Below is a list of books and resources. I hope to gradually write reviews for many of these resources. I don’t know if I’ll ever get them all done though, so I need your help! Have you read any of these books? Do you have other favorite books to add to the list? Please share in the comments below!
In the interest of full disclosure: All links are Amazon affiliate links which will benefit Color In My Piano if you make a purchase.
Piano Pedagogy
- Creative Piano Teaching by James Lyke, Yvonne Enoch, and Geoffrey Haydon.
- Professional Piano Teaching: A Comprehensive Piano Pedagogy Textbook for Teaching Elementary-Level Students by Jeanine M. Jacobson
- How to Teach Piano Successfully (Third ed) by James W. Bastien
- Practical Piano Pedagogy by Martha Baker-Jordan
- The Well-Tempered Keyboard Teacher by Marienne Uszier, Stewert Gordon, and Scott McBride-Smith
- The Art of Teaching Piano by Denes Agay
- The Private Music Instruction Manual: A Guide for the Independent Music Educator by Rebecca Osborn
- The Independent Piano Teacher’s Studio Handbook by Beth Klingenstein
- The PracticeSpot Guide to Promoting Your Teaching Studio by Philip Johnston
- Teaching Piano in Groups by Christopher Fisher
- The Music Teaching Artist’s Bible: Becoming a Virtuoso Educator by Eric Booth
- How to Teach Suzuki Piano by Shinichi Suzuki
- Nurtured by Love: The Classic Approach to Talent Education by Shinichi Suzuki and Waltraud Suzuki
- Studying Suzuki Piano: More Than Music : A Handbook for Teachers, Parents, and Students Carole L. Bigler and Valery Lloyd-Watts
- Teaching Piano: Synthesis of Mind, Ear and Body by Max W. Camp
- Thinking as You Play: Teaching Piano in Individual and Group Lessons by Sylvia Coats
- Pianism by Aiko Onishi
- Menahem Pressler: Artistry in Piano Teaching by William Brown
- That’s a Good Question: How to Teach by Asking Questions by Marienne Uszier
- Coffee with Ray by Nick Ambrosino [read my review].
Music Pedagogy
- Intelligent Music Teaching by Robert Duke [read my review]
- The Ways Children Learn Music by Eric Bluestine [read my review]
Teaching Resources
- Piano Teacher’s Resource Kit: Reproducible Worksheets, Games, Puzzles, and More! by Karen Harrington
- 60 Music Quizzes (For Theory & Reading) by Jay Althouse
- The Amazing Music Activities Book: Ideas and Exercises for Exploring: Music Basics, Ear Training, Music Styles, and Famous Composers by Janet Vogt
- The Big Book of Music Games by Debra Olson Pressnall and Lorilee Malecha
- 101 Music Games for Children: Fun and Learning with Rhythm and Song by Jerry Storms
- Classic Tunes & Tales: Ready-To-Use Music Listening Lessons & Activities for Grades K-8 by Tod F. Kline
- A Galaxy of Games for the Music Class by Margaret Athey
Early Childhood Music
- 101 Rhythm Instrument Activities: for Young Children by Abigail Flesch Connors
- Music and Movement in the Classroom Pre-Kindergarten to Kindergarten by Steven Trough
- Kids Can Listen, Kids Can Move! (Book & CD) by Lyn Kleiner
- Kids Make Music: Babies Make Music Too! by Lyn Kleiner
- Kids Make Music!: Clapping & Tapping from Bach to Rock! (Williamson Kids Can! Series) by Avery Hart, Paul Mantell, and Loretta Trazzo Braren
- Music Play: The Early Childhood Music Curriculum Guide for Parents Teachers & Caregivers Spiral (Jump Right in Perschool Series) by Alison M. Reynolds, Beth M. Bolton, Cynthia C. Taggart, Edwin E. Gordon, and Wendy H. Valerio
- An Introduction to Music in Early Childhood Education by Joanna D. Greata
Piano Technique
- Famous Pianists and Their Technique by Reginald R. Gerig
- What Every Pianist Needs to Know About the Body by Thomas Mark, Roberta Gary, and Thom Miles
- Piano Playing: With Piano Questions Answered (Classic Reprint) by Josef Hofman
- Piano Technique by Walter Gieseking and Karl Leimer
- The Leschetizky Method: A Guide to Fine and Correct Piano Playing by Malwine Bree
