This post is part of my Tool Tutorial series, where we dig into how to effectively use all the tools on the Piano Method Navigator website. This one dives into the method book Transition Guide. Want to know when the next one drops? Subscribe to the PMN newsletter and get updates straight to your inbox.
Switching Method Books Isn’t Simple
If you’ve ever welcomed a transfer student into your studio, you know the feeling: they walk in with a book that’s half-finished (or three different ones at once), and suddenly you’re left figuring out how to align them with your teaching approach, ideally with as little disruption and frustration as possible.
But switching between methods can be tricky. Concepts don’t always line up. Pacing can be uneven. Something inevitably gets repeated too much, skipped entirely, or assumed to have been taught when it hasn’t been yet.
That exact problem is what led me to create the very first PMN tool: the method book Transition Guide.
Table of Contents
Where It Started: The Transfer Student Problem
When I first began building PMN, my goal was simple: help teachers place transfer students with confidence. Conventional wisdom says, “finish the book before you switch,” but even then, the next step can feel like a leap.
I wanted to see, side by side, how disruptive a transition might actually be. What gets repeated? What’s skipped? What’s assumed learned? I wanted a clear picture so I could choose the best fit for each student.
At this point, you’re probably thinking, “Wow, that sounds like a lot of work. There are so many methods, so many books, and thousands of concepts!” You’d be right. Once I got into the weeds, I realized how much time and effort it would take to make comparisons at that level.
So I decided, “If I’m going to put in that kind of work, I want to build something that can help other teachers too.”
And that’s how the method book Transition Guide was born.
Why It Matters for Teachers (and Students) Beyond Transfers
A few years ago, while working on the method book Transition Guide prototype, I had a big “aha” moment:
For any student—not just transfers—the next best step isn’t always the next book in the same series. Sometimes another method offers a fresh approach to concepts, repertoire, or pacing that better fits the student in front of me.
Of course, I’d always believed in intentional planning, adapting to each student’s needs, and the idea that the teacher is the method, not the book. I was already adding supplemental repertoire, creative activities, and warm-ups.
But I hadn’t considered stepping outside the pre-planned pathways of my go-to methods. Honestly, it felt overwhelming. With so many methods out there, the thought of navigating multiple series for one student was intimidating.
As I developed the method book Transition Guide, though, those possibilities opened up, and suddenly felt manageable. I could see how a student might spend time in three or four different series over their musical journey, with me guiding the way.
That’s why my goal with the method book Transition Guide is simple: to equip you with clarity, data, and context so you canjoin me in teaching with even more adaptability and creativity. It’s not here to replace your judgment—it’s here to amplify your teacher superpowers in shaping the best path for each student.
Here are just a few ways it can help:
- Place transfer students with confidence—no more guesswork or backtracking.
- Adapt pacing—accelerate a motivated student or give extra scaffolding to a struggling student.
- Reinforce skills—choose transitions that intentionally double down on or slow pace for weaker areas.
- Build flexible curriculum paths—step outside the “next book in the series” mindset and design learning journeys across multiple methods.
- Reinvigorate your teaching (and your students’ learning) by opening up the possibilities.
How the Method Book Transition Guide Works
The method book Transition Guide helps you compare books across method series and by supplying pedagogy-backed recommendations for what to use next.
There are recommendations from every level of every method book in the PMN library to every other series.
Each suggestion comes with:
- Pacing labels – slow, moderate, or fast, depending on the difficulty jump
- New concepts – what your student will encounter for the first time
- Repeated concepts – what they’ll reinforce from their previous series
- Missing concepts – what the new book assumes they already know (but they don’t)
- Numbers based on weighted scores – because not all concepts carry the same load (a new hand position ≠ a new dynamic marking)
Here’s an example:
Switching from Alfred’s Basic Piano Library, Level 1A → Bastien Piano Basics, Level 1 shows:
- 71% new concepts
- 29% repeated concepts
- 10 missing concepts
That adds up to a moderate-paced move, which is comfortable for most students.
But the real power of the method book Transition Guide is in the concept lists—because numbers alone can’t tell the whole story. Seeing exactly which concepts are new, repeated, or missing gives you the insight to make precise, informed choices for each student.
- New Concepts show how much the next book will stretch your student. A quick learner may thrive with a high percentage of new material, but knowing what that material actually is helps you judge whether it’s truly the right kind of challenge.
- Repeated Concepts highlight which areas get reinforcement. That’s invaluable for students who need extra time with rhythm, reading, or another tricky category. And, the lists tell you exactly what’s being reinforced, not just that review exists.
- Missing Concepts is the hidden gem. It flags gaps you’ll want to fill with supplements (a warm-up, creative activity, technique exercise, or repertoire). These are the skills a student would have learned had they started the new series from the beginning, and now you know precisely which gaps to address.
And because all lists are organized by weighted importance, you can quickly see whether the heavier-hitting concepts at the top align with your student’s goals.
Behind the Scenes of the Method Book Transition Guide
Every transition in the Guide started with spreadsheets of data collected by hand. I went through each method book, page by page, cataloging every concept and tagging it by category, review vs. first-time intro, and whether it was presented formally or informally.
At first, I started the book comparison by hand too, but even with a small set, that meant 350+ individual comparisons and thousands of lines of data. I knew I needed help.
So, I turned to ChatGPT and Cursor (a coding-specific AI service) to help me write Python scripts that could automate the process. The widgets I built compared concepts line by line and generated detailed reports of new, repeated, and missing concepts.
In my spreadsheets, I had also weighted each concept by importance or teaching difficulty (for example, learning eighth notes for the first time carries more weight than learning a new expressive marking). The widgets factored those scores into their reports, which gave me both raw and weighted comparisons to work with.
The result was a unique spreadsheet for each book in every series (Faber 2A, Bastien Primer, Alfred 1B, and so on), showing comparative numbers against every other book of every other series. (And yes, that means it gets more complex the more series I add!)
With those spreadsheets in hand, I could narrow down viable method book transitions, then pull the books again for real-world analysis to check pacing (slower, same, faster), repertoire style, and overall difficulty.
The pièce de résistance was layering in the reading approaches of each series, since that makes a huge difference in early-level method book transitions.
What you see in the web tool today is the output of all those hours of deep comparison. I hope it saves you time and sparks ideas for your teaching!
I Want to Hear Your Thoughts!
Try out the method book Transition Guide and let me know what you think. I want this tool to keep growing through your creativity and insight.
Explore the Transition Guide here!
Use it to test a method book transition, place a transfer student, or map out a creative curriculum path.
What’s Next for the Transition Guide
I’m still working behind the scenes to make the method book Transition Guide even more useful. Here are a few updates I’m exploring:
- More series — you can vote for the ones you’d like to see added on the homepage.
- Mid-book transitions — compare exact pages, not just whole books.
- Half-step transitions — for students who need gentler pacing.
- Supplemental resources — suggestions for warm-ups, pieces, or activities to fill in gaps.
- Crowd-sourced input — teacher-informed weighting for community-backed recommendations.
What would you most like to see added? Let me know in the comments!
