This post is part of my Method Book Fundamentals series, where we dig into the core elements that shape how method books work (and how to use them well). Want to know when the next one drops? Subscribe to the PMN newsletter and get updates straight to your inbox.
Reading Music Is an Essential Skill—Here’s Why
Most American piano methods of the last hundred years have set out to teach one main thing: note reading. The (ultra-simplified-by-ABR) goal is to take a student from “I don’t know what I’m looking at” to “I can read notes on a page and play the correct keys on the keyboard, with dynamics, articulation, and correct tempo.” Plus or minus other elements like artistry, technique, or improvisation.
Of course, reading music is only one part of being a musician. Playing the piano is a whole-body, whole-brain experience. It’s far more than just decoding symbols. Which raises the question: how did we get from the likes of Bach and Mozart, who composed and improvised constantly, to step-by-step method books built around note names and time signatures? You’re not the only one who’s wondered. In fact, I plan to write about that soon, because I have too!
Even so, reading is a powerful skill. It unlocks whole worlds of repertoire and lets you explore music from across centuries and continents.
I’m a big book-reading nerd, and I’m often struck by how lucky I am to know how to read. There are more good books out there than I could possibly get through in a lifetime. What a gift! (It also means I have zero guilt about ditching a book that isn’t hitting right. Life’s too short for duds.)
Teaching a student to read notation is giving them the same gift, but in music. Notated music lets us:
- Time travel
- Live another life
- Preserve and experience history
- Communicate across languages and cultures
- Collaborate with artists around the world and throughout time
- Learn and remember complex pieces
- Play alongside other musicians
- Know music so deeply we can create our own
- Find words for emotions when words aren’t enough
Music as Liturgy
That last bullet point might be my favorite. If you grew up around certain faith traditions, you might know the idea of a book of written prayers—sometimes called liturgies.
As a kid in the South, I thought they were pretty stuffy. Reciting someone else’s words from maybe hundreds of years ago seemed… boring at best. Cultish at worst.
But after living a little more life, I see the beauty in them. They’re like finely crafted poetry—offering words for feelings you can’t quite name, whether that’s deep grief or soaring joy. In some moments, you just don’t have the words on your own.
Notated music can do that too. It doesn’t replace improvising, composing, or other creative ways of interacting with the keyboard (and it certainly doesn’t teach good technique on its own!). But it does give us a way to channel our emotions and experiences through something someone else once created with artistry and care. That’s a really special kind of connection.
Table of Contents
What is a reading approach and why do they matter?
Most piano method book publishers also agree that teaching music reading is super important, so they introduce it from the very first lessons. But, they don’t all go about it the same way. How they do it is what we call a reading approach.
Simply put, a reading approach is the strategy a piano method uses to introduce notes, rhythms, and other score markings and to help students turn what they see on the page into sound at the piano.
Not all approaches are created equal. Each one comes with strengths and challenges. Knowing how a piano method’s reading approach works can help you:
- Choose a piano method that aligns with your teaching style and your student’s learning style
- Spot potential gaps or limitations in a piano method so you can fill them in with supplemental activities, exercises, or repertoire
Reading approaches are also a key part of using the PMN Transition Guide. It’s a tool I created to help you transition your students between piano method book series seamlessly. Because the Transition Guide lists the reading approach for every included piano method, you can plan for the shift in reading style when you make a change.
The Four Reading Approaches
It’s generally agreed that there are four “standard approaches” that most piano methods use:
- Middle C
- Multi-Key
- Intervallic
- Eclectic
While some piano methods lean heavily on one of these, others blend elements from two or more. Here’s what each one looks like in practice, plus a few pros, cons, and examples.
Middle C Approach
This was likely the first standard approach in modern American piano methods, and it still lives on in the cultural zeitgeist. You’ve probably met an adult who “took piano lessons once” and now can only play Chopsticks or “find Middle C.” This approach is a big reason why. If you know one thing about playing the piano (and nothing else), it’s probably Middle C.
In a Middle C method, students start with both hands centered on Middle C—often with thumbs sharing the note—and most early pieces stay parked in that position. It’s usually paired with a heavy focus on note names.
Upside: It gives beginners a safe, familiar hand position to work from.
Downside: Students may get stuck thinking of the middle octave as “home base” and see anything outside it as harder than it really is.
Teaching tip: If you’re using a Middle C method, get students moving around the keyboard early with games, warm-ups, and rote pieces to break that “middle-only” mindset.
Classic example: The original John Thompson’s Modern Course for the Piano
Multi-Key Approach
Developed in the mid-20th century as a response to Middle C’s limitations, the Multi-Key approach still uses position-based playing but expands it to all major five-finger patterns (the first five notes of a major scale within one hand).
This means students get comfortable in multiple keys early, which also makes teaching transposition more natural. But, many early Multi-Key books still relied heavily on note names (sometimes even printing them inside the noteheads). While that can be helpful in small doses, most modern teachers avoid it as a long-term crutch.
Upside: Early exposure to different keys and transposition.
Downside: Students can become over-reliant on fixed five-finger positions and struggle to read outside them.
Teaching tip: Mix in reading and creative activities that leave the five-finger pattern comfort zone, like improvisation activities spanning the keyboard or supplemental repertoire that covers more ground.
Classic example: Bastien Piano Basics
Intervallic Approach
Around the same time Multi-Key was catching on, Frances Clark and Louise Goss shook things up with what was eventually called The Music Tree. Instead of centering on note names, they emphasized intervals—seconds, thirds, and so on—and landmark notes to orient students on the staff.
