Can someone please tell me why theory books exist at all? I have a couple of ideas… (1) publishing companies print them as a money grab, convincing piano teachers that they are necessary for the development of their students’ piano skills and/or (2) music conservatories print them as a money grab, requiring students to complete accompanying theory levels in order to progress through a graded curriculum.
Either way, to me, they’re like a ball and chain, sucking the life out of our piano students. My suggestion… have a theory book burning party (well, maybe a recycling party… and by recycling I don’t mean passed on to another poor sucker, I mean reduced back to pulp and made into something useful.)
Am I telling you that learning theory is unimportant? Of course not! Piano theory is extremely valuable when learned IN CONTEXT! You don’t need a special book to teach theory. It’s everywhere. Use piano pieces that motivate your students and find the theory concepts within these pieces. And then, wonder of wonders, your piano students can apply their newly acquired knowledge directly back to the piece they were learning; making it easier and more relevant. How novel!
