Thompson - Easiest piano course

Easiest piano course by John Thompson in 8 books

The John Thompson's Easiest Piano Course is designed to present the easiest possible approach to piano playing, complete with an amusing family of characters and illustrations to help emphasise the information being taught.

Each book of the course contains its own writing exercises, sight-reading drills, review work and later, technical studies.

Accompaniments for teacher or parent are supplied with most of the examples.

Includes:

• Characters and illustrations
• Writing exercises
• Sight reading drills
• Review work
• accompaniments and more

Book 1 : 

Part one is devoted to developing fluency in reading by note, the biggest hurdle for most young children. The range is purposely limited. Only five notes up and five notes down from middle C are presented and time values do not go beyond crotchets.

Titles :

• Teachers and parents
• The keyboard - Showing middle C
• Keyboard chart
• Rudiments
• Middle C as a semibreve - In the treble : "Let's play"
• Middle C as a semibreve - In the bass : "Let's play"
• Middle C in minims : "Grandfather's clock"
• Middle C in crotchets : "Mocassin dance"
• Work sheet
• New note - D in the treble : "The train"
• New note - B in the bass : "The seabees"
• Work sheet
• Two-four - New time signature : "March of the gnomes"
• Three-four - The dotted minim : "Dance of the gnomes"
• New note - E in the treble : "Mary had a little lamb"
• New note - A in the bass : "The paratrooper"
• Review : "Marching up and down"
• Review : "Rag-time raggles"
• Work sheet
• New note - G in the bass : "The chimes"
• Review : "Funny faces"
• Review : "Old MacDonald had a farm"
• Rests - Work sheet
• Review : "Blow the man down"
• New note - F in the treble : "The church organ"
• Review : "Yankee Doodle"
• Review : "Carry me back to old Virginny"
• The tie : "The old cotton picker"
• New note - G in the treble - Theme from "The new world symphony" (Dvorak)
• Review : "Bugles"
• Review : "Row, row"
• Review : "Nobody knows the trouble I've seen"
• New note - F in the bass : "In a rickshaw"
• Review : "The banjo picker"
• Review : "Princess Waltz"
• Work sheet

Book 2 : 

This easy and fun approach to learning the piano has a modern look with clear and straight-forward layout plus amusing new characters who help emphasise the information being taught. As new notes are introduced, the pupil is given the opportunity to play examples in which only one hand is required.

Titles :

• Teachers and parents
• Review - Material learned in part One : "School days"
• Quavers - In two-four : "Playing tag"
• Quavers - In three-four : "Through the woods"
• Quavers - In four-four : "The trombone player"
• B and D on leger lines : "Oh, Susanna" -
• Review : "Ten little Indians"
• Work sheet
• The sharp sign : "The bells ring out"
• The flat sign : "Sunrise"
• Key signature : F major : "The ballet dancer"
• Key signature : G major : "Three blind mice"
• Work sheet - New notes
• Example of new notes : "The dancing kangaroo"
• Review : "Follow the leader"
• Review : "Lightly row"
• Review : "Setting up exercise"
• Work sheet - New notes in the bass
• Duet on new notes : "Serenade"
• Review : "The pipers are coming"
• The natural sign : "Once upon a time"
• Review : "The wishing star"
• Broken chords : "Mountain climbing"
• Work sheet - New treble notes
• Duet on new notes : "Maypole dance"
• Review : "Little Bo-Peep"
• Work sheet - Two-note chords
• Duet on two-note chords : "Evening star"
• Two-note chords - In G major : "The skater"
• Two-note chords - In C major : "The dancing bear"
• Three-note chords - with stationary bass, in C major. Theme from the "New world" Symphony (Dvorak)
• Three-note chords - with stationary bass, in F major : "Skip to my lou" -
• Three-note chords - with stationary bass, in G major : "london bridge is falling down"
• Cross-hand piece : "The giant steps"
• Review : "Turkey in the straw"
• Accents : "Indian Tom-Toms"
• Duets for sight-reading or diversion : "Sweet and low" (Joseph Barnby)
• Duets for sight-reading or diversion : "Prelude" (Chopin)
• Duets for sight-reading or diversion : "The band played on" (Charles Ward)

Book 3 : 

A revised edition of the best-selling piano course by John Thompson. Part 3 of this easy and fun approach to learning the piano begins by showing the importance of playing and listening to music phrase by phrase rather than note by note. Examples of touch follow in proper sequence.

Titles :

• Teachers and parents
• The phrase : "Melody"
• Three phrases : "The bee"
• Four phrases : "Much ado about nothing"
• Wrist staccato : "Some folks do"
• Work sheet : "New bass notes"
• Study in wrist staccato : "At the animal fair"
• Changing hand position : "On the levee"
• New expression marks : "Sunrise"
• The slur
• Two notes slur : "Pop goes the weaset"
• Two notes slurs, left hand : "Boogie woogie bill"
• Two notes slurs, right hand : "Robin Redbreast"
• Semitones (half steps)
• Whole tones (whole steps)
• Three notes slurs : "Shufflin' along"
• Crossing hands : "Shadow dance"
• Major scales
• Scale used as melody : "The juggler"
• F major scale : "Acrobats"
• Syncopation : "I like rhythm"
• Accents and slurs : "Tribal dance"
• Duet for teacher and pupil : "Cake walk"
• Chord building (major triads)
• Inversions
• Triads in both hands : "Chord capers"
• Broken chord etude
• Chord patterns : "An old folk tune"
• Broken chords : "Cross hand etude"
• Dissonances : "Chinese theatre"
• D major : "Peasant dance"
• B flat major : "Etude in B flat"
• Left hand broken chords : "In a gondola"
• Review : "Cowboy's song"
• Syncopation : "A little big of rag"
• A major : "Holiday song"
• Six-eight : "Tramp, tramp, tramp"
• E flat major : "By moonlight"
• Six-eight : "How d'ye do ?"
• Scales and chords
• Glossary of musical terms

