Bastien Piano Basics Levels Explained: Which Book to Start and What Comes Next
Short answer: Bastien Piano Basics is a children's piano method in five levels: Primer, then Levels 1, 2, 3 and 4. Children around 5 to 6 usually start with Piano for the Young Beginner, Primer A, and then Primer B. Children around 7 to 11 usually start with the regular Primer. Both paths lead into Level 1.
Each level has a main lesson book, Piano, and three companion books that line up with it page by page: Theory (written work), Technic (warm-ups and exercises) and Performance (extra solo pieces). Many teachers start with the Piano book and add the companions as the student reaches those pages; others assign all four from the start. A Line a Day Sight Reading is a fifth correlated book for Levels 1 to 4 that many teachers add.
A student is usually ready for the next level when the Piano book is finished and the pieces in it are secure, not when a set number of weeks has passed. Ask the teacher before you buy the next book, and buy the same edition the teacher uses.
The teacher said "you'll need Level 2 next," and now you're facing twenty similar covers. This guide maps the series: the level order, where to start, what each companion book does, when to move up, and which book to buy next.
The Bastien Piano Basics levels, in order
The series runs Primer A and Primer B (for young beginners) or the regular Primer, then Level 1, Level 2, Level 3 and Level 4. The publisher describes a gradual multi-key approach: three new keys in each of Levels 1 to 4, so students have worked in all 12 major keys by the end of Level 4.
| Level | Typical starting point | What's new (short) | Keys | Lesson book | Companion books |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Primer A, then Primer B (Piano for the Young Beginner) | Beginners about 5 to 6 | Primer A starts with pre-staff notation and a Middle C approach, then moves to the grand staff. Primer B continues from there, and simple hands-together pieces begin toward the end of Primer B. | Middle C position | Primer A (WP230), Primer B (WP231) | Theory & Technic for the Young Beginner: Primer A (WP232), Primer B (WP233) |
| Primer | Beginners about 7 to 11 | Pre-staff notation, then the grand staff; reading by steps, skips and repeated notes; many pieces have duet parts | C and Middle C positions, then G position | Piano Primer (WP200) | Theory Primer (WP205), Technic Primer (WP215), Performance Primer (WP210) |
| Level 1 | After any Primer | Starts in C position, then adds the F and G five-finger positions | C, G, F | Piano Level 1 (WP201): ask your teacher or music store | Technic Level 1 (WP216), Theory Level 1 (WP206), Performance Level 1 (WP211) |
| Level 2 | After Level 1 | Binary and ternary form, one-octave scales built from tetrachords, 6ths and 7ths, primary chords, triads and inversions, 6/8 time | D, A, E | Piano Level 2 (WP202) | Theory Level 2 (WP207), Technic Level 2 (WP217), Performance Level 2 (WP212) |
| Level 3 | After Level 2 | Relative minor scales (A and D minor), octaves, minor key signatures, primary chords in minor, various bass styles, triplets, the chromatic scale | D♭, A♭, E♭ | Piano Level 3 (WP203) | Technic Level 3 (WP218), Theory Level 3 (WP208), Performance Level 3 (WP213) |
| Level 4 | After Level 3 | Overlapping pedal, 1st and 2nd inversion triads, sixteenth notes, dotted eighths, altered intervals, augmented and diminished triads, syncopation, parallel major and minor scales, grace notes | G♭, B♭, B | Piano Level 4 (WP204): ask your teacher or music store | Technic Level 4 (WP219), Performance Level 4 (WP214), Theory Level 4 (WP209) |
We sell the linked titles in our store. For titles without a link, ask your teacher or a local music store. Ask your teacher which edition to buy before you order.
Primer A and B or the regular Primer? Where to start
Age is a guide, not a rule. The publisher, Neil A. Kjos Music Company (Kjos), writes the young-beginner Primers A and B for children about 5 to 6 and the regular Primer for about ages 7 to 11 (see the Kjos 2026 piano catalog). Reading readiness, attention span and the teacher's own plan matter just as much.
Young beginners (about 5 to 6)
Primer A and Primer B spread the first steps across two books written for 5- and 6-year-olds, so each new idea gets more time. Each has one combined companion, Theory & Technic for the Young Beginner, instead of separate books. The publisher says students who finish both Primers are ready for Level 1.
Ages about 7 to 11
Older children usually start with the single regular Primer. It also begins with pre-staff notation and leads to the same place, Level 1, in one book instead of two, with its own Theory, Technic and Performance books. For the general question of when a child is ready for lessons at all, see what age to start piano lessons.
