Familiar Music Options for Piano Students
The piano pieces in a student’s lesson books are interesting, motivating and very musical, but it’s always fun to play some familiar music! Here are some options for families to purchase music aside from the lesson material. Always ask your teacher for advice first. Most students will do best with a level below their current learning stage for supplementary material since familiar songs will stray from the concepts they have learned thus far which will present enough challenges to make it interesting. However, a few students will thrive on their current level or above because they are so motivated to play the familiar tunes.
Here are a few tips.
- “Easy Piano” is a term used often on arrangements of familiar music, but it is not easy. This category is around a level 3 and above in most method book series.
- Songs at the Pre-Reading and Early Elementary level will be short, easy portions and not the full song in many cases. Kids can be disappointed by this, so make sure to emphasize how wonderful it is to be able to play a part of the song.
- The links are given only to show the exact book mentioned. Order at your choice of website or better yet, visit a a locally owned music store which will have many choices available and can usually order books for you to pick up. It’s also a great place for musical gift items and you’ll be helping a local small business owner.
Here are a few tips.
- “Easy Piano” is a term used often on arrangements of familiar music, but it is not easy. This category is around a level 3 and above in most method book series.
- Songs at the Pre-Reading and Early Elementary level will be short, easy portions and not the full song in many cases. Kids can be disappointed by this, so make sure to emphasize how wonderful it is to be able to play a part of the song.
- The links are given only to show the exact book mentioned. Order at your choice of website or better yet, visit a a locally owned music store which will have many choices available and can usually order books for you to pick up. It’s also a great place for musical gift items and you’ll be helping a local small business owner.
Digital Sheet Music for Piano
If you search piano sheet music for a particular song, there are many sources that will pop up for digital downloads. Students can preview the arrangement to see if it is suitable for them. One suggestion for pop music is that it’s preferable to have the chord symbols included (letters above the treble staff such as C, G7, F/A ). This style of music is rarely played strictly by the notes. Even if you can’t play following the chords yet, you will eventually appreciate having that included on the score. There are also apps available for organizing and using PDF music files on tablets, for example PiaScore. Enjoy your exploration of music favorites!