The Piano Studio
Scroll down to find the following four sections:
* A drawing-based instant note recognition method
* All similar motion scales
* St Cecilia’s 2026 Syllabus pieces by Ellie Hallett
* Freebies
A NEW method for reading music that works!
Section One – Introductory Information: treble and bass clefs, the piano note names, sharps, flats and note values.
Section Two – Note identification uses drawing as the visualisation tool for memorisation. If I say the word ‘sheep’, a picture of a sheep comes to mind. The same principle of learning applies here.
This is cheerful learning at its effective best. Children through to adults love this workbook because they grasp the concepts immediately and want to keep exploring further under their own steam.
- Memorisation happens much more quickly because each staff note is matched simultaneously to its location on the piano or the instrument being studied, so the written note and its pitch sound are learnt together.
- The physical act of drawing reinforces each note’s position on the staff and locks it into the mind.
- The pictures have been selected very carefully to represent each note so that the picture itself indicates pitch. An example – treble clef high C has a crown picture because it is worn up high.
- The drawings have been made simple enough for easy and quick copying.
- Note that the drawing part of this book starts after Section One.
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Price per workbook: AU$30.00
Playing similar motion scales with hands together is a very big ask for many students, often fraught with the pitfalls of wrong notes, incorrect fingering and practised-in errors.
Rather than spending valuable lesson-time working on the frustrating business of fixing fingering and note errors, this format allows teachers to work instead on technique, fluency, evenness of tone etc.
This A4 landscape hard copy book was written to help solve these problems and to streamline the memorisation process. This unique pictorial method created by Ellie Hallett after seeing how many students lost valuable marks in exams because of poor scales.
Students love this intuitive method because learning scales is far less frustrating and accuracy is achieved immediately. Practice time is shortened as a result.
Visit pianoscales.com.au for teaching details, look inside, prices and ordering.
Accurate First Time Piano Scales is an updated version of the earlier edition called As Easy as Pie Piano Scales. This version is still available in limited quantities. Click the above link to see the Black and White Edition.
Click School Music in the menu above to find a wide range of brand new songs with backing tracks.
Teachers are also invited to look at the full-colour song book,
A Pocketful of Nursery Rhymes with Piano Music
St Cecilia’s 2026 Syllabus
pieces by Ellie Hallett
These original pieces composed by Ellie Hallett are available
as PDFs for instant download.
Please note that each piece is strictly copyright.
One payment – one download.
Before beginning this piece, clapping and counting to a 4/4 beat establishes the feel of this time signature. Next, reading the score and pointing at the notes while hearing the piece played (teacher or MP3) combines the aural and visual.
Left and right hand fingers played in the air and on the knees while reading and hearing the notes greatly helps L/R hand, finger movements, then note recognition for playing fluency.
$5.90
The words of this famous old Nursery Rhyme** have been put to music by Ellie Hallett. The words have been included in the score for added enjoyment during practice time and for fun accompanying family and friends. The interesting history of this rhyme has been included.
$5.90
Dramatic Chromatic Circle of Fifths turns theory into a rollicking piano piece that will entertain and impress your friends.
Say out loud the key changes (already named for you) as you travel through to the surprising end!
Chocolate Sauce and Sprinkles
The left hand fingers have the melody while the right hand adds a set of chordal variations that gradually build up to a powerful conclusion.
Imagine a fast and bumpy ride as you play!
$5.90
This is a challenging piece with the right-hand chords imagining they are the treble and alto clef instruments of an orchestra, and the left hand octaves are the tenor and bass clef instruments. If played as a non-exam concert piece, available tuned instruments and percussion can be added at the pianist’s discretion to experiment with sound balancing and tonal colours.
$5.90
** Teachers are also invited to look at the full-colour hard-copy song book,
A Pocketful of Nursery Rhymes with Piano Music
that has another 16 well-known nursery rhymes set to piano music.
Freebies
Please feel free to download the documents below. Some have spaces for you to fill in to suit students of different grades. These are meant to make your life easier:
- Piano Progress Report
- Teacher’s Getting to Know You Questionnaire
- General Checklist for Parents
- Free backing tracks for It’s Time to Sing!