The Pre-Piano level targets rhythm development in the young child. Students learn to count while discovering keyboard geography. Staff reading is reserved for Level 1. The Pre-Piano or "Menehune" (Hawaiian for "little person") Level develops all fingers, and encourages the student to play at various locations on the keyboard.

Levels 1 and II continue the emphasis on counting and reading as notes are introduced one-by-one on the grand staff. Cole uses a modified middle C approach to note reading. Students are encouraged to play with different fingers and at different octaves using both black and white keys on the keyboard. No finger numbers are given in the first lessons to that students will rely on reading the staff. Students' hand positions are allowed to develop naturally and correctly as students learn note-by-note reading. Level II concentrates on reading the bass staff, Level III works with the upper treble notes.

Enjoyable foci of each level are the "Fun Sheets." Theory sheets in masquerade, the Fun Sheets make theory meaningful to the students by coordinating concepts directly with the pieces that they are playing. Before playing most pieces, the student completes a Fun Sheet about the piece. The Fun Sheet can cover anything from counts to notes to musical aspects such as language, dynamics, patterns, and form. Not only does the Fun Sheet teach the needed theory concepts to the developing student, it helps the student to discover "how" to practice the new piece by breaking the piece into small, more easily learned parts. At the end of each level, the student takes a quiz over the concepts learned. These "Finish Lines" are coordinated with each level of state theory tests.

The Method Books, while more expensive than traditional single method books, are all-in-one entities. Their loose-leaf page format allows the students to receive new music each week. Pages include pieces, theory, sigh reading, some ear training, and technique. Levels II and up include sheets of major and minor scales and cadences. The pieces in the upper levels offer edited classics coupled with the author's own delightful compositions. "Midnight on Boggy Creek" and "Forever River" are favorites of teenagers in Level VI.

The Mayron Cole Method offers a wonderful change from the traditional piano method diet. Students who progress through each level will emerge as independent musicians who can read, write, and create music. And for those teachers who already are convinced of the power of group piano lessons, or for teachers who may wish to offer group piano lessons but aren't sure how to get started, Cole's method provides surefire teaching aids and pedagogical advice which are sure to be a success with both students and teachers.  (Provided by Patty Morell Bilhartz, M.A., Director Music & Arts Center of Huntsville, TX)

Learn more about the Mayron Cole method at www.mcpiano.com

Suzuki Method

Every Child Can Learn
More than forty years ago, Suzuki realized the implications of the fact that children the world over learn to speak their native language with ease. He began to apply the basic principles of language acquisition to the learning of music, and called his method the mother-tongue approach. The ideas of parent responsibility, loving encouragement, constant repetition, etc., are some of the special features of the Suzuki approach.

Parent Involvement
As when a child learns to talk, parents are involved in the musical learning of their child. They attend lessons with the child and serve as "home teachers" during the week. One parent often learns to play before the child, so that s/he understands what the child is expected to do. Parents work with the teacher to create an enjoyable learning environment.

Early Beginning
The early years are crucial for developing mental processes and muscle coordination. Listening to music should begin at birth; formal training may begin at age three or four, but it is never too late to begin.

Listening
Children learn words after hearing them spoken hundreds of times by others. Listening to music every day is important, especially listening to pieces in the Suzuki repertoire so the child knows them immediately.

Repetition
Constant repetition is essential in learning to play an instrument. Children do not learn a word or piece of music and then discard it. They add it to their vocabulary or repertoire, gradually using it in new and more sophisticated ways.

Encouragement
As with language, the child's effort to learn an instrument should be met with sincere praise and encouragement. Each child learns at his/her own rate, building on small steps so that each one can be mastered. Children are also encouraged to support each other's efforts, fostering an attitude of generosity and cooperation.

Learning with Other Children
In addition to private lessons, children participate in regular group lessons and performance at which they learn from an are motivated by each other.

Graded Repertoire
Children do not practice exercises to learn to talk, but use language for its natural purpose of communication and self-expression. Pieces in the Suzuki repertoire are designed to present technical problems to be learned in the context of the music rather than through dry technical exercises.

Delayed Reading
Children learn to read after their ability to talk has been well established. in the same way, children should develop basic technical competence on their instruments before being taught to read music.

Pace Piano Method

The other point he pondered was why students waiting to be picked up after their lesson seemed to show so much interest in the lesson beginning directly after their own. Was there a way to capitalize on this curiosity about other student activities to create an exciting atmosphere for children to learn together in a creative and mutually supportive environment? At this time Robert Pace was involved in graduate studies and teaching at Teachers College, Columbia University in New York and becoming familiar with concepts of learning from such educational leaders as Abraham Maslow, John Gardner (How Children Learn), and Jerome Brunner.
 

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.

Adult Methods

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.