Asian Elephant

• Level: Late Elementary
• Pages: 4 pages, 2 pages of music, cover included!
• Style: Heavy, Dramatic
• Series: Chinese Adventure, Rote and Reading®
• Bonuses: mp3 performance track + QR code to access recording online
• Format: PDF instant download

Asian Elephants are majestic creatures, beautiful and wise. But don’t forget, they’re big and powerful too! This piece explores the drama and power of the elephants and is one of four pieces in the Chinese Adventure Rote and Reading® series.

What Level is Asian Elephant?

Asian Elephant is late elementary level. The smallest note value is a quarter note. The biggest interval is a fifth. Both hands are in the bass clef, as well as chromatic parallel fifths, providing opportunities for learning about flats and half steps. All accidentals are written in, rather than notated as a key signature. Pedaling is used sparingly, with only two measures where the foot lifts, making the piece great for introducing legato pedaling. Asian Elephant is carefully edited with pedagogical fingering and articulations as any teacher would expect in a teaching solo.

Bonus recording + QR Code included!

Asian Elephant comes with a bonus mp3 recording performed by Wendy Stevens. You are permitted to send this example performance track to your students to help them learn the piece.

Plus, a QR code is included on the first page of the PDF (not pictured in the sample) so students can scan the code and it will take them directly to the performance recording of the piece. This can help them be inspired and learn the piece even more effectively without you having to send the mp3 to them!

Part of the Chinese Adventure Series

Asian Elephant is one of four pieces in the Chinese Adventure Series featuring piano solos about China. This is a fantastic value as the bundle is discounted! Here are the included in the bundle:

• Red Panda Pranks 
• Panda Paradise
• Asian Elephant (that’s this piece!)
• Leopard at Large
• Mp3s & QR codes for each piece
• Chinese Adventure Bundle Bonus Cover

You can purchase the Chinese Adventure Series at a discount here.

The Power of Rote and Reading® Teaching

Piano students are much more excited about their progress when you combine rote teaching with reading. And when you do this, students stay motivated longer. This is because kids know that they can play music that is much more difficult than they can read.

Think of the way kids learn to read. They first learn to “do” the language (i.e. speak it) before they ever learn to read it. In the same way, students best learn when we show them how to “do” the piano before they learn to read the notes. For more thoughts on the value of rote teaching and how long it really takes a child to learn to read music, read: How Long Does It Take to Learn to Read Music?