- Leschetizky’s Fundamental Principles of Piano Technique by Marie Prentner
- The Art of Piano Pedaling: Two Classic Guides by Anton Rubinstein and Therese Carreno
- The Art of Piano Playing by Heinrich Nauhaus
- The Craft of Piano Playing: A New Approach to Piano Technique by Alan Fraser
- The Pianist’s Guide to Pedaling by Joseph Banowitz
- Great Pianists on Piano Playing: Godowsky, Hofmann, Lhevinne, Paderewski and 24 Other Legendary Performers (Great Pianists: In Their Own Words) by James Francis Cooke
- Effortless Mastery: Liberating the Master Musician Within by Kenny Werner
- Piano Notes: The World of the Pianist by Charles Rosen
- Abby Whiteside on Piano Playing : Indispensables of Piano Playing – Mastering the Chopin Etudes and Other Essays by Abby Whiteside
- Essay on the True Art of Playing Keyboard Instruments by C.P.E. Bach
- L’Art De Toucher Le Clavecin. The Art of Playing the Harpsichord (French and English Edition) by Francois Couperin
- Piano Power, A Breakthrough Approach To Improving Your Technique by Richard Prokop
- On Piano Playing: Motion, Sound, and Expression by Gyorgy Sandor
- The Vengerova System of Piano Playing by Robert D. Schick
- Art of Piano Playing by George Kochevitsky
- Mastering Piano Technique: A Guide for Students, Teachers and Performers by Seymour Fink
For Parents/Students
- The Piano Book: Buying & Owning a New or Used Piano by Larry Fine
- Acoustic & Digital Piano Buyer: Supplement to The Piano Book by Larry Fine
- The Piano Lessons Book: The Piano Student’s Guide For Getting The Most Out Of Practicing, Lessons, Your Teacher And Yourself by Neil Miller
- Making Music at the Piano: Learning Strategies for Adult Students by Barbara English Maris
- The Piano Handbook: A Complete Guide for Mastering Piano by Carl Humphries
- Improve Your Piano Playing by John Meffen
Music History/Theory
- How To Listen To Great Music by Robert Greenberg | [read my review]
- The Classical Style: Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven (Expanded Edition) by Charles Rosen
- Sonata Forms (Revised Edition) by Charles Rosen
- Music and Sentiment by Charles Rosen
- The Romantic Generation by Charles Rosen
- The Rest Is Noise: Listening to the Twentieth Century by Alex Ross
- Silence: Lectures and Writings by John Cage
Biographies
- The Great Pianists: From Mozart to the Present by Harold C. Schonburg
- My Life with the Great Pianists by Franz Mohr
- Wave as you Pass, by Harry Lee Neal
- Hans Von Bülow: A Life and Times by Alan Walker
- Chopin: Pianist and Teacher: As Seen by his Pupils by Jean-Jacques Eigeldinger
- The Piano Master Classes of Franz Liszt, 1884–1886: Diary Notes of August Göllerich by Wilhelm Jerger
- The Lives of the Great Composers by Harold C. Schonburg
- Mozart’s Letters, Mozart’s Life by Robert Spaethling
- The Chronicle of Classical Music: An Intimate Diary of the Lives and Music of the Great Composers by Alan Kendall
- Great Contemporary Pianists Speak for Themselves by Elyse Mach
Practice and Performance
- Playing Beyond the Notes by Deborah Rambo Sinn | [read my review]
- Piano Practice and Performance by Barry Michael Wehrli and Linda Ruth Wehrli
- Not Until You’ve Done Your Practice: The classic survival guide for kids who are learning a musical instrument, but hate practicing by Philip Johnston and David Sutton
- Music in your head (Mental practice, how to memorize piano music) by Francois L. Richard
- The Musician’s Way: A Guide to Practice, Performance, and Wellness by Gerald Kickstein
- Perfect Wrong Note – Learning to Trust Your Musical Self by William Westney
- The Art of Practicing: A Guide to Making Music from the Heart by Madeline Bruser and Yehudi Menuhin
- The Practice Revolution: Getting great results from the six days between lessons by Philip Johnston
