Recently, a teacher friend told me that I “dress my type.” Of course, this made me crane my neck a bit and look at her with a quizzical expression, wondering if this was a good or bad thing.
“I’m pretty sure you’re a Type 4, which means you wear a lot of bold, solid colors,” she explained.
At the time, I had a bright red dress on. Hmmm…maybe she’s onto something.
“Perhaps,” I said, “but I also wear a LOT of blacks.”
“Actually,” she countered, “type 4 also wears a lot of blacks!”
Well, there you go. Apparently, I’m a type 4, and I’m doing pretty good on my wardrobe—she wins! LOL.
Bright, Bold, Clean, and Beautiful
What does this short story have to do with my review? Not a whole lot except that solid, bright colors first drew me to this beautiful theory course. Maybe my friend WAS onto something. 🙂
Calling a theory course “beautiful” may be stretching it, I know, but when it comes to theory books (or any sheet music/method books for that matter), appearance goes a long way for me.
In fact, in a Friday Finds last year, I called Lauren Lewandowski’s Ready for Theory books “the prettiest theory books I had ever seen.”
Don’t you agree?
They’re the colors of the rainbow – what student wouldn’t be drawn to that?!
Not only are the outside of these books eye candy, but the contents are completely refreshing with clean, large header fonts and clutter-free pages.
The Nitty-Gritty
One thing I noticed right away is that the books are very flexible. They could be used with any method. For example, several keys are covered in the scales and triads unit. Teachers have the flexibility to pick and choose what pages are assigned and shouldn’t feel tied to completing a whole unit at once.
In addition to all the written theory, there are units covering ear training, written review, and keyboard skills within each level, an appendix of terms, and several blank pages of staff paper. You get a lot of “bang for your buck,” so to speak.
I won’t take the time to explain in detail what concepts are presented in each unit, as Lauren thought ahead and has a really handy PDF download that gives a clear overview of concepts covered in each level.
Tip: If you’re an Evernote user like me, use the web clipper to clip the pdf file into Evernote so you can quickly reference the levels.
As you can see in the image below, there are six books in the piano series, Prep A, and B, and levels 1-4.
Ready for Theory also includes a couple of workbooks for Violin (Prep A, B) as well as a brilliant teacher’s desk copy. At first, I thought it was an answer sheet but it’s even better than that. It’s a complete copy of all six levels with the pages reduced to 4 per page – so handy!
Practice tests for all levels are also available for purchase as a download with unlimited print rights. There’s even an Ear Training practice test which combines all levels in one download.
All materials can be purchased at www.pianowithlauren.com.
Lauren’s Blog and a Coupon Code
On a side note, I want to mention that I’ve been following Lauren’s site, pianowithlauren.com for awhile and would highly recommend you add her to your list!
To go along with this review, Lauren has offered a very generous coupon code for Piano Pantry readers!
Disclaimer: I received a copy of Prep A, B, and Level 1 in exchange for this review. As always, my review contains my honest opinion.
