Review: Piano Pronto

Back in 2011 I started using Piano Pronto with my students. It all started with a couple transfers I was stumped on what books I wanted to use and Piano Pronto was sitting on my bookshelf waiting to be used. Once I started with the series I was hooked. You can read about my experiences back then here and here. It has now been 2 1/2 years since I have been using Jennifer Eklund’s music in my studio and I can’t tell you how glad I am that I had those transfers back then that stumped me because I have been extremely happy with everything that she has written.

Most of my students (even adults- they LOVE Piano Pronto) now use Piano Pronto because I have seen such growth in my students from these method books. Students not only advance faster but are enjoying the music as they are advancing! Most of the pieces in the method books are familiar. In the beginning levels students will play familiar folk tunes. As they advance, they are excited about familiar classical pieces. There is a variety of styles found- folk tunes, classical, jazz, blues and some Eklund originals.

In the last couple years Jennifer Eklund has been offering some awesome supplementary material. And when I saw awesome, that is putting it mildly. I can’t say enough about her arrangements and original compositions. Recently, I started using the New Horizons, Impressions, Dog Days and other supplemental books as a “performance” book along with the method for my students. The pieces are so fun and motivating for students to play. There is not a dud in the bunch!

And we have to mention the Christmas music! Jennifer’s Christmas Classics books are my most favorite Christmas music to play! The arrangements are pure heaven. Every single one of them truly brings in the Christmas spirit. Even my parents have been mentioning how much they love hearing the pieces their children are playing at home.

Since I am a HUGE Piano Pronto fan, I took advantage of the digital unlimited reproduction option that Jennifer now offers in her store. When you purchase the unlimited reproduction option you can legally print out unlimited copies for all the students in your studio. After purchasing this option, I just email my local printer the digital file and give him my printing order. Purchasing this option up front was worth the investment to me because I use her material a lot. I LOVE that she included this option and would love to see more publishing companies do this. I also put a copy of the music on my iPad so it is conveniently available should a student forget their music.

If you are looking for material to use with your students I highly recommend looking into the Piano Pronto materials if you haven’t already. You can view and listen to samples on the website. If you are not a subscriber to Piano Pronto’s YouTube page, be sure to subscribe. This is where you can see andor hear Jennifer Eklund playing her arrangements or original compositions.

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