Book 4 : 

Titles :

• Teachers and parents
• Wrist staccato : "Dancing raindrops"
• Melody in the left hand : "At the ball"
• Leger lines above bass stave
• Etude on leger lines
• Dotted crotches in three-four : "Song of the brook"
• Dotted crotches in four-four : "Puck"
• Leger lines below treble stave
• Etude on leger lines
• Finger change on the same key : "From a story book"
• Finger change on the same key : "Comin' 'Round the Mountain'"
• Work sheet - New key - E major
• Five-finger exercise in E major : "Cotton-pickin' Fingers"
• Two and three-note slurs : "Barcarolle" from "The tales of Hoffmann"
• Short and long slurs : "The cuckoo clock"
• Staccato thirds : "The overland stage"
• Work sheet - New key - A flat major
• Broken chord study in A flat major : "Giant redwood trees"
• Staccato study from the opera "William Tell"
• Recital piece : "The beautiful blue Danube"
• Cross-hand piece : "Scampering squirrels"
• Syncopation : "College capers"
• Work sheet - new key - B major
• Study in B major : Bohemian dance"
• Nocturne "song of twilight"
• Staccato and sostenuto from "Hopak"
• Work sheet - new key - D flat major
• Etude in D flat major
• Recital piece : "At the skating rink"
• Work sheet - new key - G flat major
• Study in G flat major : "Korean serenade"
• Novelty : "The man on the flying trapeze"
• Recital piece from "Narcissus"
• New scales and chords
• Glossary of musical terms

Book 5 : 

Titles :

• Sixteenth notes in three-four : "When knighthood was in lower"
• Syncopation : "Westward ho !"
• Leger lines (chart)
• Leger lines below bass staff : "Dance of the hobgoblins"
• Grace notes : "The campbells are coming"
• Staccato playing : from "The Magic flute" (W.A. Mozart)
• Pedal study
• Broken chords with pedal : "Over the fence is out !"
• The pedal in chord playing : "The church organ"
• Rapid two-note slurs : "Fun on the beach"
• Review piece : from "The Emperor waltz" (J. Strauss)
• Review piece : "Through the clouds"
• Sixteenths in four-four : "Etude"
• Sixteenths in two-four : "The lonesome stream"
• Sixteenths in six-eight : "Etude"
• Review piece : "Serenade"
• Broken chords with pedal : "Old faithful geyser"
• Review piece : "The new bike"
• Thumb under and 2nd finger over : "Etude"
• Review piece : "Whirling propellers"
• Thumb under 3rd finger : "Etude"
• 3rd finger over thumb : "Ballet rehearsal"
• Review piece : "In the days of powdered wigs"
• Legato and staccato contrast : "The tobacco auctioneer"
• Leger lines above treble staff : "Music box"
• Transposition : "Barn dance"
• The double flat : "Black key rag"
• Review piece : "The caissons go rolling along"
• Review piece : from "Danube waves" (J. Ivanovici)
• Study in rhythm : "Tango"
• Chord playing (forearm attack) : "The school song"
• Recital piece : from "Spring song" (F. Mendelssohn)

Book 6 : 

Titles :

• Alla breve : "The midget racer"
• Alla breve : "Boogie woogie"
• From the classics : "Grandmother's minuet" (arr.) (Grieg)
• Triplets : "Etude in triplets"
• Triplets in two-four : "The ranger"
• Triplets in three-four : "On the village green"
• Harpsichord style : "Sonatina"
• An old favorite : "Flower song" (arr.) (Lange)
• Wrist staccato : "When Johnny comes marching home" (arr.) (Gilmore)
• The dotted eighth note
• The dotted eighth in three-four : "Minuet" from Septet (arr.) (Beethoven)
• The dotted eighth in four-four : "The school band"
• Melody in inner voice : "The Lily pond"
• The trill : "Bird song"
• Syncopation : "Jam session"
• From the classics : "Liebestraum No.3" (arr.) (Liszt)
• Cross hand : "The fountain"
• Chord study : "Evening harmonies"
• Descriptive piece : "Hobgoblins"
• Study in style : "Gypsy life"
• March : "Semper Fidelis" (arr.) (Sousa)
• Forming minor scales

Book 7 : 

Titres :

• Foreword
• The burro
• Street carnival
• Santa Lucia
• Victory march
• Tango
• Mazurka
• Syncopatin' Sam
• Valse chromatique
• Flight to the moon
• Fifth nocturne (arr.) (Leybach)
• Polonaise op.53 (arr.) (Chopin)
• Black key study
• With colors flying
• Simple aveu (arr.) (Thomé)
• The soft shoe dancer
• Hymn to the sun from the opera "The golden cockerel" (arr.) (Rimsky-Korsakoff)
• Six etudes

Book 8 : 

Titles :

• Etude "Will o' the wisp" (Behr)
• Clog dance
• Etude
• Salut a pest (Kowalski)
• Etude (Burgmuller)
• Scherzo (Hummel)
• Mazurka (Meyer-Helmund)
• Etude (Burgmuller)
• Gigue (Corelli)
• Air de ballet
• Etude
• Theme from symphony No.1 (Brahms)
• On wings of song (Mendelssohn)
• Etude
• Poem (Fibich)
• Valse
• Souvenir (Drdla)
• Etude
• Tritsch tratsch (polka) (Strauss)
• Barcarolle