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A Guide to Pairing Cascade Method Books with Other Lesson Books

A Guide to Pairing Cascade Method Books with Other Lesson Books

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Are you interested in using Cascade Method with your piano students but you’re not quite sure which Cascade Method books transfer over from the other method books you’re using? It can be a little intimidating as to where to start or how to easily hop onto a new curriculum. That’s why we’re sharing a Cascade Method Books Transfer Guide that breaks down each book in our collection and how it correlates to the Faber Adventures series! 

Personally, I’m not familiar with any other method books outside of Faber Adventures like Alfred, Bastien, or the Piano Safari series. I would assume that whatever other method books you use can be compared similarly to the Faber Adventures series, so hopefully, this guide can still be a resource to you! Either way, we are going to go in-depth as to how Cascade Method books are laid out and who they are best suited for. 

If you are ready to make the switch to the Cascade Method Book Collection, this guide will be the perfect resource to break it down for you! We have books laid out for all age groups—heck, even some of these books can be enjoyable for adults! 

This Cascade Method Books transfer guide will help you choose the right method books for all your students, regardless of their previous method knowledge. I am confident that the Cascade Method is a revolutionary way to teach piano and all students who learn with this framework will not only enjoy their piano lessons but also become life-long, passionate musicians!

Cascade Method Books Transfer Guide

Cascade Method Books Transfer Guide

The Full Cascade Method Book Collection:

You can shop the full Cascade Method book collection through our Online Shop, as well as Amazon!

Piano Theory: Ages 4-18 

Designed to serve as the only piano theory book your students will need until they head to college, Cascade Method Piano Theory covers theory from entry-level to intermediate to advanced. 

This book can pair will ALL method books out there since it covers all levels of theory. If you’re teaching chords or scales, you can simply start with the Chords 1 page or Scales 1 page. Depending on how you present theory will determine where in the book you can pivot off of—if not starting from the beginning!

***Although it’s designed for ages 4 to 18 years old, even adults can use this book, considering the expansive level of theory delivered!***

Piano Beginner Book: Ages 4 through 8

This is the perfect book to start with any beginner student. Reinforce white keys and increase your student’s confidence within their very FIRST lesson by playing the songs throughout this book easily! 

This book pairs with Faber Adventures Primer Lesson Book B and Level 1 Lesson Book.

NoteMatch Book 1: Ages 4-5 and up 

NoteMatch Book 1 teaches a student to read from the VERY beginning (and pairs directly with the piano reading tool, NoteMatch). This book truly accelerates the rate at which kids can learn to read music.  

NoteMatch Book 1 pairs with Faber Adventures Primer Lesson Book B and Level 1 Lesson Book.

 

PRO TIP: 

We’ve covered the “starter kit” for teachers working with four to five-year-old students: 

  • Piano Theory Book 
  • Beginner Piano Book 
  • NoteMatch Book 1 
  • Monthly Practice Challenge
  • NoteMatch Piano Reading Tool

Chords Book 1: Ages 6-7 and up

Chords Book 1 helps students understand chord concepts, pairs great with NoteMatch, and allows students to play several notes at once with confidence from the beginning. This book covers all Major and Minor chords (C, Cm, D, Dm, …. Up to B, Bm, etc). Students will also encounter sharps and flats, which are concepts that they would normally learn in way later levels when compared to any other method books.

Students will need to have the finger dexterity to play actual chords, but if you start them young (by introducing the Piano Theory Book), then this book will be a piece of cake!  

Chords Book 1 pairs with Faber Piano Adventures Level 2A.

Faber Piano Adventures Level 2A introduces G, D major/major, and A major/minor chords, as well as a couple of other chords but it doesn’t cover them all. If you use Chords Book 1 alongside other method books really early within a student’s lessons, it will benefit them so much and help them understand the bigger picture of music, allowing them to learn songs so much faster! 

Most pieces and method books teach in “positions,” such as C position or G position. Many times, I’ll get students coming from other teachers who taught this way. The student will freak out asking what position it is, and can’t even think about deviating from that position!

I like to think of the piano as a playground, where we can truly play anywhere we want! I don’t want kids to feel limited and stuck in one place, and Chords 1 Book allows students to move up and down very easily, understanding chords and  “piano note families” (as I like to call them).

This book also guides students in composition, which is huge. Students tend to learn so much more when composing themselves! The way the “Play Composer” pages are structured really gives them the necessary guidelines to prevent intimidation and just get creative. It teaches them good habits in forming notes, understanding rhythm, spacing, and the rules of sharp/flats.

Student Duets Book 1 (Two Versions Available) 

Even though both books are the same music-wise, the way they’re presented allows for different ages, so I’ll explain the difference below. 

Student Duets Book 1: Pop Song Method: Ages 4 to 11 

The pop song edition of Student Duets allows very young students to play, what feels like, super-advanced pieces in just one lesson! Instead of featuring traditional sheet music, the pop song method approach lays out notes as they would be physically written out—as in “A, B, C.” This book reinforces scales at a young age and shows students (1) how fun learning scales can be and (2) the magic that comes from learning scales! It’s all about getting them excited in understanding theory so that they see what it allows them to do.

