Resources Mentioned
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Miniatures (Juan Cabeza)
Through the Windowpane (Chee-Hwa Tan)
A Child’s Garden of Verses (Chee-Hwa Tan)
Diversions, Books 1 and 2 (Juan Cabeza)
Free download: 12 Variations on Diversion 12 (Juan Cabeza)
Friends at Last (Amy Glennon)
Here Comes Treble (Amy Glennon)
The Kitchen Suite, Op. 26 (Charles Stier)
21 Amazingly Easy Pieces (Barbara Arens)
It’s my last week of teaching for the year, and I've been reflecting on the supplemental books that have been most successful with my elementary and early intermediate students this year. The new year can be a great time to start fresh: with new repertoire, new technical routines, or new creative challenges for our students.
As we prepare for the Spring semester and look forward to lessons resuming in January, I want to share nine collections I’ve been using with my students this year. Some are etudes based on specific technical patterns, others are solo repertoire books. Most of these are available through Piano Safari, though they can be used alongside any method book.
For reference, my elementary and early intermediate students are in Piano Safari Levels 1-3 and range from 2nd-7th grade.
If you're looking to refresh your teaching materials for January or add some variety to your studio library, I hope you'll find a few gems here that spark your interest.
Nine Supplemental Books for Elementary & Early Intermediate Piano Students
Miniatures (Juan Cabeza)
I bought this for two students who were beginning Piano Safari Level 3 this year and it’s been a great addition to their curriculum. Juan Cabeza is a pianist, pedagogue and composer based in Madrid. This collection includes 24 eight-measure, 5-finger position pieces in all keys.
There are lots of opportunities for creativity with these:
changing the key or mode (i.e. major to minor)
changing the meter or rhythm
changing the character, articulation, dynamics, or tempo
choosing a programmatic title
inventing a new piece using elements of the Miniature
I use them as etudes with my students. I love the wide variety of styles and that they’re learning to play in every key. My students love the musical variety, the petite nature of each piece (not overwhelming), and the opportunities for creative exploration.
You can hear full audio recordings for all 24 miniatures at pianosafari.com.
In the second half of the book, the author includes several sets of activity cards. The pages are perforated so you can tear them out and cut them apart:
key cards (i.e. C, Cm)
key signature cards
pentascale cards
time signature cards
These can be used as enrichment activities in lessons or games for group classes. Here are a few ideas:
Match the key signature cards with the corresponding pentascale card
Transpose to a random key by drawing a card from the deck
Play “Memory” with key and key signature cards or one of those with pentascale cards
Put the cards in order based on the Circle of 5ths
I haven’t used the activity cards yet, but I think they’ll be great for spring studio classes.
Through the Windowpane & A Child’s Garden of Verses (Chee-Hwa Tan)
I love the pieces in both of these books and their connection to poems in Robert Louis Stevenson’s collection. Favorites from Through the Windowpane include Winter Time, Rain, and Looking Glass River, and from A Child’s Garden of Verses, The Swing, Where Go the Boats?, and The Wind.
You can hear full audio recordings for all pieces in both books at pianosafari.com.
I appreciate that the composer includes her own insights, musical characteristics, learning tips, and creativity prompts for each piece. These are beautiful pieces that inspire musical artistry and expressive playing. They’re wonderful choices for informances and recitals.
Diversions, Book 1 and 2 (Juan Cabeza)
I first learned about these collections from the Piano Safari Level 3 method book, as one of the Diversions is included as a pattern piece. Each collection features 21 progressive etudes for late elementary students.
The etudes are one page each and feature a variety of musical styles. Meters in Book 1 include 12/8, 4/4, 3/8, 6/8, and 3/4 and keys include C, G, F#, Am, Dm, black-key pentatonic, and whole-tone. In Book 2, keys also include Eb and Cm.
You can hear full audio recordings for all 42 Diversions at pianosafari.com.
As with the Miniatures, I let my students create a programmatic name for each one. We also do at least two creativity challenges for each one, either transposing to a new key (suggestions are included at the bottom of each piece), changing the meter or articulation, swapping which hand has the melody, or playing with tempo, direction, or melodic shapes.
These have been perfect for students starting Piano Safari Level 3.
Sometime, I’d like to challenge my students to write a variation or two based on one of the Diversions. Juan Cabeza wrote 12 Variations on Diversion 12 from Book 1—you can download this for free on his website (I’ll include a link in the show notes). I’ve thought about assigning a few of these to students in studio classes and then having a discussion about how they’re different. Maybe I’ll do this for our April class.
Friends at Last & Here Comes Treble (Amy Glennon)
My Level 1 students love these two rote collections. Amy is the Educational Director at The New School for Music Study (Kingston, NJ) and a former faculty member at Mount Holyoke College. She is an active writer, adjudicator, and presenter throughout the U.S.
These two musical storybooks feature a compelling story and set of rote pieces about a boy named Joey and his two pets: a dog, Kismet and a cat, Tabby.
Written for students ages 4-11, the pieces in Friends at Last are considered Early Elementary, while the sequel, Here Comes Treble, bridges into Elementary-level repertoire. I appreciate the pattern-based melodies and rich accompaniments. I use them as supplemental books with Piano Safari Level 1, but you could also perform them at a recital with a beginning group class and a narrator reading the story.
You can hear full audio recordings of the pieces in both books (student part and teacher accompaniment) at pianosafari.com.
The Kitchen Suite, Op. 26 (Charles Stier)
I bought this for a 4th-grade student who started Piano Safari Level 3 this fall. She loves cooking, so I thought she might enjoy the clever titles and mix of musical styles in this collection. It’s her new favorite!
So far, she’s played the first three pieces: Tomato Tango, Tunafish Toccata, and Cherry Cha-Cha. I love how the composer incorporated a musical motif in each of these based on the title. The pieces are interesting and memorable and offer technical challenges, as well.
Other musical forms and styles represented include bagatelle, minuet, tarantella, sarabande, serenade, polonaise, and nocturne. I appreciate that the composer included a brief description of the musical style and interesting historical features. For instance, for Tomato Tango, he wrote, “The Tango is a dance that came from Argentina, a country in South America. The rhythm found in the first measure is common in the tango. Who doesn’t love a sweet and ‘tangy’ tomato?”
As with the other books I’ve mentioned, you can listen to full audio recordings of all the pieces in this collection at pianosafari.com.
A little about the composer, Charles Stier: He earned a Doctor of Musical Arts degree from the University of Maryland, and after an international career as a clarinet soloist and recording artist, he is now devoted to teaching piano, composition, and guitar at an independent music studio in Maryland.
21 Amazingly Easy Pieces (Barbara Arens)
This has been a wonderful book for a student who is nearing the end of Piano Safari Level 3 and was looking for more of a challenge. She loves the preludes and is currently working on the Sarabande.
As with some of the other collections I’ve mentioned, this one features music in a variety of keys, meters, and styles: 14 contemporary preludes, a piece using the standard blues progression, dance forms (minuet, sarabande, chaconne, waltz), and a Romanesca.
Conclusion
So, there you go. Those are my nine recommendations for supplemental books based on what’s working well in my studio this year. I hope you’ll take the time to explore one or more of these collections as you plan repertoire for next semester—there's something here for a variety of levels, learning styles, and interests.
If you try any of these books with your students, I'd love to hear how it goes. What are your favorite pieces? What creative activities did your students enjoy? Feel free to reach out to me on Instagram or via email—I always love hearing from you. See you in the new year!
