This product has been updated. You can find the 2021 edition here 

Are you looking to buy piano music books  to suit an older student? Daniel McFarlane’s fun and engaging Supersonics Method has been adapted with an accelerated pace for students aged approximately 12 years old and over.

‘Quick Start A’ will challenge them to learn the same core techniques and concepts you’ll find in Levels 1 and 2 of the main method, with a more flexible approach and streamlined progression between pieces.

And like Level 1 of the method, this contemporary piano method book takes a playful, open-minded approach to teaching students to read music, developing core techniques, learning to transpose and compose.

Watch student confidence bloom as you guide them to develop strong technical skills, while training their musical ear with creative activities and popular chord progressions. The pieces naturally teach students to explore a wider range on the piano.

They’ll fall in love with music from all eras as this book expands their musical horizons. They’ll practice and perform engaging arrangements of classical, historical repertoire alongside modern chords and melodies.

Streamline your teaching process! This piano lesson book for the later beginners comes with interactive, online resources and activities for students that they can access at home and in the studio.

Although you can access the online theory and teaching resources for free in Supersonics Plus you can combine this book with the Level 1 Theory and Level 1 Resources books if you and your students prefer to work from printed books.

LOOK AND LISTEN

The pieces in this section will give you a strong technical base and teach you basic reading skills. You can combine this section with the Level 1 Theory, the Level 1 Resources and the Rote Pieces – all these area available for free in Supersonics Plus or as printed books. The audio samples feature the teacher duets (where available). Listen to the free backing tracks and view the online support material

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The pieces in this section we explore a wider range on the piano and add in arrangements of some popular classical pieces in order to expand your musical horizons. The audio samples feature the solo recordings. Listen to the free backing tracks and view the online support material

Supersonics Piano Method Quick Start A Explorations sample

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These pieces teach you how to work with popular chords. As an extension activity you might like to use the chord progressions in these pieces as the base for new compositions. View the online support material 

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In this section you begin to explore your musical creativity.

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This book features integrated theory sheets. You can either complete these online for free or purchase the print book.

The Rote Pieces are designed to be used as an integrated part of the progression through this book. I recommend using these pieces to introduce the new techniques and rhythms before you begin teaching the notated pieces in each module. This allows a student to focus on acquiring the new skill without having the added pressure of reading. Online scores and recordings are available in the Supersonics Plus App or you can purchase the print book.

The Improvisations are designed to introduce a student to basic improvising and also enhance a student’s technical and rhythmic development. Online scores and recordings are available in the Supersonics Plus App or you can purchase the print book.

All the resources required to teach and learn the concepts in this book are available online for free. You can also purchase the print book.

  • Content: 164 pages piano method book with 1-2 years of teaching material for older beginners (approx. age 12+).
  • Musical preparation: Set your students up for success by developing fundamental musical skills and techniques before they begin playing.
  • BONUS FREE ACCESS to Supersonics Plus material: Get backing tracks and rhythm builders that work with this method, to give you a fun and rich teaching experience for you and your students.
  • Studio licencing: Print books are licenced one student per book. UPGRADE TO SUPERSONICS PRO to legally print this book for all your students. You also get a generous discount on print books. Pass on the full cost of additional books to your students or charge a resource fee to cover the cost of your Pro membership. Learn more about Supersonics Pro.
  • Teaching Support via our Facebook Group: Join our Supersonics Piano Facebook Group to join a lively community of piano tutors using our method.

Q: How do I access the material in Supersonics Plus?

A: Simply go on supersonicsplus.com and start by watching the Video Guides. All the resources you need for this book are organised by Module.


Q: What if I want to use the Supersonics Piano Method for more than one student?

A: Each Method Book is licenced for one student. If you’d like to use the Supersonics Method for your entire studio, we recommend upgrading to Supersonics Pro so that you can either legally print copies of this book for all your students or use the discount on print books. You can offset the cost of the membership by charging the full price for print books or by adding a resource fee to your lessons.


Q: What ages / grades is the Quick Start A suitable for?

A: The lessons taught in Supersonics Piano Method Quick Start A are suitable for later beginners through to mid elementary level students, aged from 11-12 years and older (including teens and adults). The books have content suitable for complete beginners through to late elementary.

Learn more about the flow of the Supersonics Method.


Q: If I want to transfer my students to your method from another, how do I know where to start?

A: The best entry points into the accelerated Supersonics Piano Method are at Quick Start A and Level 4 of the main method.

Read more information about transferring from other methods here.


Q: What techniques and skills will my students master by using this piano method?

A: By the end of Quick Start A, students will be confident and effective players and be able to:

    • link symbol to sound
    • learn pieces by rote
    • play in time
    • play with good technique
    • display a wide dynamic range
    • read a wide range of notes (encompassing the 5 signpost C’s)
    • understand and express a range of musical gestures
    • transpose pieces
    • play pop chords with confidence
    • respond to creative stimuli
    • and much more

Q: It looks like a lot of the pieces are in “C position”. Is this the case?

