary material for group classes or as homework for students who practice more consistently when they're learning something they've already heard on screen.

• Match the character of each piece to its source material: The Chicken Dance invites rhythmic bounce and precision, while Over the Rainbow calls for singing phrasing and dynamic shape even at an easy level.
• Use the variety of tempos and styles across the book to build different technical muscles; one week's focus on steady rhythmic execution becomes next week's practice in legato pedaling and voice leading.
• Layer in background knowledge about the shows and movies these songs come from; a student who connects I'll Be There for You to the actual television theme will internalize the phrasing more effectively than one who treats it as abstract notation.

Assign one piece per week as a sight-reading or technique-building exercise without the weight of recital preparation. Alternatively, select three to five contrasting titles for a studio recital that lets younger students experience performance success with music that resonates with their families and friends.

• Reading and executing straightforward rhythmic patterns in both hands simultaneously
• Sustaining melodic phrasing across phrase boundaries using dynamics and pedal
• Transferring aural familiarity (from hearing the songs) into accurate note reading
• Building confidence through recognizable, satisfying repertoire at an accessible level
• Understanding how melody and accompaniment interact across different musical styles and genres