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 Alfred
Method For Children
The Alfred method uses a lot of colored pictures and graphics to help
with the teaching process. The newest updates in the Alfred Method for
children include use of software, compact discs, and /or cassettes. This
method utilizes the concept of position playing, which has a
disadvantage that students sometimes do not learn to read the notes, but
rather rely totally on position playing. Thus, if they approach a piece
of music not written in a Five Finger Position, they are at a loss. An
advantage of this method is that students learn to read intervals and to
see the intervalic relationship between notes. They are also exposed to
chords and progressions. While the lyrics to the songs are not really
necessary, the pictures and graphics are wonderful. Students who have
been raised on this method exclusively sometimes seem to have limited
competence in note reading and undeveloped technique. Another
disadvantage is that the major classical composers should be presented
to the students at a much earlier stage than is typical in this method.
The Alfred method is great for beginning teachers who need a
pre-programmed lesson format to follow. It would be our hope that once
the beginning teacher becomes more comfortable and knowledgeable with
different methods that they would expand beyond sole use of this method.
Bastien
Method for Children
The Piano Party Series is great for those little ones who have never
had lessons before. It is a lot of fun for the teachers also. We would
suggest that the lyrics of the pieces be omitted, but the pictures and
graphics are positive.
A strength of the method is its exposure at this early stage to
technique, dropping to the keys with keeping the first knuckle of the
finger rounded, and the arch high. Too often beginning students play
with smashed-in knuckles, and fingers flying around as straight as a
pencils. We wish however that this introduction would be followed
through more with reminders much more often about using proper
technique. We have been having excellent success with A Line a Day,
a wonderful series of four levels concentrating on sight-reading. Use of
the metronome is needed, and very often the exercises defy the tendency
to play by ear or in the position pattern.
Clark
Method (The Music Tree)
This method is tremendous for getting right down to the basics; the
students are presented with dynamics, counting, phrases, and form. They
are reading intervalically from day one. Another strength is the
introduction of ensemble playing from the very beginning. After the
students are finished with the Music Tree Series, they are quite
competent in music terminology, sight reading, knowing form, and
generally have a solid enough start to begin study of the masters.
Faber
and Faber
The books by Nancy and Randall Faber are a popular and heavily
promoted piano "method" with many adherents. The Faber and Faber
beginning books can serve a teacher well who needs a pre-programmed
series of books to follow as a starter for their teaching. Each page of
the books embodies delightful graphics and is cross-referenced to other
books in the series along the outer edge of each page. There are good
practice suggestions given for most of the materials such as counting
aloud and holding the hands in a rounded position on the piano. The main
pedagogical weakness of the Faber and Faber beginning method books is
the insistence on using position playing, although the books also
attempt to mitigate the effects of position playing after it has been
introduced. From the standpoint of substance, the Faber and Faber
"method" offers little that is fundamentally pedagogically new over
methods like the Clark, Robyn and Suzuki that have been in existence for
many years. Methods like the Clark cover the same material in one or two
books that the Primer Level and the Level 1 in this method take 8 or
more books to do. We would like to see students exposed to unvarnished
beginning classical repertoire earlier than they are in these books,
which utilize arrangements for most of the repertoire.
Pace
Method
The many books which make up the "Pace Method" provide solid,
pedagogically sound piano training for the youngest to the oldest
beginners, as well as somewhat more advanced students. More concise and
challenging than many other method book series, the Pace books prepare
the student for the classical repertoire at an earlier stage of training
than many methods. They build strong intervalic and note-reading skills,
while encouraging creativity and complete musical development of
students. The Pace books avoid the position-playing approaches which
afflict so many other methods currently in vogue. They are best used
with a knowledgeable and attuned teacher to help guide the student.
Robyn
Method
The Robyn Method approaches note reading both from intervalic and
single note approaches. The students are to sing the names of the notes
aloud while they play the exercises in Keyboard Town. The notes
are NOT presented in position playing, and fingering is often
juxtapositioned so that students cannot rely on the finger number to
play the note. Rather, they have to know the exact note names, and then
put the correct finger number on the note. Technique is strongly
developed from the beginning with a graduated, consistent method where
each finger is individually developed and then put together in sequences
to help prepare for scales, Hanon, arpeggios, etc. The Robyn Method also
incorporates an entire book for the use of the damper pedal, preparing
the student to cope with irregular pedal patterns, pedaling with the
harmonic progressions of a piece, and pedaling after the beat, rather
than with the beat (causing muddy pedal). We do not care for the lyrics
that all books except the Pedal book use, and the pictures in the method
books are quite archaic. In light of its many strengths, it is our hope
that this method will be revamped one day to be a bit more up to date.
Suzuki
Method
This method originated in Japan and is very popular there and in the
U.S. The method seems to be more successful with Japanese than American
students. Suzuki students from Japan that we have taught have great note
reading and ear training skills, a strong and secure technique, and
exposure to other composers besides those in the method books.
