While various songbooks and extras have appeared over the years, the core Dozen A Day material comprises six short exercise books: Dozen A Day exercises can also be used as the starting point for improvising and composing in a lesson.

A Dozen A Day_ Book 1 - Edna Mae Burnam.pdf - Documents and E A Dozen A Day_ Book 1 - Edna Mae Burnam.pdf - Documents and E

The Thematic Index must have taken a while to produce, and gratitude is due to Christopher Hussey, who produced it. Andrew Eales is a widely respected piano educator, writer and composer based on Milton Keynes UK. His book HOW TO PRACTISE MUSIC is published by Hal Leonard.I hope that the suggestions in this review will help teachers and learners alike to find fresh engagement with these little marvels. Closing Thoughts Taken as a while, A Dozen a Day is a unique resource, and an extraordinary legacy that we are fortunate indeed to have at our disposal today. What is New? Many people do exercises every morning before they go to work. Likewise, we should all give our fingers exercises every day BEFORE we begin our practising.” Understanding intervals, reworking an exercise using a different time signature (e.g. simple vs. compound), writing in different octaves, key signatures and clefs can all be explored as they relevantly relate to the learner’s ongoing music tuition. As a teacher using this material over several decades, I have found that while A Dozen A Day can be tremendously helpful as a set of technical exercises, the resource can also be used holistically to support many other learning objectives, as appropriate to each student’s needs and musical interests.

A Dozen a Day: Technical Exercises for the Piano to Be Done A Dozen a Day: Technical Exercises for the Piano to Be Done

This book helped me with a series of very small and manageable exercises to improve my finger dexterity and flexibility. Some exercises gradually get harder and test your hand and finger coordination and geography (playing both hands together). It tests and improves different aspects of your piano practice and should be done daily to achieve the best results.In her introduction to the books, Burnam gets straight to the point in explaining the value of A Dozen A Day:

A Dozen a Day, Book 3 - Edna Mae Burnam: 9780711960985 - AbeBooks A Dozen a Day, Book 3 - Edna Mae Burnam: 9780711960985 - AbeBooks

The combination of simple joy and pedagogic value embedded in this classic material has not only stood the test of time, but remains as accessible, worthwhile and engaging as ever, seemingly transcending the fads of fashion.The last exercise in each dozen, across all six books, is always called Fit As A Fiddle And Ready To Go. The obvious idea here is that at the start of practice, the current Group of 12 exercises provide a suitably varied and helpful warmup routine. I would suggest this may depend on other factors, of course, and much can be gained from targeted use of individual exercises from within the cycle, as I will explain later. While the first three books are broadly appropriate for players working towards UK Initial, Grades 1 and 2 respectively, the later three books have scope to be used more freely; individual exercises are useful and appropriate right up to Grade 8. The Dozen a Day books are universally recognized as one of the most remarkable technique series on the market for all ages! Each book in this series contains short warm-up exercises to be played at the beginning of each practice session, providing excellent day-to-day training for the student. Many people do physical exercises every morning before they go to work. Likewise—we should give our fingers exercises every day before we begin our practising.

A Dozen a Day - Book 1 - Free Download PDF [PDF] A Dozen a Day - Book 1 - Free Download PDF

There is much to enjoy in A Dozen A Day, including the exercises’ creative use of the whole instrument from the earliest stages, their adaptability, and the way that their good-natured, humorous characterisations stimulate the player’s imagination. A bonus: it can be helpful to talk to the student about technical problems the exercise helps with, asking them to identify passages in their new, active and recent repertoire which will benefit.

The aim is to learn two or three exercises at a time, which should be played each day before practising. Only when these are mastered should you add another. When all in the first group are mastered, the next group may be introduced. Many of these exercises may be transposed to different keys.