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.

For show notes + a full transcript, click here.

Resources Mentioned

*Disclosure: some of the links in this episode are affiliate links, which means if you decide to purchase through any of them, I will earn a small commission. This helps support the podcast and allows me to continue creating free content. Thank you for your support!

Miniatures (Juan Cabeza)

Piano Safari Level 3

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)

Audio recordings

Piano Safari Level 1

The Kitchen Suite, Op. 26 (Charles Stier)

21 Amazingly Easy Pieces (Barbara Arens)

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