American-trained Suzuki students are often lacking in many of these
skills. These students often cannot read music, depend too much on
playing by ear, and can lack a strongly developed technique. A
particular strength of this method is that it exposes little ones to
performance opportunities presented in a very positive fashion, so that
performing becomes a joy rather than a dreaded experience. Certified
Suzuki teachers in America must have completed a course of study at the
Steven's Point, Wisconsin Suzuki Teaching Workshops.
Thompson
Method
This is an older method which, during its day, was very popular,
presenting students with simplified arrangements of standard classical
repertoire. It has become very dated and could benefit from a thorough
revision to modern teaching standards and techniques.
Rote
Method
With rote teaching, the student becomes familiar with the keyboard before
reading from the staff. Hearing, thinking, seeing intervals and harmony on the keyboard and noting phrasing gives the
student an easier and better start. Concentrating on the keyboard opens
up more opportunities for improvising and composing, and, ultimately, easier
sight reading with a better
understanding of music. For a more complete description of the rote, see our
article An
Introduction to Rote Teaching of Piano, and follow-on articles
linked therein.
"Miracle
Methods"
Use caution in adopting any of the "miracle" methods that promise to
teach you to play piano in an hour or a day or even a month. While some
of these may be able to teach you how to play simple songs or
watered-down versions of some of the classics, our experience with them
is that they typically provide a weak or non-existent grounding in
fundamental theory and technique, leaving you poorly prepared to advance
your skills outside the limited framework of the method. In many cases,
they actually leave you with bad technique and habits that have to
broken later if you are to become a competent pianist. If one of these
techniques appeals to you, then investigate it carefully and consult a
qualified piano teacher regarding the technique before you pay any
money. Be particularly wary of such methods touted over the World Wide
Web. We have looked at many pages devoted to "play in a day" methods and
we have not found a single one that provides enough information to even
understand what the method is, let alone evaluate it in the context of
the needs of an individual student. This is the reason that we do not
link any pages devoted to "miracle methods" on The Piano Education
Page. For more information on how to evaluate piano methods, see our
section
Learning to Play on Your Own. Finally, these comments
should not be construed to apply to "The
Miracle Piano Teaching System" software and hardware. This is a
fundamentally solid system which can be very valuable, especially in the
context of private lessons to supplement it.
 Play
by Choice
This is one of the best beginning adult methods available. Mr. Kern
has organized a teaching method that treats adults as adults. The
multi-faceted approach to learning basic concepts is one that is
pedagogically sound and acknowledges the fact that no two people learn
the same concepts in the exact same way. This is a no-nonsense, well
planned book. There are no flashy graphics or associated bells and
whistles, just the facts and lots of suggestions for how to integrate
these facts into your practice.
This method emphasizes the reading of individual notes, chords,
intervalic relationships, and following the melodic contour, not
merely position playing. The musical pieces are a good collection of
pop, religious, Broadway musicals, and arrangements of some classical
pieces. The adult student is given a choice of which pieces to play and
study. The text book has indicated pieces that need to be studied for
emphasis and instruction, then there are several pieces in each chapter
to be played by choice.
Play by Choice has been one of the most successful methods
that we have used for adult students. The students are not locked into
the position playing frame of mind that most beginning methods use. All
the students that we have taught with this method can read music and are
not dependent on the position playing to get them through a composition.
They become functionally literate music students, who can see the
patterns in the music and understand the form of a composition as well
as the individual notes. Play by Choice is available through
the publisher, Hal Leonard, as
well as at most major music stores.
Bastien
Method for Adults
This method generally over-emphasizes the five finger
position-playing method. We have used this method a lot in the past and
have found out that students have a very frustrating time getting out of
the mode of position-playing. Their note reading is slowed down
tremendously, to the point of being almost non-existent, and progress is
very slow. Unfortunately, most of the units in Book One deal with the
different five finger positions of playing, rather than taking a
multi-faceted approach to note reading. The repertoire in the piano
course books is rather dated and the student doesn't have enough variety
to choose from. Our experience with this method in 25 years of teaching
is that it is generally inferior in its results to the Play by
Choice method. Major faults would include the emphasis on position
playing, extremely limited repertoire choices, and a dated pedagogical
approach to teaching multi-faceted older beginners. If you wish to
pursue this method, we suggest using the video series
The
Bastien Piano Professor or similar aid to supplement the books
and fill in many of the huge gaps in this method.
Pace
Method for Older Beginners
The Pace books are a pedagogically sound aid for teaching the older
beginner. They eschew the cute graphics that intrigue children, but put
off older beginners. Instead, the material is presented in a concise and
to-the-point manner. Thankfully, there is neither reference to nor
dependence upon position playing in this book. Students who did a test
drive of this material, soon realized that they really had to think and
apply themselves well to be able to understand and successfully use it.
Although the method is challenging, the only complaints that from
students are that the music was a bit "old fashioned" and the method
could use more sight reading exercises and material. As with the Pace
Method for children, the older beginners method requires a lot of effort
on the part of the student and teacher, though it is effective and
reasonably priced.
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