My Most Frequently Recommended Books for Adult Students
This is by no means a comprehensive list of all books and resources that I use with adult students! Just a way to get you started and grow your musical library… 😄
Beginner
Nancy and Randall Faber are excellent piano pedagogues, prolific method book writers for all ages, and excellent composers. I often turn to the Fabers for their method books for students of all ages. This series will walk you through beginning to intermediate staff reading, and various keys, genres, and styles. It is so smoothly sequenced – I just love it!
Faber also has excellent supplemental material. Check out their Classics, Christmas, and Popular books that go with the Adult All-in-One Course.
I love borrowing their supplemental arrangements from the kids’ methods too. Some satisfying and recognizable Jazz, Rock, Disney, and Popular arrangements!
These can be controversial to some teachers as many of the note names are written in! But I like using these books with beginning adults that have a request for a favorite tune, or interest in a specific artist or genre. The Pop Standards and Jazz Standards are always a hit. But there are so many options here… Beatles, Elton John, Star Wars, Taylor Swift… and more!
Intermediate
Bradley Sowash is an excellent jazz pianist and educator. He creates wonderfully sequenced method books to gradually walk you through the steps of being able to improvise and groove in a jazz style! These books are so much fun to use with adult students.
The true resource for endless Jazz tunes and lead sheets!
More from the Fabers! Cleanly notated, expertly compiled, historically varied piano Literature and Sonatina anthologies featuring all of the eras – from Baroque to Modern! I love how well-leveled these are. Perfect for students of all ages after at least 3 years of study. These are a great starting point for exploring different styles of playing piano – from 1650 through today!
Advanced
Many of my adult students work on a chorale each week. Typically my students read through tons of easier chorales before approaching these very dense Bach chorales. When my students are ready for the sight reading and theory challenges posed by these beautiful chorales, I always recommend this comprehensive resource… with over 400 chorales by Bach! If you’re a libretto nerd – it includes the original text in both German and English!
Great collections for late intermediate and early advanced students. Clean and easy-to-read printing, with helpful edits and footnotes. I love using these to grow a student’s musical library and add repertoire from specific composers. A few of my favorite recommendations from this huge list include:
Burgmüller: 25 Progressive Pieces, Opus 100
Chopin: An Introduction to His Piano Works
Any of the J.S. Bach collections
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