This book focuses on ear training and delivers a rote learning approach. You can pull all the Student Duets on Spotify, Apple Music, or YouTube! There are three versions of each duet (the student part, the teacher part, and then the duet as a whole). When you want the student to learn his/her part, listen to the piece on your preferred music platform, that way you’ll know how it goes (melody and rhythm wise). At some point,  you may know all these duets by heart, so you would prefer teaching by rote. Either way, you have options! 

There’s definitely a certain amount of theory we should be exposing and teaching our students, no matter the age! 

Books that transfer with Student Duets Book 1: Faber Primer, Lesson 1,  Lesson 2A, and maybe even beyond, Lesson 2B).

PRO TIP:

This book is great if you’re starting to teach kids scales from the Cascade Method Piano Theory Book, or if you want to introduce them to scales in a fun way in general!

Student Duets Traditional Sheet Music: Best suited for Immediate Students 

The Traditional Sheets Music version of Student Duets is ideal for kids who already know how to read on the staff and are comfortable with up to three sharps or flats. I’d recommend this book for ages 8 and up for reading, but also only if they’ve had lessons for a while. I would not recommend this version for beginners.

Books that transfer with Student Duets Book 1: Faber Primer, Lesson 1,  Lesson 2A, and maybe even beyond, Lesson 2B). 

Piano Favorites Book 1: Ages 7-8 and up

This also uses the pop song method, so kids can learn “impressive” songs super fast! With classics like Heart and Soul, Fur Elise, The Pink Panther theme song, Chopsticks, the Star Wars theme song, and the Jurassic Park theme song, this book is great for all ages (including adults!) 

If I was working with an adult, this would be the first book I would introduce. It’s also great for slightly older students since some of the pieces do introduce sharps and flats. 

PRO TIP:

Piano Favorites Book 1 is perfect to use after the Piano Beginner Book.

Pairs will with Faber Adventures Lesson 2B and up. 

Children’s Songbook for Piano Beginners Book 1: Ages 5-12 

Also laid out with the pop song method, students will be able to play and learn DOZENS of hymns and pieces in a very short amount of time. 

PRO TIP: If there are some pieces that you aren’t familiar with and/or you’d like your own students to learn the rhythm before playing, click here for all the songs throughout our Songbook in the MP3 version! 

Cascade Method Practice Books (supplemental books to encourage practice): 

As supplements to all these books, I would recommend all the practice books! I have all the practice pages sold individually on the Cascade Method online shop if you’d rather print them out yourself rather than purchase each book! 

100 Days of Practice Book 1 and 2: Best suited for older students 

Set up as a coloring book, each picture is designed with 100 coloring bubbles, encouraging kids to practice music for 100 consecutive days. We currently have two 100 Days to Practice Books on the market. 

Monthly Practice Challenges: Best suited for younger students 

Also set up as a coloring book, this workbook is designed specifically for younger students since they tend to have shorter attention spans. Each month, there is a new monthly-themed picture to color in. Therefore, students have a fresh start every month rather than every 100 days! 

The Cascade Method Seasonal Books:

Christmas Book 1 (Two Versions Available): Ages 5-12
Christmas Favorites Book 2: Ages 8 and up 

Using the pop song method, students can learn DOZENS of Christmas songs just in time for the holiday parties! As teachers, we don’t want to start learning Christmas music in August, but we know that if we want our students to have a handful of songs by the holidays, that’s when we really should be introducing them… but not anymore, thanks to this book! You could introduce this book in November and your students could easily learn all the songs before Christmas! 

We designed Christmas Book 1 in White Key and Black Key versions since some teachers introduce one or the other in lessons. Christmas Favorites Book 2 is laid out the same way and features 20 additional songs that are a little more complex, making it perfect for older students. 

Halloween Fun! Book 1: Ages 5 and up

Laid out as traditional sheet music, this piano book features 10 original Halloween-themed songs that your students will love playing during the spooky season! This songbook also happens to serve as a coloring book with pages filled with creepy crawlies, spooky ghosts, and dancing skeletons. It’s just another fun, creative way to make holiday piano lessons that much better!

Listen to all 10 Cascade Method original pieces!

For More Resources on Using The Cascade Method Book Collection, Become a Cascade Method Certified Teacher! 

After reading through our collection, are you ready to join the fun?! We offer an online teacher training program that not only covers all the books through video tutorials, but also gives you FREE access to over 3,300 pieces of sheet music, monthly workshops hosted in a private FB group, and much, much more! 

Learn more about becoming Cascade Method Certified!Cascade Method Books Transfer Guide

Don’t forget to download the Cascade Method Books Transfer Guide! Use it as a reference as you shop. 

Thank you for supporting Cascade Method. I’m here to help if you ever have any additional questions about the books or how our methods work!