- Improve Your Piano Playing by John Meffen
- With Your Own Two Hands : Self-Discovery Through Music by Seymour Berstien
- Fundamentals of Piano Practice by Chuan C. Chang
- The Mastery of Music: Ten Pathways to True Artistry by Barry Green
- The Inner Game of Music by Barry Green
- The Inner Game of Tennis: The Classic Guide to the Mental Side of Peak Performance by W. Timothy Gallway
- A Soprano on Her Head: Right-Side-Up Reflections on Life and Other Performances by Eloise Ristad [read my review]
- The Pianist’s Dictionary by Maurice Hinson
- The A to Z of Foreign Musical Terms: From Adagio to Zierlich a Dictionary for Performers and Students by Christine Ammer [read my review]
- The Complete Collaborator: The Pianist as Partner by Martin Katz
- Performance Practices in Classic Piano Music: Their Principles and Applications by Sandra P. Rosenblum
- The Art of French Piano Music: Debussy, Ravel, Faure, Chabrier by Roy Howat
- Interpreting Mozart: The Performance of His Piano Works by Eva and Paul Badura-Skoda
- Baroque Music: Style and Performance: A Handbook by Robert Donington
- J.S. Bach’s Keyboard Technique: An Historical Introduction by Quentin Faulkner
- Ornamentation : A Question & Answer Manual by Valerie Lloyd-Watts and Carole L. Bigler
Keyboard Literature
- Pianist’s Guide to Standard Teaching and Performance Literature by Jane Magrath
- Guide to the Pianist’s Repertoire, third edition by Maurice Hinson
- Music for More than One Piano: An Annotated Guide by Maurice Hinson
- The Piano in Chamber Ensemble, Second Edition: An Annotated Guide by Maurice Hinson and Wesley Roberts
- The Pianist’s Guide to Transcriptions, Arrangements, and Paraphrases by Maurice Hinson
- Music for Piano and Orchestra, Enlarged Edition: An Annotated Guide by Maurice Hinson
- Music for Piano: A Short History by F.E. Kirby
- Piano Duet Repertoire: Music Originally Written for One Piano, Four Hands by Cameron McGraw
- Five Centuries of Keyboard Music by John Gillespie
- A History of Keyboard Literature: Music for the Piano and Its Forerunners by Stewart Gordon
The Piano
- Piano: The Making of a Steinway Concert Grand by James Barron
- People and Pianos: A Pictorial History of Steinway & Sons by Theodore Steinway
- Steinway and Sons by Richard K. Lieberman
- 88 Keys – The Making of a Steinway Piano by Miles Chapin
- The Piano: The Complete Illustrated Guide to the World’s Most Popular Musical Instrument by Jeremy Siepmann
- Piano: A Photographic History of the World’s Most Celebrated Instrument by David Crombie
- Piano Roles: A New History of the Piano by James Parakilas
- Men, Women and Pianos: A Social History by Author Loessor
- Pianoforte: A Social History of the Piano by Dieter Hildebrandt
- The Piano: A History by Cyril Ehrlich
- Giraffes, Black Dragons, and Other Pianos: A Technological History from Cristofori to the Modern Concert Grand, Second Edition by Edwin Good
- Piano in America, 1890-1940 by Craig H. Roell
- A Romance on Three Legs: Glenn Gould’s Obsessive Quest for the Perfect Piano by Katie Hafner
The Orchestra
- Those Amazing Musical Instruments! with CD: Your Guide to the Orchestra Through Sounds and Stories by Genevieve Helsby
- Story of the Orchestra : Listen While You Learn About the Instruments, the Music and the Composers Who Wrote the Music! by Robert Levine
- Musical Instruments Coloring Book by Ellen J. McHenry
Just For Kids
- Great Composers: Bach to Berlioz (Coloring Book) by David Brownell
- Can You Hear It? by Willaim Lach
- Sergei Prokofiev’s Peter and the Wolf: With a Fully-Orchestrated and Narrated CD by Janet Schulman
- The Carnival of the Animals (Book and CD) by Jack Prelutsky
- The Jazz Fly (book w/ audio CD) by Matthew Gollub
- Jazz Fly 2: The Jungle Pachanga (book w/ audio CD) by Matthew Gollub
- Zin! Zin! Zin! A Violin by Lloyd Moss
- Charlie Parker Played Be Bop by Christopher Raschka
