Educational Resources – Page 2

Peter and the Wolf

Educational Resources
Selected and Reviewed by Andrew Eales

Here’s a delight! Peter and the Wolf is one of a number of books that make up a colourful series from Schott Music, called ‘Get to Know Classical Masterpieces‘.

Featuring the whole of Prokofiev’s masterpiece of musical storytelling in a “simple arrangement for piano”, the book is the work of the ever-industrious Hans-Günter Heumann. The full story is presented in an English translation by Julia Rushworth, and with superb colour illustrations throughout by Brigitte Smith.

The book can comfortably be recommended, but the review that follows will assess the difficulty level of the piano writing and consider, as usual, who this publication is particularly suitable for. Read on for more details, and a list of other titles in the series…

ABRSM Jazz Piano Solos

Educational Resources
Selected and Reviewed by Andrew Eales

When ABRSM announced their Jazz Piano syllabus Grades 1-5 back in 1998, and published a raft of outstanding books and recordings to support it, I was at the front of the queue for copies, and one of the many who rejoiced at the arrival of such a superb resource.

Here, at last, was a well-thought out, superbly paced approach for introducing swing, blues, Latin and modern jazz styles, all with integrated improvisations, relevant scales, aural, and technical development.

In the years since, while I’ve not used the actual exams, many of my students have enjoyed the excellent music, learning core jazz skills from the course materials. I have still enjoyed playing and teaching the accessible jazzy pieces and arrangements available elsewhere, but these ABRSM books have been a mainstay for teaching jazz “properly”.

An update of the lower grades, and continuation into the higher ones, has long been requested. In the meantime ABRSM have released three music books in their Nikki Iles & Friends series (reviewed here).

Now, more than a quarter of a century after their first five grades appeared, they have published a syllabus specification for new, video assessed Jazz ‘Performance Grades’ 6-8, together with a Jazz Piano Solo Pieces Grades 6-8 book including five pieces from each Grade level. Let’s take a look…

Bluey: First Ever Piano Book

Educational Resources
Selected and Reviewed by Andrew Eales

Since its launch in 2018, the Australian animated series Bluey has conquered the pre-school world, while winning multiple awards, critical acclaim, and praise for its positive messages, wholesome family values, and focus on playful childhood learning.

Created and written by Joe Brumm, Bluey has spawned a stage show, video game, upcoming feature length movie, and an avalanche of merchandising that includes toys, books, an album of music from the show, and now the Bluey First Ever Piano Book, written by the show’s music supervisor and composer Joff Bush, and published by Faber Music.

Bluey front cover and sample pages NEW with logos — Bluey First Ever Piano Book

The Bluey First Ever Piano Book is, like the television show, aimed at pre-school children, designed for early informal learning without an instructor, and for shared enjoyment by children with their parents. As Faber put it,

“This book is for beginners to play with their favourite grown-up. No musical know-how is required. You’ll be helped along the way by Busker (AKA Bluey composer, Joff Bush). Have fun making Bluey music magic together!”

Bluey First Ever Piano Book is unlike anything I have previously reviewed, so I began by watching a few episodes of the show (purely for research purposes, of course). But as a piano educator, what’s my opinion of the book?

Essential Piano Technique: Levels 2-3

Educational Resources
Selected and Reviewed by Andrew Eales

Penelope Roskell’s Essential Piano Technique series has already established itself as a benchmark resource for introducing healthy piano techniques in an imaginative and musical way.

The first three books appeared in 2023. Primer A, Primer B, and Level 1 publications take the beginner up to around Grade 1 in the UK, and in my review here I concluded,

“I cannot overstate how highly I recommend these three volumes. Beautifully presented, but modestly priced, they establish a new benchmark for teaching children the foundations for a healthy piano technique.”

With the latest two additions to the growing series, Roskell provides a similarly useful and significant resource for players progressing through Late Elementary to Intermediate level, Grades 1-4.

