Hi Everyone!I have been working for a year at a Primary School teaching what is effectlively Keyboard Lessons. I was originally bought in as a Piano teacher, which I questioned because I was teaching on Keyboards and they are very different instruments. The answer was that the school could not afford a decent Piano for all the kids to use, so I was asked to teach 'Piano on Keyboard'. I found out that the previous teacher had been using the Keyboard for Young Beginners series, so I stayed with this as it was what the kids already knew. So actually, in effect, I have been teaching Keyboard, chords and all (has this confused you yet?).....
I have come to the decision that I want to change the books I use for this class next year. There are lots of reasons for this, the two main ones being that half of the group are leaving to go to Secondary School so if I change books there will be less of a problem, and also that I just don't think the kids are getting anywhere with them. I also don't really like the books very much personally, I feel the same way towards this series as I do towards the John Thompson Piano Course.... I don't like them! My question though, bearing all of what I have said in mind, is what to change to? The ethos from the beginning has been to teach PIANO on KEYBOARD, which I haven't been doing really. But I do want to start doing this; they are only learning the basics at the moment and they can't afford Piano's at home so Keyboards are the next best thing. The School Keyboards are really good ones in this regard too. I know some people will never dream of teaching Piano on a Keyboard, but there are other music schools I teach at that place beginners on a Keyboard for a while before they get to the Piano, simply because of money and easy access, and they are doing OK.
Can anyone recommend a series of books I can switch to from the ones I'm already using?