Editors' Choice
Alfred's Premier Piano Course is a fun, inspiring, and pedagogically sound piano method for children. Besides the well-paced lessons, tasteful and colorful artwork, and wide variety of instruction (playing, writing, sight-reading, technique), it offers a unique combination of guidance and support for the student, teacher and parent. Instruction in Lesson 1A begins with rhythm and offers a short piece consisting of all quarter notes for the student to tap with hands on the closed keyboard cover. The first half of Lesson Book 1A consists of short, eight measure pre-staff pieces on black key and then white key groups. The early elementary-level pieces starting in the middle of the book are in C Major and highlight landmark notes, and refreshingly, are not locked into specific hand positions. A teacher duet is offered to all the student pieces. A performance of each solo with the teacher duet is also provided on the enclosed CD or MIDI Disk at two tempos: "practice" (slow) and "performance" (faster). Performances on each CD are recorded on an acoustic piano. The unique At-Home Book educates and specifies how the parent can be an active participant in their child's piano studies, whether they have prior musical knowledge or not. The Success Kit includes all the components of Level 1A (except MIDI Disks) in a handy zipper portfolio: Lesson Book & CD; Performance Book & CD; Theory Book; At-Home Book and Flash Cards.

Editors' Choice
Lesson 1B picks up where 1A left off. It begins with an elementary level review of Level 1A by way of a two-page writing assignment and three new pieces. The new concepts presented in Level 1B include ties, legato, staccato, intervals up to fifths, half steps, incomplete measures, sharps and flats. As with Level 1A, new concepts are presented in a clear, well-paced fashion and all involved (student, teacher and parent) are given a lot of support and nurturing throughout. The Success Kit includes all the Level 1B components in a handy zipper portfolio: Lesson Book & CD, Performance Book & CD, Theory Book, At-Home Book and Flash Cards.

Alfred's Premier Piano Course, Level 6, enables students to develop their rhythmic skills using mixed meter. A special focus at this level is a stylistic introduction to the romantic and contemporary masterworks as well as popular music. Additional pieces range from lyrical ballads and jazz styles to arrangements of familiar classic and folk themes. New concepts introduced include diminished triads, the ii-V7-I chord progression, and additional scales and keys.

Editors' Choice
The Lesson Book to Level 2A begins with a comprehensive review of level 1B in the form of a two page quiz. The first piece, On with the Show! reiterates ties as well as the sharps and flats that were learned in Level 1B. Level 2A introduces new concepts including dynamics, tempo marks, accents, tonic and dominant chords, and even a little pedal. It also delves into some basic theory. Other components of this level are the Performance Book, the At-Home Book and a set of flashcards. The At-Home Book is especially helpful because it gives parents the chance to get involved with their child's lessons. It is a way for the teacher to communicate first hand with the parents and help guide the child's practice habits.

Alfred's Premier Piano Course, Level 4 students will be playing interesting pieces that use triplets and sixteenth notes. Musical styles range from jazz and ragtime to original pieces by master composers. New concepts introduced include natural and harmonic minor scales, one octave arpeggios and chord inversions

With Alfred's Premier Piano Course, Level 3, students will be playing syncopated, dotted and swing rhythms with ease. Up-tempo, original pieces with clever twists smoothly incorporate new concepts including: pass-under and cross-over scale fingerings; the chromatic scale; IV chords in C, G, F, D; 1st and 2nd endings; and ledger lines above and below the staff.

The Level 2B Lesson Book expands even more on the concepts that were learned in Levels 1A, 1B, and 2A. This level utilizes more octave jumps and helps promote and give students the ability to move freely along the entire keyboard. In terms of rhythmic patterns, the dotted quarter and eighth note pattern is added to maintain and increase rhythmic complexity. In terms of theory, the C and G Major scales are introduced along with dominant seventh chords in both C and G Major.

Level 5 picks up right where level 4 left off. The keys of B-flat major, D and G Minor (natural and harmonic) are introduced, as well as augmented triads and major sharp key signatures. The introduction of sixteenth notes in 3/8 and 6/8 meter, the dotted eighth note followed by a sixteenth note, and cut time create increasingly difficult rhythms for the students to learn. Elements of musical style in the Baroque and Classical periods give students some stylistic considerations and performance techniques to enable them to learn and play those periods better.