Wunderkeys Intermediate Pop Piano Performance 2 Review

Have you ever had any teen piano students that feel "stuck" in their method book? While some students really love the classics, I've found that branching out to other genres of their choice can really up their excitement and practice. I recently purchased Wunderkeys Intermediate Pop 2 Performance Book after one of my teen students was eager to learn more music like Nik Day's "Trust in the Lord" that I had assigned her as a supplementary choice piece. 

She was enthralled with the lyrical pop sound of the repetitive chordal accompaniment with intriguing syncopation and it boosted her rhythmic accuracy to a whole new level as she practiced over and over as an accompanist to the soundtrack. I had difficulty finding many pieces with a similar style in my collection of classical and supplementary music.

My search for similar music led me to the Wunderkeys Teen playlist of music on YouTube. So many of the pieces have instant teen appeal and as a piano teacher I like how the pieces help students get really comfortable playing in multiple keys with a variety of theory and technical skills. I like how the pieces in the book are organized by key and grouped near pieces written in the relative key. They pair well with the main method books I currently use (Piano Adventures and Piano Pronto) but have songs in a greater variety of keys.  I also appreciate how instead of needing to print a digital download, the Wunderkeys Intermediate Pop 2 Performance piano book is available on amazon.com with a sturdy colorful cover.

Teaching Concepts in Wunderkeys Pop Performance 2

Many helpful intermediate-level piano concepts are embedded in the beautiful pieces. Although they are not overtly addressed the concepts are tastefully woven into expressive melodies instead of sounding like boring etudes. 

• Authentic and deceptive cadences
• Repetitive left-hand chord-based shifts mainly in primary chords and relative minor
• Left-hand stride & Larger 2 8va leaps
• Left-hand patterns requiring crossing (1-5-8-9-10).
• Left-hand patterns requiring flexible wrist alignment (1-5-10-5).
• Rolled Chords
• Acciacaturas (aka slashed grace notes)
• Less common rhythms (Dotted 8th +16th in 6/8 Time; Sixteenth Triplets)
• Broken inversions
• Augmented  chords
• Inner voicing
• Hand crossovers
• Clef changes and broader use of the full keyboard

Performance Videos and Skills

The Road Home in D Major is a tranquil piece with several repetitive cadences. 

Rohan Rising in B minor has a cinematic feeling including dramatic dynamic changes and left hand 1-5-8-5 repeating patterns. 

The Sessions

Each of the "sessions" pieces borrow brilliance from classic pieces from the past. I love how they utilize favorite familiar motifs but have a more modern pop sound that teens really enjoy.

The Ninth Session in B-flat Major is a spinoff of Beethoven's classic Ode to Joy Theme with left-hand syncopated interrupting eighths that sound a bit like the Forrest Gump Theme

The Minuet Session in G Minor begins with simple rhythms with a melodic motif borrowed from Bach's famous minuet but the pedaling and expression are definitely a diversion from Baroque style! 

Sea of Stars in D Major is inspired by themes from Mozart's famous piano sonata.

Can you guess what piece inspired The Venise Session in B Flat Major?

Or The Penny Session in F Sharp Minor?

Blue Stone in A Major is a calm expressive piece that includes many flowing 1-5-8-9-10 left-hand patterns and some rolled chords.

Taefa's Return in F# Minor begins with a sense of foreboding including many chords in alberti bass style. The piece intensifies with faster passages including "almost scales" in the melody line that are great for scale fingering practice and a few acciacaturas are scattered about. 

Aisling's Theme in B minor

Castle Hill Kick Gm-BflatM

Strong Will in A Major includes many broken inversion patterns.

 

Wolf in Bflat Major and G Minor begins with a calm reflective motif which suddenly transfers to an energetic minor session that sounds like the plot in a movie is thickening.

The Renewal in G minor is great for practicing left hand stride.

The finale piece, Saorla Rising in B Minor helps students utilize the full keyboard instead being stuck just near middle C.

What other music have you found that really resonates with your teen piano students? I would love to hear your suggestions in the comments1

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