9 replies to this topic

[The Great Sosso]

Hello everyone.

 

I have a boy aged 8-9 who is struggling with motor skills at the piano.  He tries hard, but has limited control and coordination (I suspect dyspraxia - he walks in a very clumsy way also).

 

We've gone through My First Piano Adventure Primer and Book 1, and we're now using Upgrade 0-1.  I was rather hoping the next stop would be grade 1, but he needs more consolidation of his technique before we tackle that.

 

So my question is:  what would you use next for this boy?  He enjoys "fun" pieces, that have character and/or a bit of jazz or groove to them.  What I want is pieces he will be able to learn in 3-4 weeks, so that he gets lots of satisfaction from covering a lot of music.  Upgrade he has enjoyed but Rush Hour has taken him two terms, and it's still not great.  I briefly considered the second of the Keyboard Adventures with the Little Monster books, but fear he might see these as babyish.  Spooky Piano Time will be too hard at this stage.  Anybody got a recommendation?

 

Thanks everyone.

TGS X

[ma non troppo]

There's a "More up-grade" if he likes that kind of thing - and a REALLY easy jazzin about by Pam werewolf - although some of it is too hard from what you say. What about Accent on Solos series by William Gillock - book 3 is about grade 1 standard but books 1 and 2 are easier. You could try him on Accelerated PA book 2? Or one of the old Schaum books - I wouldn't use these as tutor books but some of the pieces in the Blue book are fun - like the Spider Dance.

Edit - I am sorry but I just HAD to leave my autocorrect in of PW's name.....! Hee hee!

[maggiemay]

Book 1 of Piano Time Jazz? A good few are not-quite-grade-one, if I remember correctly.

Also book 1 of Finger Jogging Boogie, although I think most of these are more at the grade one level.

[Fazioligirl]

Or have a look at the Piano Star (ABRSM) series. They go from very easy 5- finger based pieces up to Grade 1. I use them quite a bit with my, shall we say, slightly less able pupils.

[Latin pianist]

Accelerated Piano Adventures book 2 popular repertoire has some manageable wellknown pieces like Harry Potter, Star Wars, Over the Rainbow.

[zwhe]

There's A Dozen a day songbook (the blue one) - broadway, movie and pop hits - most of them are fairly simple

[violinlove]

I like the Piano Star books as well.
I have used upgrade before but I find they are a bit difficult and now tend to use them for children who are already at a slightly higher standard for fun and relaxation.

If Rush Hour has taken two terms then it really is too hard for him.

[Sautillé]

TGS is he really doing Rush Hour as in Rush Hour Dash? That’s in UG 1-2 and it’s quite hard.... I don’t think many pre grade 1’s could do it. The problem with jazzy stuff is it requires quite a lot of coordination and lots of kids find it difficult to physically execute swing or off beat notes even when they ‘get’ the rhythm. One book I go back to for some consolidation at this stage is Hal Leonard Piano Lessons book 3 (yellow). I don’t rate it as a progress book much but I think it has great tunes for consolidation, and most kids can play them in a couple of weeks. If you have a new copy you can access the HL digital download which is really good for rhythm. I also use Martha Mier Just Imagine and I’m experimenting with 70 keyboard adventures with the LM - I tend to lend stuff out so I just pick the odd piece and tell them not to look at the pictures, ai’ve chosen this piece because of x....

[The Great Sosso]

Thanks everyone.

 

I've ordered ma non troppo's suggestion of the WIlliam Gillock and it arrived today - all three books in one volume.  I'm thinking of setting him something from level 1, and something from level 2 (moving up to level 3 as he improves) so that he has a mixture of easy (to focus on technique and rhythm) and more interesting things to work on.

 

My mistake @Sautille - I didn't mean Rush Hour Dash (which certainly would be beyond him), but Countdown in UG 0-1 - LH descending in minims, RH playing quaver broken chords.  Much of his problem is very weak fingers and he is only just accepting that he can't play finger 5 like a karate chop, which is his default solution.  A little bit unmotivated - Dad and Gran want him to learn piano, because they both play - so the areas of weakness (literal finger weakness and pulse he struggles with) are things that he really doesn't work on diligently enough, hence the super slow progress.  From these forums, I am now looking at the flip-a-rhythm books to use in lessons, which I think will help him too.  It's an expensive month for buying music!

 

TGS X

[Iulia]

I see you have already got something, but I was going to ask if you knew the Microjazz series?