Review- Purrfect Practice: Technique Trainer 1

Jackie Sharp, author of Purrfect Practice: Technique Trainer 1 has published an e-book that I promise you will want to to use with your students. When Jackie sent me the book to review, I mentioned to her before I looked at it that I just had a dream about her book and I have never dreamt about something I was going to review before actually seeing it so that had to be a good sign. After going through her book, to say that it is “good” would be a drastic understatement. Technique Trainer is an absolute must own.

As stated inside the book, “Technique Trainer 1 is the first in a 3-part series of books of technical and musical exercises that develop the many skills necessary for achieving excellence at the piano.”

Inside Technique Trainer 1 you will find:

Engaging Content: In this level, Jackie explains the focus is on maintaining joint stability, appropriate hand position and understanding the involvement of wrist and arm in piano playing. Beautiful illustrations by Suping Xu are found at the beginning, showing correct and incorrect positions and movements. Following the helpful illustrations the exercise and activities begin.

Exercises: There are 25 technical exercises including in this book. The layout of the exercises are clean and include clear instructions on how they should be played.

Self Assessment: As we know, self assessment is an important part of engaged learning. As students are accomplishing and ticking of clicking goals they become more efficient in their learning and practicing skills.

Bonus Learning Activities: In addition to the exercises, there are 25 bonus learning activities. Students are given activities to increase their awareness and apply the technique to their practice.

Video Demonstrations: One of my personal favorites. Each exercise page includes video links, with a total of 62 videos in the book. In the video clips, Jackie explains the technique and how to achieve them. These are especially helpful for students to watch when they are not with their teacher at lessons. Because most of us our visual, I really LOVE that Jackie has taken the extra time to make these videos. Having this helpful tool, is a big part of what sets this book apart from other technique books.

Jackie has spent a lot of time and careful planning, providing excellent material and techniques for students while making it easy for the teacher. Whether you are a brand new teacher or a novice in teaching technique this book is chock full of goodies for your students! Now I can’t wait until book 2 and 3 in the series are released!

You can purchase and view samples of every page including the table of contents of Technique Trainer 1 here. Technique Trainer is available for $25.00 (Australian, which converts to approx. $19.08 US). Jackie has offered to give a copy of Technique Trainer to a very lucky teacher! To enter to win, just leave a comment below by Friday, April 10th; 10:00pm (AZ MST). Good luck! GIVEAWAY HAS EXPIRED.

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