Switching from another method
A transfer student is placed by skill, not by the level number on their old book; "Level 2" in another series isn't Bastien Level 2. Teachers often hear the student play and read a little, then choose the book. If you're still deciding whether Bastien is the right series at all, our comparison of Faber, Alfred and Bastien covers that.
Looking for a teacher who uses Bastien Piano Basics? Send a lesson request with the student's age, level and city, and say you'd like a teacher who uses Bastien. We pass your request to independent teachers who may fit. Sending a request costs nothing. Teachers set their own rates, and you pay your teacher directly.
The four books in each level and what each one does
From Primer through Level 4, each level has four core books that line up page by page. Piano is the main lesson book, and Theory, Technic and Performance reinforce whatever the Piano book is teaching that week.
- Piano (the lesson book). New ideas, new reading and the main pieces. This is the book the lesson is built around.
- Theory. Written work, games, puzzles and some short pieces that reinforce the concepts in Piano.
- Technic. Warm-ups and exercises to start lessons and practice sessions, including graded études by composers such as Czerny, Hanon, Schmitt and Lemoine.
- Performance. Extra solo pieces at the same level, for study and for playing for family, friends or a recital.
Two extras go with the series:
- A Line a Day Sight Reading (Levels 1 to 4). Short daily reading exercises, such as quick note-finding and short phrases to play once rather than rehearse. Our store carries Level 1, Level 2 and Level 3.
- Accompaniment CDs. Each two-CD set has backing tracks for nearly every piece in the Piano, Performance and Technic books at that level. They're optional. Our store carries the Primer, Level 1, Level 2 and Level 3 sets. Check that you have a CD player first.
Do you need all four?
Not all at once. Buy the Piano book first, because everything else is written to go with it. Some teachers assign all four from the first week; others add one companion at a time. If you're buying gradually, a sensible order is Piano, Theory, Technic, then Performance, but follow your teacher's list.
How to use the books during a week
Because the books line up page by page, each week's companion pages go with the idea the Piano book just introduced. At home, follow the assignment sheet.
A simple practice pattern many families can follow:
- Warm up with the assigned Technic exercise.
- Play the current Piano piece, the main work of the week.
- Do the Theory page.
- Finish with the Performance piece as the "fun" piece of the day.
This is a sensible default, not a rule. Some teachers prefer the Theory page on a separate day, or a different order. For how long each session should be, see how long to practice piano every day, and for keeping young children going at home, see making the most of piano practice for kids.
Reading the correlation notes
The books are correlated page by page, and Kjos's Bastien Correlation Chart shows how its Bastien courses connect by age and level. For which companion pages go with each Piano page, follow your teacher's assignment sheet. If you're unsure, ask at the next lesson rather than skipping ahead.
When is it time for the next level?
There's no fixed number of weeks. A student is usually ready to move up when the Piano book is finished, the pieces are secure, and the teacher says so.
Signs a student may be ready:
- The Piano book is finished, or nearly finished, and the last pieces are steady.
- They can play the recent pieces at an even, steady pulse without stopping to fix notes.
- They understand the new reading ideas from the last section and can use them in a new piece.
- The teacher suggests the next book.
Two things to avoid: skipping a level because a child is excited to "be in Level 3," and staying a long time in one level only because a companion book isn't finished.
Do you have to finish every companion book first?
That's the teacher's call. Many teachers let a companion book trail a few pages behind or skip some pages, as long as the Piano book and its concepts are secure.
Pieces between levels
If a student needs a few weeks of consolidation, a book of extra solos at the same level helps. Our store carries Bastiens' Collage of Solos, for example Book 1 (Primer) and Book 2 (Level 1). Ask the teacher first.
What to buy next (quick table)
Find the row that describes where your student is today. The first book listed is the one to buy first.
| Your student just finished… | Buy next | Companions to add when the teacher asks |
|---|---|---|
| Primer A | Piano for the Young Beginner, Primer B (WP231) | Theory & Technic for the Young Beginner, Primer B (WP233) |
| Primer B, or the regular Primer | Piano Level 1 (WP201): ask your teacher or music store | Technic Level 1 (WP216); Theory Level 1 (WP206) and Performance Level 1 (WP211) from your music store |
| Level 1 | Piano Level 2 (WP202) | Theory Level 2 (WP207), Technic Level 2 (WP217); Performance Level 2 (WP212) from your music store |
| Level 2 | Piano Level 3 (WP203) | Technic Level 3 (WP218); Theory Level 3 (WP208) and Performance Level 3 (WP213) from your music store |
| Level 3 | Piano Level 4 (WP204): ask your teacher or music store | Technic Level 4 (WP219), Performance Level 4 (WP214); Theory Level 4 (WP209) from your music store |
Linked titles are sold in our store. You can also find these books at music stores. Ask your teacher which edition to buy before you order.
