Estimated reading time 4 minutes
Table of Contents
Introduction
It’s back-to-school time, and that means loading up on your kids’ (or students’) piano music! The following post contains links to two of the most popular piano lesson series, giving you entry points into the lesson materials for any age or skill level. Keep reading to learn about the top back-to-school piano sheet music method books.
This post contains affiliate links, which means I may receive a small commission from purchases made through the links. I’ll only recommend products I use, use in lessons, or ones my students or colleagues have recommended.
Best Back-to-School Piano Sheet Music Method Books: Method vs Songbook
This post focuses on method books.
- The students’ method books are the core of their piano lessons. It’s what pushes a student’s technique and reading forward.
- While the method books do incorporate fun songs, the emphasis is on acquiring skill.
- The two most popular piano method series are Piano Adventures and Alfred.
- Why two series? Because they’re both good, and sometimes you’ll need to put siblings in two different series to avoid problems with competition.
- The links in this post include a variety of lesson and theory books that’re appropriate for any age or skill level.
Songbooks are also important because they provide the fun in music lessons, giving students an incentive to practice and play:
Best Back-to-School Piano Sheet Music Method Books: Piano Adventures
This series is wildly popular and is a best seller on Sheet Music Plus, the largest online sheet music retailer in the world.
My First Piano Adventures
These are for very young beginners, starting at ages 4 to 5, meaning that a student starting in level A would be around 4 to 5 years old.
Lesson
After students complete My First Adventure C, they’ll transition into Piano Adventures level 1. So, the My First Adventure series covers the same information as the Piano Adventures Primer level.
Piano Adventures
These are for young beginners, starting at ages 6 to 8. This is Piano Adventure’s main piano series.
Lesson
Theory
Accelerated Piano Adventures
These are for older beginners, starting at ages 9 to 11. Simply put, the accelerated books combine the primer and level 1 into Accelerated 1, level 2A and 2B into Accelerated 2, and books 4 and 5 into the combined Levels 4 & 5 (Lesson & Theory).
Lesson
Theory
Piano Adventures Adult All-in-One Course
These work well for teens and adults.
Best Back-to-School Piano Sheet Music Method Books: Alfred
Music for Little Mozarts
These are for very young beginners, starting at ages 4 to 5, meaning that a student starting in level 1 would be around 4 to 5 years old. Young kids really love these books.
Lesson
Workbooks
After students complete the Music for Little Mozarts series, they’ll transition into Alfred’s Basic Piano Prep Course C.
Alfred’s Basic Piano Prep Course Series
These are for young beginners, starting at ages 5 to 7.
Lesson
Theory
After the student completes the Prep Course series, they’ll transition into Alfred’s Basic Piano Library level 3.
Alfred's Basic Piano Library Lesson Series
These are for beginners, starting at ages 8 to 10. This is Alfred’s main piano series.
Lesson
Theory
Alfred's Basic Piano Library Complete
These are for older beginners, starting at ages 10 to 12.
Lesson
Theory
After students complete Alfred’s Basic Piano Library Complete level 1, they’ll transition into Alfred’s Basic Piano Library level 2. This is a combined book much like Piano Adventure’s Accelerated.
Alfred's Basic Adult All-in-One Course
These are good for teens and adults.
Final Thoughts on “Best Back-to-School Piano Sheet Music Method Books”
Takeaway points:
- The students’ method books are the core of the piano lessons.
- It’s what pushes a student’s technique and reading forward.
- While the method books do incorporate fun songs, the emphasis is on acquiring skill.
- The two most popular method series are Piano Adventures and Alfred.
- The links in this post include a variety of lesson and theory books that’re appropriate for any age or skill level.
Have fun shopping!
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© 2026 Geoffrey Keith