A: No. By using different finger combinations, wide-ranging rote pieces and transposition early in the book and small stretches and moving around the thumb later in the book students avoid getting locked into a 5 finger mindset.

This book includes the following pieces:

READING AND TECHNIQUE

The C Song
The D Song
First Steps
Hold On
Can You Count?
The E Song
Up and Down
Sticky Fingers
Join the Dots
Graceful Waltz
Stepping Up
Stepping Up and Down
Skipping
Step and a Skip
I See a G
Sticky Steps
Left Hand Waltz
Left Hand Steps
Look! Both Hands!
Left and Right
All Together Now
Don’t Let Go!
Blast Up
Dynamic Duo
Finger Blaster
Build It Up
Let’s Get Loud!
Double Trouble
Triple Treat
Lord of the Keys

Sad Steps
Flatter-E
Happy and Sad
“Aura Lee” (Poulton)
Beats Divided
Running
That’s Hot!
Raindrops
Epic Beat
Running Scared
Say It Again
Texting
Waltz It Up
Triple Trouble
Funky Beat
In the Dark
Follow My Lead
Pushing the Limits
Stretchy
Reach the Stars
Trapped in the Maze
That’s So Sad
Dot It
Dotted
Dotty Waltz
Sneaky
Mysterioso
Sounds From Below
“Hungarian Folk Song” (Traditional)
A Sad Canon

Burning Up
Keys on Fire
Pixie Dust
Sir Prance-Alot
Chit Chat
Snakey
Spooky
Finger Twister
Dungeon Run
“Musette” (Anon.)
“March Slav” (Tchaikovsky)
“When the Saints Go Marching In” (Purvis and Black)
Elevate: One
Elevate: Two
Flight Over the Mountains

EXPLORATIONS

“Ode to Joy” (Beethoven)
“Royal March of the Lion” (Saint-Saëns)
“Swan Lake” (Tchaikovsky)
Furioso
Jimmy Jams
Drive
“Spring” (Vivaldi)
Reaching the Top
“The Cancan” (Offenbach)
Nitro

Snowflakes
Ice Crystals
“Morning” (Grieg)
Creepy Crawlies
Top C Turvy
Jump On Up
“In the Hall of the Mountain King” (Grieg)
5 to 4
Serenity
Eternal Light
“Lavender’s Blue” (Traditional)
Run
Fortress
The Jig is Up
Winter’s Day

CHORDS

Pop School
Momentum
Together Again
When the Sun Shines
A Moonlit Tale
I See You
Ready in 5
Waterfalls
Sprite Knight
A New Hope

+ 7 Creative Tasks

Read about how Supersonics Piano levels work

  • Easily identify where each piece from ‘Quick Start A’ corresponds to the Modules in Level 1 & 2 of the method by using the index. You can then easily supplement your teaching/learning.
  • Use this method with the Supersonics Plus App to access all the free supplementary material.
  • Upgrade your access to the app by subscribing to Supersonics Pro to get discounts on print books, new pieces every month, and an online portal for students to access and practice at home. Bookmark their pieces, mark theory, print additional sheet music and much more.
  • Use this book as the repertoire, technical and creative base for your teaching/learning. The flexibility of the method means that you can very easily add your own material to create personal musical journeys for every student.

You can expect delivery in the following time frames:

United States
    • Standard shipping: 2-4 weeks (trackable)
    • Priority shipping: 1-3 weeks (trackable)
Australia – publicly available books
    • Major urban areas: 1-2 weeks (most orders are trackable)
    • Rural areas and WA: 1-3 weeks (most orders are trackable)
Australia – Pro member books
    • Major urban areas: 1-4 weeks (most orders are trackable)
    • Rural areas and WA: 1-4 weeks (most orders are trackable)
United Kingdom
    • Standard shipping: 1-2 weeks (not trackable)
Canada
    • Standard shipping: 2-3 weeks (trackable)
New Zealand
    • Standard shipping: 3-5 weeks (not trackable)
    • Priority shipping: 2-3 weeks (trackable)
Europe
    • Standard shipping: 1-3 weeks (some countries are trackable)

Please note that we can only deliver Supersonics printed books to the following countries: Australia, USA, Canada, UK, Ireland, New Zealand, Germany, Austria, Belgium, France, Ireland, Denmark, Finland, Netherlands, Switzerland, Norway, Spain, Sweden and Italy. If your country isn’t listed please contact us and we will see if we can add you to the list.

Please also refer to our Shipping and Returns page.

BUY NOW
  • We support local businesses so your order will be printed and shipped from the nearest location to you (we have print hubs in the USA, Australia and the UK)
  • We use sturdy coil binding so that your book stays open when it’s on the music stand
  • We offer FREE SHIPPING for orders of 5 or more books
  • Can’t wait to get started? You get immediate temporary access to the first 17 pages of this book so that you can get started while you’re waiting for your book to arrive 🙂
  • Supersonics Pro members can either print this book immediately or purchase our discounted printed copies in the member’s bookstore
$USD19.95
$USD9.95
$USD19.95

Find out more about the Theory and Resources books

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