piano pedagogy books

Jane Smisor Bastien together with her husband James Bastien, wrote the best-selling Bastien Piano Methods enjoyed by millions of students and teachers worldwide. The series of books, all published by the Neil A. Kjos Music Company, are now translated into more than 16 languages. Inspired by Robert Pace's "Multi-Key" pedagogical approach and her own ideas culled from years of teaching, Jane and James created the much loved and accessible "Gradual Multi-Key Approach." Evolving through several generations of methodology, their writing culminated with the release of the Bastien Piano Basics, the world's first ever 4-color piano method, which has been a best-seller since it's release in 1985.

Edna Mae Burnam authored the now classic piano training books “A Dozen a Day” to help beginners learn in a fun and meaningful way. Her books have been critical to millions of young pianists around the world for over 60 years. Edna Mae wrote her first song back in 1935 but was more interested in teaching music than penning a top hit. While she continued to write pop songs she worked on her idea of providing very basic learning tools for those sitting down to the piano for the first time.

Scott Houston is known as The Piano Guy thanks to his long running PBS teaching show. During the programs long run Scott has encouraged thousands of people to become music makers, making him the ideal person to speak about the importance of Recreational Music Making (RRM). His passion for teaching has inspired many to continue playing, to begin teaching and to stay active as a musician. The Piano Guy won two Emmy Awards and included over 180 episodes, many featuring special guest performers to help encourage viewers to continue with their lessons.