Piano Pronto® Method FAQs

Which Piano Pronto level is appropriate for my student?

If you are transferring from another series use the FREE transfer guide that contains excerpts from all of the method books followed by guidelines for appropriate method book level and supplemental materials. Our FREE Teacher Welcome Kit also contains helpful charts and guides.

Is Piano Pronto an All-in-One course?

Not exactly, but it’s pretty close! Each book in the Piano Pronto series includes pieces, explanations about musical concepts and terminology, written music theory exercises, and Pronto Prep sections to help instill the importance of section work. If you want to dive deeper into music theorym we suggest using the correlating Power Pages book to supplement.

What makes Piano Pronto different from other methods?

The Piano Pronto series utilizes unique and motivating material that is suitable for students of all ages and introduces on staff reading from day one. Most of the pieces in the Piano Pronto series are recognizable tunes that students are familiar with, making it easier to practice effectively and progress at a faster rate.

The books have a clean layout with no distracting illustrations. The music is pedagogically flexible with finely-crafted hand-friendly selections from a wide variety of genres and a thoughtful and gentle trajectory that will keep your students happy and progressing.

The method features a systematic approach to learning new repertoire. Nearly every piece is preceded by a Pronto Prep section where the difficult portions of the next piece have been extracted to be used as section work. By reinforcing this habit continuously students are less fearful of challenges in new pieces and engrain solid practice habits.

Keyboard Kickoff and Prelude seem similar, what is the difference?

Keyboard Kickoff is intended for younger beginners, typically those with smaller hands, who are ages 5-7. The pacing of Keyboard Kickoff is slower, the pieces have more note-name aides, and there is only a limited use of harmonic intervals. In contrast, Prelude is a beginning level book intended for older beginners, has a more accelerated pacing, fewer note-name aides, and more demanding use of harmonic intervals in the left hand.

Can my student skip Prelude after Keyboard Kickoff?

Students who complete Keyboard Kickoff should then work through the Prelude book. There are a number of concepts, including the introduction of dynamics and accidentals, that are introduced in the Prelude book that are not presented in Keyboard Kickoff. While there is some overlap between Keyboard Kickoff and Prelude there are transition instructions in the Foreword Notes of the Prelude book that detail how to utilize the review pieces at the beginning of the Prelude book. Many teachers find it effective to start using these two books in tandem when the student reaches the halfway point of Keyboard Kickoff.

What is the Interlude book?

Students inevitably hit small reading roadblocks when they reach the late beginning level. The Interlude book is an optional volume that can be used by students after they finish the Prelude book or in tandem with the Movement 1 book to help reinforce their reading skills and to further explore playing in easy tonal centers like G major and F major. The Interlude book has a limited amount of textual method material and includes the teacher duets all in the same book

What is the Coda book?

After completing Piano Pronto: Movement 3, teachers and students have the option to continue through the latter part of the series, or move directly into the Piano Pronto: Coda book to wrap up the method book journey. The Coda book features favorite pieces from Piano Pronto: Movement 4, Movement 5, Finale, and Encore, organized by historical period and also includes historical notes covering details about each piece and the stylistic elements of the different music history eras.

I don’t like arrangements, can you convince me otherwise?

The backbone of the Piano Pronto series is the familiarity of the repertoire. The series was written over a ten-year period and road-tested on hundreds of students of all levels, backgrounds, and ages. Time and time again we found that familiar melodies are generally easier for students to practice effectively at home. When practice time increases so does the pace of their progress! The arrangements are carefully crafted to maintain the integrity of the original works and help expose students to genres of music, like orchestral themes, that they may not otherwise encounter.