Dozen A Day exercises naturally lend themselves to written theory too, building on all the points made above.

A Dozen a Day Book 1 Willis (413366) by Hal Leonard

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.Each book offers six groups of twelve exercises, totalling 60 exercises per book and thus 360 across the full series. All the exercises are named after physical exercises or activities, suitably (and quirkily) illustrated. 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.” I hope that the suggestions in this review will help teachers and learners alike to find fresh engagement with these little marvels. Closing Thoughts 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. In the context of an integrated approach to piano education, here are just some of the strategies which I have found productive and helpful for students:

A Dozen a Day Book 3 Willis (414136) by Hal Leonard A Dozen a Day Book 3 Willis (414136) by Hal Leonard

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.I have been using these little books with my students since I first started teaching in the 1990’s, and although they have featured less prominently in my studio in recent years, they continue to make their appearance, and offer a hugely useful resource which can be used from the very first lessons, and right up to advanced level. 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. It is also worth noting at this point that Burnam herself suggested learning a couple of exercises at a time, playing them slowly and softly at first, then introducing a range of dynamics and speeding up the tempi. The Thematic Index must have taken a while to produce, and gratitude is due to Christopher Hussey, who produced it.