Getting Past the Basics with Thompson Book 2
John Thompson Easiest Piano Course Part 2 picks up where the first book leaves off, and honestly that transition is where a lot of students get stuck. The first book taught you middle C position with simple five-finger patterns. Book 2 throws you into scales, fuller chords, and pieces that actually require you to read ahead instead of just matching shapes by memory. I ran into this a lot when I was tutoring beginners—students who could plod through Book 1 fine but then stalled out completely once the pages got denser. The second book introduces the full grand staff, basic scales in G major and D major, and some of the first real repertoire pieces like "Song of the Wind" and "Minuet in G." It also brings in more complex rhythms—quarter notes, half notes, whole notes mixed with rests—and starts using both hands independently more consistently. The technique is still relatively light compared to the intermediate Thompson books that come later, but it's a genuine step up from the beginner material. One thing people don't always realize about this method is that the progression assumes a certain level of reading fluency that not every student has. The book doesn't slow down much between lessons. If your student is still sounding out every note letter by letter, Book 2 is going to feel like reading a foreign language without knowing the alphabet. I've seen teachers push students through it anyway and just watch them develop bad habits like looking at their hands constantly or counting rhythm by tapping their foot instead of actually feeling the beat.
How to Use This Book Effectively
The biggest mistake I see is treating each page as a completion item rather than a learning moment. You don't finish a page, you work through it until the student can play it slowly and correctly. That means breaking it into sections, hands separate, then together at a painfully slow tempo. Most students want to race to the end of the piece because they like the sound of it when they finally nail it. They don't understand that the slow version is where the actual learning happens. I tell my students all the time that if you can't play it at 60 beats per minute cleanly, you can't play it at 120. Speed is just accuracy multiplied by tempo. Another practical issue that comes up repeatedly: the fingering in Thompson Book 2 isn't always ideal for smaller hands or certain hand sizes. I had a student a while back who kept struggling with a particular piece because the recommended fingerings required a stretch that just didn't work for her. We ended up reassigning a few fingerings—swapping thumb and finger 2 in certain spots—and it made the whole piece suddenly playable. Don't be religious about the printed fingering. It's a suggestion, not a commandment.
Common Pitfalls and What to Watch For
Hand independence is the real hurdle here. Thompson tries to build it gradually, but a lot of students still default to playing both hands in unison or letting one hand take over rhythmically while the other just mumbles along. The workaround I use is to have them play each hand separately while singing the rhythm of the other hand. It sounds ridiculous, but it forces the brain to actually process the two parts as separate streams instead of one muddled event. There's also the issue of dynamics. Book 2 starts introducing piano and forte markings, but most students either ignore them entirely or treat them as volume switches that go from whisper to shout with nothing in between. I usually spend an extra week or two on dynamic shading before moving on. Have them play a passage at three different volume levels and actually hear the difference. It takes time but it saves a lot of frustration later when they encounter pieces that demand nuanced expression.
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Where This Method Falls Short
Let me be straight about the limitations. Thompson's approach is very note-reading focused, which is valuable, but it doesn't do a great job with ear training or theory explanation. The book tells you what to play but rarely explains why. If you're teaching solo and want your student to actually understand what they're doing musically, you're going to need to supplement with something else. I use simple pattern identification exercises alongside it—having students circle all the repeated notes, spot the scale patterns, identify which measure is a repeat of an earlier one. Another drawback is that the repertoire, while charming, doesn't expose students to a wide range of styles. It's mostly classical and folk arrangements. If the goal is to eventually play pop, jazz, or contemporary music, you'll want to bring in additional material pretty quickly. The Thompson method was never designed for that, and pretending it is just sets everyone up for disappointment. The physical technique development is also somewhat limited. By the time a student finishes Book 2, they're still working with fairly contained hand positions and minimal wrist movement. Book 3 pushes a bit harder, but there are significant technique gaps between these books that more modern methods address more systematically. If you're serious about piano instruction, consider pairing Thompson with something like Faber or Bastien for technique exercises, or at minimum supplementing with Hanon or scales practice.
Practical Download and Availability
The John Thompson Easiest Piano Course Part 2 is widely available as a physical book through major retailers and music stores. There are also digital PDF versions floating around online, though I generally don't recommend those for active students. Reading music off a tablet or phone screen introduces glare, scrolling issues, and page-turning problems that add friction to practice sessions. If you do use a digital version, invest in a proper music stand and good lighting, or you'll regret it within a week. For teachers running a studio, buying the physical books in bulk or getting the teacher's edition with solve-in solutions is worth the extra cost. It saves time during lessons when you need to quickly reference the correct fingering or anticipate where a student might stumble. That said, even with the teacher's edition, the solution key isn't as comprehensive as you'd hope for some of the more complicated pieces.
Final Thoughts on Using John Thompson Easiest Piano Course Part 2
This book is a solid bridge between absolute beginner and early intermediate. It does its job well, which is teaching note reading and basic coordination. It doesn't claim to be a complete piano education system, and it shouldn't be treated as one. Use it alongside other materials, pay attention to your student's actual readiness level rather than pushing page by page, and don't be afraid to modify fingering and pacing to match the individual. The method works when you work the method, not the other way around.
