Leila Viss with 88 Piano Keys recently came out with an iBook that I think every studio needs to download and use with their students. Understanding Intervals is a free interactive e-book you can receive when you sign up for the 88 Piano Keys newsletter here. 

The fun thing about e-books is the interactivity possibilities. In Understanding Intervals, Leila has recordings of her speaking and giving examples throughout the book. I love that she narrates so I can even use the book with younger students that might not read very well yet.

Understanding Intervals are divided into 3 parts. The first part is going through what an interval is. Besides visual and audio, musical examples are also given.

Part 2 is about finding the right fit. Throughout the book, Leila creatively likens intervals like shoe sizes. I love this! This gives students wonderful visual examples they can instantly relate to. In part two Leila goes through half and whole steps, Major, minor, Augmented and Diminished intervals.

Part 3 is “Tying” everything together (remember the shoe analogy?). In this section students will learn about scales in relation to the intervals and changing the quality of the intervals.

At the end of the book, Leila recommends some apps you can follow up with students reviewing what they just learned.

I will be using Understanding Intervals next week during students lab time. Though this book would also be great to use even during a group lesson! After my students go through the book, they will be following up with the apps that were recommended. I love how thorough the app was and how it was presented. I loved the shoe analogy and all the examples that were given. Great job Leila!

Remember you can receive a free copy of this book by going here and signing up for Leila’s newsletter. You will need to download iBooks on your iPad as that is where the app will show up. You can download iBooks here.

On another note… Leila Viss recently interviewed me about how I use the iPad in my studio. I was in the middle of typing this post when an email from 88 Piano Keys came in and I saw the interview is now live! Check it out here.