This was a big disruption in the “reading approach scene” because it was the first approach to de-emphasize literal note reading. What? No literal note reading when you’re… learning to read music??
I know, crazy stuff out here. Things are getting wild. Buckle your seat belts.
Instead of identifying notes by name, Clark and Goss started beginners with pre-staff notation, where they’d learn the concept of notes moving up or down instead of identifying the next note by name. This built strong pattern recognition, making the leap to full notation and fluent sightreading feel more natural.
Upside: Encourages fluent pattern reading and reduces the “note-by-note” habit.
Downside: Often moves more slowly through pitch range and rhythmic variety, and some repertoire can feel less engaging.
Teaching tip: Pair an intervallic method with supplemental repertoire to keep interest high, keep things moving, and expand reading variety.
Classic example: The Music Tree
Eclectic Approach
If you’re reading through these thinking, “Okay, there are strengths and weaknesses to all of these, I’d like to use them all…” you’d make a great music publisher! By which I mean, music publishers and piano pedagogues had the same thought, which is why in the late 20th century, a “new” approach– which is basically just an amalgamation of the other approaches– came along.
Enter the Eclectic Approach.
Eclectic (or “mixed”) approaches attempt to take the best bits of all of the previous approaches and weave them together for a more holistic approach to music reading. They all do it a little differently, but you essentially get some note naming, interval recognition, and position anchoring all in one. We can all breathe a sigh of relief, Middle C is still getting taught to tiny minds everywhere.
Upside: Flexible, adaptable, and designed to cover more bases.
Downside: Because it spreads the focus, pacing and approach emphasis vary quite a bit from eclectic method to eclectic method, so it takes an intentional eye to determine if the balance is the right fit for you and your students
Teaching tip: Keep an eye out for any “slow” areas—if your eclectic method waits too long to expand hand positions, for example, you can supplement with warm-ups or short pieces that cover more of the keyboard.
Other Approaches
Not every piano method fits neatly into the “big four” reading approaches. A few stand out for flipping the usual priorities—building an experiential foundation first, and bringing a reading approach in alongside it rather than making it step number one. Let’s look at a couple of examples.
Piano Safari
Piano Safari puts early emphasis on rote learning and pattern recognition. Students learn whole pieces by ear and memory, supported by strong technical exercises, improvisation, and by-ear playing. Reading is introduced later than more “traditional” methods, and follows an intervallic approach.
Music Moves for Piano
Built on Edwin Gordon’s Music Learning Theory, this piano method has a heavy focus on audiation—the ability to hear and understand music in your mind before playing it. Early lessons include listening, singing, movement, and improvisation, often away from the keyboard. Reading enters the picture a little bit later in the form of reading entire patterns and recognizing tonics and dominants.
Both approaches still teach notation, but in the early stages, their priority is experiencing music—physically, aurally, and creatively—before translating it into symbols on a page. It’s a noticeable shift, and for the right student, it can be transformative.
What approach should I use?
Ultimately, there’s no perfect approach. (Cue booing from the crowd.) I know, I know—what a cop out! But hear me out.
I certainly have my preferences, shaped by my education, teaching experiences, and yes, even my personality (because that makes a difference too!). But the longer I teach, the more I realize that even my most well-considered preferences need to stay flexible. Why?
Because every student is different. Sure, there are timeless “teaching truths” that are worth implementing, but my real goal is to stay adaptable and curious so I can meet each student exactly where they are.
At the end of the day, I’m the artisan of my students’ musical learning journey. My job is to make sure they receive a well-rounded education—no matter the piano method or reading approach—and that they enjoy the process along the way.
It’s up to me to know my students well enough to choose an approach that fits their learning style, challenges, interests, and personality. It’s also up to me to spot and bridge the gaps in any piano method book series or reading approach I choose—because they all have them. And it’s up to me to know myself well enough to recognize what works best with my own teaching style.
Those are big responsibilities, but they’re also what keep teaching so interesting—and so much fun.
All that to say: if you stay committed to being the best teacher you can be, you really can’t choose wrong. You’ve got this!
Reading Approach Cheat Sheet
Here’s a quick rundown of the basic reading approaches across a variety of piano method series. I’ll add more as I build the PMN library. Missing one you’d like to see? Let me know in the comments!
| Series | Reading Approach |
| Alfred’s Basic Piano Library | Eclectic |
| Alfred’s Basic Piano Library – Prep Course for the Young Beginner | Eclectic (Modified Middle C with Intervals) |
| Alfred’s Music for Little Mozarts | Eclectic |
| Alfred’s Premier Piano Course | Eclectic |
| Bastien Piano Basics | Multikey |
| Faber Piano Adventures | Eclectic |
| Hal Leonard Student Piano Library | Eclectic |
| John Thompson’s Modern Course for The Piano | Multikey (Middle C forward) |
| Piano Pronto | Modified Middle C |
| Piano Safari | Intervallic (Rote + Pattern-Recognition) |
| Piano Safari for the Older Student | Intervallic |
| Piano Safari Friends | Pre-staff Only (Rote, Pattern-Recognition) |
| Pianokids | Middle C |
| Tales of a Musical Journey | Eclectic |
| The Lang Lang Piano Method | Multikey |
| The Music Tree | Intervallic |
What are your thoughts?
Do you have a favorite approach to learning to read music? I’d love to hear what you think in the comments.
One response to “Piano Method Fundamentals: 4 Reading Approaches and Why They Matter”
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