When music excites our interest and imagination, we eagerly put our hearts into learning it. The music in the Hal Leonard Student Piano Library encourages practice, progress, confidence, and best of all - success! From the very first lessons in Book 1, students are making their own music as they explore the piano keyboard through fun improvisation pieces called My Own Song. The beginning of the method introduces finger numbers, the black-key and white key groups, and basic rhythmic patterns. Directional reading is taught first by finger number, then by note name, and then by interval (step, skip, and repeat). Once students are introduced to the staff, they learn reading guides bass F and treble G and read by interval in several different hand positions. Supplemental books correlate page-by-page with the respective lesson book. Much of the Hal Leonard Student Piano Library features pieces and songs that are recognizable including popular, traditional, patriotic and movie themes. Their settings are tasteful and include exceptional teaching accompaniments. Instrumental accompaniments for every piece are available on CD and General MIDI disk.

Book 2 opens with a new My Own Song improvisation on CDEFG. Unit 1 introduces phrasing and legato touch, and also presents harmonic 2nds and 3rds with staccato touch. The following two units are dedicated to the introduction of 4ths and 5ths. Also in Unit 3, sharps are introduced in a diatonic setting starting on D, and flats are introduced as blues notes. Most pieces in the second half of Book 2 coordinate hands playing together.

Unit 1 of Book 3 opens with eighth notes, first in 4/4 time, then in 2/4 time. Swing eighths are also presented in the first half of the book. Folk, jazz, classical, and contemporary selections provide students with an interesting variety of repertoire. In the second half of Book 3, five-finger patterns and triads in C Major, G Major, and F Major are presented, as well as their relative minors - A Minor, E Minor, and D Minor.

Book 4 expands on the related five-finger patterns learned in Book 3 to introduce the scales of C Major, A Minor, G Major, and E Minor. Chord progressions in close position are also presented in each of these keys. Syncopated rhythms, syncopated pedaling and opposing articulations between the hands create performances with style, color, and texture.

Students are introduced to sixteenth notes in various rhythmic patterns in Book 5. The wide variety of student selections in the Lesson Book alone include 3 folk, 4 jazz, 13 classical, and 8 contemporary original pieces. Scales (in both 8th and 16th-note patterns) with their cadences are presented in five major and five minor keys. Root, 1st inversion, 2nd inversion, and open position chords for each key center are also introduced.