Pet Suite
One of the great pleasures of teaching the piano is when eyes light up with the idea of learning a new tune – and in particular when a story is woven around a set of tunes. I think the reasons for delighting in this particular suite are manifold; all children love stories and many children adore animals and have pets of their own so they relate to the idea and they recognise the animal behaviours captured in the music.
For those who follow through the piano story sequentially, they love guessing what the next tune will be about. But the tunes stand on their own as well. Some enjoy performing them solo as a complete performance, and others prefer to share the experience.
These beginner level tunes enhance what has already been covered in early tutor books and each has at least one clear piano playing skill behind it. They are designed both to engage young pupils and encourage them to think about the type of sound they produce and how to produce that sound on the piano. With this in mind, it is a good idea to learn/read the song words before learning to play the tune.
I hope your pupils enjoy both the tune and the story, and that you do too.