What are /r/pianoteachers' favorite Products & Services?

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I have used this book for kids who are struggling with reading music or to give them more recognisable tunes to play that would otherwise be out of reach. The note letters are written inside the notes. Most of the songs have LH playing a simple harmony of 1-2 notes or broken chords, but some pieces have both hands playing the melody.

It’s also useful for a grade 1-2 students who want to improve their sight reading with a high quantity of recognisable tunes, and to help them think about chord progression as they play.

Easy Piano Songs For Beginners: 60 Fun & Easy To Play Piano Songs For Beginners https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1674666241/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_9OV9FbEHA3B1Z?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1

I also recommend you try Bastien Primer A lesson and Theory with her, they’re great books for that age and full of pictures and and fun homework. The cartoons are kind of big but the content and material and how it’s presented is great:

https://www.amazon.com/WP230-Piano-Young-Beginner-Primer/dp/0849793173/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?crid=2VP5WBPFLP7ST&keywords=bastien+primer+A+lesson&qid=1670739346&sprefix=bastien+primer+a+lesson%2Caps%2C161&sr=8-1

https://www.amazon.com/WP232-Theory-Technic-Beginner-Bastien/dp/084979319X/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?crid=1LGU7ODWD0LMR&keywords=bastien+piano+primer+a+theory&qid=1670739372&sprefix=bastien+primer+A+theory%2Caps%2C147&sr=8-1

I also really like these higher end casiotone keyboards. https://www.amazon.com/Casio-61-Key-Portable-Keyboard-CT-S1RD/dp/B091XMKKWX/

I feel 61 keys is the bare minimum required to make a decently playable keyboard. 49 keys is too few and doesn't have a large enough range to be fully expressive.

I am having trouble finding information on a Casio 720L keyboard. Is it the CTK-720? If it's in good condition, $60 isn't too bad of a deal. But, I'd certainly save up for a slightly nicer model.

The CTK-720 is about as low in quality as you can go, while still being mostly usable; but the CTK-720 is more of a toy instead of a musical instrument.

For starting out, if you plan to be serious about playing, I would suggest going up to a more entry level keyboard https://www.amazon.com/Yamaha-PSRE373-Sensitive-Portable-Separately/dp/B08GHXB78L/

A full 88-key stage piano with weighted keys and hammer action will start around $450 and go up as high as the moon. So for learning and growing, I'd would suggest to expect $200 - $375 for something basic but still of good quality (that isn't just a toy).

Have you used Notion before? I created a template to store notes, track progress, set goals and other little bits:

https://www.notion.so/synkii/Student-Progress-Template-24b3c9a037404df0b06119c122157cb9

Are you teaching online at the moment?

https://www.notion.so/synkii/Student-Progress-Template-24b3c9a037404df0b06119c122157cb9

I created this Notion template for my students - duplicate it if you think you'll find it useful :)

Are you teaching online currently?

I also like this book from Alfred:

Meet the Great Composers, Bk 1: Short Sessions on the Lives, Times and Music of the Great Composers (Learning Link, Bk 1) https://www.amazon.com/dp/0739010492/ref=cm_sw_r_apan_i_WNSYDVDTC992PAQPF9H0?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1

I also like this book from Alfred:

Meet the Great Composers, Bk 1: Short Sessions on the Lives, Times and Music of the Great Composers (Learning Link, Bk 1) https://www.amazon.com/dp/0739010492/ref=cm_sw_r_apan_i_WNSYDVDTC992PAQPF9H0?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1

Please read this book: How I Made $100,000 My First Year as a Piano Teacher https://www.amazon.com/dp/0983445613/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_i_1JVG4H66KG8H8D56JN1X

I don’t agree with everything she says pedagogically but the marketing stuff is so valid

Currently the grid layout if fixed but with the next version (early Sept) will come modularity. This will enable you to have multiple cameras, screen share, flat.io for collaborative notation sharing and the ability to change the size of each to fit your needs!

In the next version we'll be charging per student to allow for low income teachers to not have unmanageable expenses before they even start getting students in. We'll also be give the first lesson with students away for free as lots of teachers give free trial lessons.

That being said we have a month free trial on the current version which will get refreshed once the new platform is live!

The piano also come in multiple sizes but we're figuring out how to utilise the space most efficiently. What is the use case for this: is it possible to look at a smaller section of a piano? Just so we know what problem we're trying to solve for you :)

Payson Method Piano is really comprehensive and accessible.
It covers reading music, practicing, and creativity. It’s easy to understand
and perfect for teaching, I can flip through the book and make sure I’m
covering everything I need to. The website also has free sheet music. Good
luck!
Payson Method Piano by Andrew Payson
https://www.amazon.com/Payson-Method-Piano-Andrew/dp/173293231X/ref=sr\_1\_2?dchild=1&keywords=payson+method+piano&qid=1586154106&sr=8-2
Free Sheet Music
http://paysonmethod.com/free-resources

Do you happen to have students ages 4-7? I created a piano method book in a comic style and is meant to be used as a supplementary tool to other music books. I made the pages colorful and created funny characters, so students remain interested and engaged. Makes lessons feel different.

Would like to know what you think? Here's a preview of the inside of the book. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08D53GZXS/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I always use the my first piano adventures series. The first book is written with pre-readers in mind so it’s great for building confidence and such. Also comes with a CD so you can listen and play along in class.

https://www.amazon.ca/My-First-Piano-Adventure-Lesson/dp/1616776196/ref=asc_df_1616776196/?tag=googleshopc0c-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=293004435007&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=13612078765063154046&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&amp...

I’ve taught two pupils who started lessons at 5. I use the book Tunes for 10 fingers, I’ll link it below.

For one of them, this was fine. We worked through the book and she progressed really well. For the other, he had no attention span at all so I put some extra work into prepping the lessons, brought a timer and then we changed what we did every 5 minutes so he’d never get bored. It preparing 5/6 mini lessons for him but it was worth it and he loved the timer going off and shouting “CHANGE!”

Tunes for Ten Fingers (Piano Time) https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/0193727382/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_1YnsFbXWQYSN1

My nephew got this one from Amazon Yamaha YPT255 61-Key Keyboard Pack with Headphones, Power Supply, and Secure Bolt-On Stand https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01686TXTI/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_OzooybJ30D2G3

He got it for his 8 year old daughter. However, I haven't tested it. Planning on checking it out tomorrow though so I will come back and report my findings. Seems like a decent beginner keyboard from the specs.

Easy Classics to Moderns vol. 17 book. The link is all the songs on youtube.

Also The Piano Library of Classical Pieces. More difficult collection.

If you're looking for books that are good collections of pieces, I'd recommend the celebration series for collections of classical works. There are different volumes for different levels, I just provided a link to their "level 1," although there is a primer level if you want even easier. If you want additional repertoire resources, you can also find a lot of older (public domain) music on IMSLP (international music score library project IIRC).

For more repertoire help see if you can find a copy of Jane Magrath's <em>Pianist's Guide to Standard Teaching and Performance Literature.</em> It'll give you ideas on repertoire for years to come.