- This Jazz Man by Karen Ehrhardt
- Jazz On A Saturday Night by Leo & Diane Dillon
- Carnival of the Animals: Classical Music for Kids by Barrie C. Turner
- Do Re Mi: If You Can Read Music, Thank Guido D’Arezzo by Susan Roth
- The 39 Apartments of Ludwig Van Beethoven by Jonah Winter
- Beethoven’s Wig by Richard Perlmutter
- The Heroic Symphony by Anna Harwell Celenza
- Pictures at an Exhibition by Anna Harwell Celenza
- Bach’s Goldberg Variations by Anna Harwell Celenza
- The Farewell Symphony by Anna Harwell Celenza
- Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue W /CD by Anna Harwell Celenza
- The Composer Is Dead (Book & CD) by Lemony Snicket
- Music for the End of Time by Jennifer Bryant
- The Magic Flute: An Opera by Mozart by Kyra Teis
- Lives of the Musicians: Good Times, Bad Times (and What the Neighbors Thought) by Kathleen Krull
- I Know a Shy Fellow Who Swallowed a Cello by Barbara S. Garriel
- “Getting to Know the World’s Greatest Composers” Series: Tchaikovsky, Beethoven, Mozart, J.S.Bach, Handel, Chopin, Brahms, Stravinsky, George Gershwin, Aaron Copland, and Leonard Bernstein by Mike Venezia
Inspiration, Just For Fun, and More
- What Music Means to Me by Richard Rejino
- The Piano Shop on the Left Bank: Discovering a Forgotten Passion in a Paris Atelier by Thad Carhart
- The Music Lesson: A Spiritual Search for Growth Through Music by Victor L. Wooten
- Free Play: Improvisation in Life and Art by Stephen Nachmanovitch
- The Savvy Musician: Building a Career, Earning a Living & Making a Difference by David Cutler
- Note by Note: A Celebration of the Piano Lesson by Tricia Tunstall
- Piano Lessons: Music, Love, and True Adventures by Noah Adams | REVIEW
- Grand Obsession: A Piano Odyssey by Perri Knize
Have suggestions for books to add to the list? Leave a comment below!
This is an impressive list of books! I have actually read a few and have posted reviews of a couple of them on my blog – The Piano Shop on the Left Bank, and Mozart’s Letters, Mozart’s Life. I loved them both. Others I have but just use for reference. One that I would add is The Cello Suites by Eric Siblin – (also reveiwed on my blog) – it is in part a good, easy -to-read biography of Bach. Another one to add is Am I Too Loud? by Gerald Moore – the memoirs of the great accompanist. I’m re-reading it after I first read it as a university student back in the 80s.
Your list is inspirational!
LaDona
Hello Joy!
I’ve been following your blog for quite some time now and really enjoy your posts. I’m an independent piano teacher myself and had my early piano studies in Russia. Studying piano pedagogy in America is still a bit new to me so I am always interested in sharing ideas with other teachers here.
In my studio I often run into a problem with my students, who by now should be independent enough to learn music on their own, often do not do so until we go over the piece several times. For example, we’ll go over everything during the lesson (time signature, tonality, chords, which hand does what, and if there’s time we go over specific sections etc). However I notice that once they go home and come back the next week it is if though they never even looked at the piece! And we have to do it all over again 😉
So I wanted to ask you how you deal with situations like that. And also, how do you encourage sigh-reading? When I was a student, I remember my teacher never had to remind us about sigh-reading, music was like reading a new exciting book every day. I remember not practicing what was required and spent hours on sigh-reading new pieces. Most of my kids now are more than capable to do so as well but it’s almost like they are afraid of the new music and wait until I teach it to them first.
I know it’s a common problem in many studios and I wanted to see your opinion on that.
Thanks 🙂