Now Available: Muscle Builder Book 5

Now available in the Store is the next volume of the My Muscle Builder Book technique series! I’m super excited about Book 5 and about all of the things students have learned once they have reached this level. In this book we are using our “Sneaky Thumbs” and finger crossovers learned in previous volumes to play two-octave major scales!

Students will learn the basic scale fingering patterns and put them to good use on and off of the piano. We review our minor triads and then use them to play some fancy, musical arpeggios on both ends of the piano.

We also start dabbling in full-octave arpeggios, using the black-key major keys of D-flat, E-flat, G-flat, A-flat and B-flat. Students will really have a fun time as they cross over and under and play all over the piano in 19 different keys! As always, this Muscle Builder Book is in full color and includes all of the colorful picture scales and arpeggios to help students of all ages become literate at the piano.


Also available to purchase is the companion Muscle Builders Extras pack, including 3 full-color picture scale/arpeggio reference sheets and a “Book 5 At a Glance” page, where teachers or students can keep track of their Book 5 technique progress on one handy sheet. I recommend printing the Muscle Builder Book 2 pages per sheet in booklet format.

My Muscle Builder Book 5 and the Book 5 Extras pack may be purchased in the Store or at the bottom of this post. Enjoy some preview page views below. Have a happy new teaching year!

 

 




My Muscle Builder Book 5
40 pages, digital download
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My Muscle Builder Extras – Book 5
4 pages, digital download

Inspiration.

I wanted to share a few wonderful things I have discovered lately:

1. This fun blog, Music for Tots. I love this post about making a difference in someone’s life.

2. Another great piano blog, Gretchen’s Pianos, and this post that tells how sometimes “enthusiasm trumps experience!” Love it.

3. These. Although not exactly piano-related (hehe), these were my usual practice break treat in college, and they are a-mazing. Last week when my usual dark chocolate wasn’t available at the store I decided to try extra-dark….mmmmmm…

4. A great scale preparation exercise, or spider fingers – what a great idea! I love this blog by pianist/writer/teacher Amy Greer, who I first became familiar with by reading her column in American Music Teacher five years ago.

5. Dvorak piano quartets (or maybe quintets?)…so a couple of weeks ago I went to the grocery store at night after putting my son to bed. As I pulled out of the garage and turned on the classical music station I heard the most gorgeous music. After sitting in the grocery store parking lot for a few minutes and realizing that an entire new movement was just starting, I called my husband and asked him to google the radio station, listen online and find out the name of the piece! Well, he caught part of the name and we know it is either a Dvorak piano quartet or a quintet….quite possibly this one, but I’m still not sure. Either way, it’s gorgeous!

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