Bastien Basic Piano – Level 1 – 4 – Interactive Sheet Music

The four levels of Bastien Basic Piano, the follow-up to Piano for the Young Beginner: pieces and songs for the first years of piano. Levels 1 and 2 are in MIDI & MusicXML Player.

Level 0 – 24 levels · 108 interactive piecesLevels 1 and 2 interactive

Practice for free in MIDI & MusicXML Player

PDF not available: this method is protected by copyright

Listen before you play

“When the Saints Go Marching In”, from Level 1, in MIDI & MusicXML Player. Hit play and listen.

Open in the full player →

What’s inside

Contents of the Bastien Basic Piano method

Organization of the levels by difficulty

Bastien Basic Piano is a set of four books that follow Piano for the Young Beginner. As a rough guide, this is how they are organized by difficulty:

Difficulty	Book	Open in the player
Level 0	Level 1 (56 pieces)
Level 1	Level 2 (52 pieces)
Level 1	Level 3
Level 2	Level 4

Bastien Basic Piano – Level 1

Review of the Elementary method
C major, F major, G major position
Sharp, flat, and natural
I and V7 chord in C major, F major, G major
Staccato, accents
Tempo indications
Dynamics (mp, mf, crescendos, diminuendos), DC, Fine,
Eighth note, dotted quarter note
Hand position changes
Octave changes
Repeats

Bastien Basic Piano – Level 2

Binary and ternary rhythm
C major scale
6th and 7th interval
Repeats
I, IV and V chord
Keys with sharps
Main chords of G major, F major, D major, A major, E major

Bastien Basic Piano – Level 3

Boogie accompaniment, broken chords, waltz, Alberti bass
Natural, harmonic and melodic minor scale
2/2 time
I, IV and V7 chord in A minor, D minor
Broken chords
Binary and ternary form
Triplets
Dynamics (ff, pp)
Octaves
Keys with flats
Main chords in D-flat major, A-flat major and E-flat major

Bastien Basic Piano – Level 4

Ternary form
Use of the pedal
Main chords in E minor
Dal Segno, Da Capo, Fine
First and second inversion
Sixteenth note, dotted eighth note
Syncopation
Main chords in G-flat major, B-flat major and B major
Ornament notes

About the method

James Bastien and his Basic Piano

The Bastien Basic Piano method (Amazon link) is a set of several books featuring original pieces and popular, folk, and original songs for those who are starting out in the world of piano, accompanied by a good handful of illustrations to reinforce learning.

This set of 4 new books serves as a continuation of the methods Piano for the Young Beginner: Elementary A and B, which are especially dedicated to children aged 5 and 6.

Bastien Basic Piano in PDF

Although all the interactive sheet music for every exercise is available in MIDI & MusicXML Player, this PDF version is currently protected by intellectual property law and therefore is not available for download.

But don’t worry! Levels 1 and 2 are complete in MIDI & MusicXML Player!

MIDI & MusicXML Player