Piano Basics, Enhanced or New Traditions? Check the edition
The publisher, Kjos, sells three similarly named lines, so check which one your teacher uses. New Traditions is a separate course, so its books won't follow a Piano Basics assignment sheet.
- Bastien Piano Basics (the classic books, catalog numbers in the WP200 range, plus WP230 to WP233 for the young-beginner Primers). These are the books in the tables above.
- Bastien Piano Basics Enhanced. Newer editions of the Piano books only, from the young-beginner Primers through Level 4, with catalog numbers starting PWP (for example PWP202) and access to Kjos's Interactive Practice Studio app. Kjos describes them as correlated with the same Theory, Technic and Performance books. Ask your teacher whether the classic or Enhanced Piano book is fine.
- Bastien New Traditions. A separate all-in-one course, with lesson, theory, technique and performance pages in one book per level, named Primer A, Primer B, Level 1A and so on. It isn't a companion to Piano Basics. Its first books are also called Primer A and Primer B (WP450, WP451), so check the catalog number: the Piano Basics young-beginner books are WP230 and WP231.
If the assignment says "WP202," that's the classic Level 2 Piano book; "PWP202" is the Enhanced edition.
Teens and adults whose teacher uses Bastien
The main Piano Basics series is written for children. Teens and adults usually do better with a Bastien course written for older beginners, with pieces and pacing aimed at older students.
For beginners about 12 and up, Kjos publishes The Older Beginner Piano Course (our store carries Level 1, WP32). For adults, our store also carries Bastien Piano for Adults, Book 1. To compare adult courses across publishers, see our guide to piano method books for adult beginners.
Need a teacher who works with Bastien?
Teachers choose their own method books, and some use more than one series. If Bastien matters to you, say so in your first message, and ask which edition they teach from.
Looking for a teacher who uses Bastien Piano Basics? Send a lesson request with the student's age, level and city, and say you'd like a teacher who uses Bastien. We pass your request to independent teachers who may fit. Sending a request costs nothing. Teachers set their own rates, and you pay your teacher directly.
Prefer to look around first? Browse teacher profiles in your city and ask which method books they use.
Your Bastien map, in short
Start with Primer A and B for a young beginner or the regular Primer for an older child, then move through Levels 1 to 4. In each level, buy the Piano book first and add Theory, Technic and Performance as the teacher assigns them. Move up when the Piano book is finished and secure, and always buy the edition your teacher uses.
Teach with Bastien? List your studio on The Best Piano Teachers.
Which Bastien level is your child on, and which companion book do they like most? Tell us in the comments.
Know a parent staring at a pile of Bastien books? Send them this map.
Frequently Asked Questions
What order do the Bastien Piano Basics books go in?
Primer A and Primer B (or the regular Primer), then Levels 1, 2, 3 and 4. In each level, Piano is the main book, and Theory, Technic and Performance line up with it page by page.
Should my child start with Primer A or the Primer?
Children around 5 to 6 usually start with Primer A, then Primer B. Children around 7 to 11 usually start with the regular Primer, which also leads into Level 1. The teacher makes the final call.
Do I need to buy all four books for each level?
Not all at once. The Piano book comes first, and the teacher decides when to add Theory, Technic and Performance. Many families add them as the student reaches those pages.
How long does each Bastien level take?
It depends on the student and how often they practice, so there is no fixed number of weeks. Move up when the teacher sees the Piano book is finished and the pieces are secure.
What comes after Bastien Piano Basics Level 4?
Ask the teacher. Bastien Piano Basics ends at Level 4. Some teachers move on to intermediate pieces, technique and theory books they choose; Kjos also publishes the Bastien Intermediate Piano Course for students moving from method books to classical repertoire.
What is A Line a Day Sight Reading?
It is a fifth correlated book for Levels 1 to 4, with short daily sight-reading exercises. Many teachers add it.
Is Bastien Piano Basics good for adults?
The main series is written for children. Teens and adults usually do better with a Bastien course written for older beginners. Ask your teacher which one they use.
What is the difference between Bastien Piano Basics and New Traditions?
They are separate Bastien courses from the same publisher. New Traditions puts lessons, theory, technique and performance in one book per level, so its books and page order are different. Buy the series and edition your teacher uses.
Does it cost anything to send a lesson request?
No. Sending a request costs nothing. Teachers set their own rates, and you pay your teacher directly.