In this review, I will look at these Level 2 and Level 3 books in turn, and consider what part they might play in piano lessons and the development of learners…

Tunes for Ten Fingers

Educational Resources
Selected and Reviewed by Andrew Eales

Last summer I brought news and an in-depth review of OUP Music’s updated Third Editions of Pauline Hall’s classic Piano Time series. Having long used the series, I was impressed by the refreshed editions, with superb new illustrations by Rosie Brooks, online audio demo tracks, and welcome tweaks to the progression.

I also welcomed the fantastic new pieces by Kristina Arakelyan, Reena Esmail, and William Chapman Nyaho, joining established favourites by Hall, Alan Bullard and David Blackwell from previous editions.

OUP Music have now launched matching new versions of their primer series for young children: Tunes For Ten Fingers, More Tunes For Ten Fingers, and Fun For Ten Fingers.

I am pleased to see that the changes here broadly follow those of Piano Time, giving the books a more diverse, contemporary relevance and appeal. Once again, new Rosie Brooks illustrations are a delight, and the audio tracks can be streamed or downloaded. Pedagogy and progression are streamlined, with Janet Bullard and Jeanette Gallant on board as consultants.

In this review, written for the benefit of others using this series, I will outline the changes in more detail.

Junior Performer

Educational Resources
Selected and Reviewed by Andrew Eales

Pam Wedgwood’s Up Grade! series from Faber Music has been a fixture of the piano education library for many years, and one of her most understandable successes. Based on a simple concept of offering “light relief between the grades”, the books have proved a popular step in the pianist’s development.

Entering the same space, The Willis Music Company have just released a new set of books from Christopher Hussey which give the concept of “between grades” repertoire a welcome update. Junior Performer includes three books, each covering two grades, thus bridging the gaps from Beginner to Grade 5.

Rather boldly describing itself as “The Perfect Resource for Between Piano Grades”, the series clearly has ambitions, and I have already heard from Pianodao readers keen to know how well it succeeds…

A Dozen a Day • Counting Rhythm

Educational Resources
Selected and Reviewed by Andrew Eales

Fans of the beloved A Dozen A Day series of piano exercise books from the Willis Music Company (reviewed here) may have noticed the recent arrival of a new title in the series. A Dozen A Day: Counting Rhythm supplements the popular piano books with a slim volume of “pre-practice rhythm exercises for all instruments”.

The book’s writer remains uncredited, but is not Edna Mae Burnam (1907-2007), who created the original classics. Nevertheless, this modest addition to the series respectfully aligns with the look and feel of her originals, as well as progressively matching the concepts, rhythmic values and meters of the first four Dozen A Day books.

I have begun trialling this material with a few elementary learners, and am finding it a distinctive and useful studio addition…

Edition Peters Piano Anthologies

Pianodao Music Library
Selected and Reviewed by Andrew Eales

Following the launch of ABRSM’s 2023-24 syllabus, Edition Peters built on the success of their regular Grade 8 Piano Anthology series by issuing anthologies for Grades 5, 6, 7, and 8. At the time, I noted:

“Whatever one thinks of graded exams, there’s no denying that the ABRSM piano syllabus offers a stunning and helpfully progressive view of the rich and varied piano repertoire. And if their own publications open too small a window through which those wondrous joys might be discovered, the widescreen presentation Edition Peters offer with these anthologies must surely be welcomed with the broadest of smiles.”

With the advent of the 2025-26 ABRSM syllabus, which I have reviewed in depth here, Edition Peters (now under the roof of Faber Music) have returned with a new set of anthologies to supplement the latest syllabus.

It should be noted that there is a one-year overlap of syllabi, meaning that the older anthologies will (alongside ABRSM’s own piano exam piece books for 2023-24) remain valid until December 2025.

But what of the new anthologies? Here as always is my first in-depth look at them, including a detailed comparison between the ABRSM and Edition Peters books. For those on a budget, which is the better purchase, and why? Let’s find out…