Supersonics Piano Method Level 5

A flexible Intermediate pathway through all 12 major and minor keys, with historical music, world music, contemporary styles, chords, creativity, and increasingly independent repertoire choices.

Take a look inside Level 5

If you want to see how Level 5 works, the walkthrough is the best place to start. I take you through the different sections of the book and show how the remaining major and minor keys, historical repertoire, world music, contemporary styles, chord work, and creative activities fit together.

Supersonics Piano Method Level 5 continues the flexible approach introduced in Level 4. By this stage, students have a substantial set of skills behind them, so the aim is less about following one prescribed sequence and more about giving them a broad musical framework while they become increasingly independent players.

The key work begun in Level 4 is completed here. Level 5 introduces the remaining six major keys and six minor keys, meaning students have now worked through all 12 major and minor keys across Levels 4 and 5.

But Level 5 is not simply a book about keys. Students also encounter historical repertoire, world music, contemporary solos, chord-based playing, pop styles, creative work, and pieces that demand greater control of texture, rhythm, balance, phrasing, and movement around the keyboard.

As with Level 4, you can work through the complete book from beginning to end, but you do not have to. Teachers can select the sections and pieces that suit an individual student, add examination repertoire or other music alongside them, and spend more time in the areas that need it.

Every piece in Level 5 is also available as an individual Mini. This means the complete book can act as the main pathway, or teachers can use the Minis alongside other repertoire to create a more individual Level 5 programme while still covering the same broad musical ground.

I tend to see Levels 4 and 5 as a framework for what students should experience around these stages. They give teachers a clear picture of the keys, styles, technical demands, harmonic work, and repertoire students should be encountering, without insisting that every student has to arrive there by exactly the same route.

Level 5 also incorporates the second half of Pop School Level 2, continuing the chord and accompaniment work from Level 4 and giving students more ways to use harmony practically and creatively at the keyboard.

Read about transferring into the Supersonics Piano Method

Explore Level 5 online

Level 5 repertoire, backing tracks, and supporting material are available through Supersonics Plus. Level 5 is part of the members-only section of the method, with access to the complete book, individual Minis, and digital resources available to Supersonics Pro members.

Explore Level 5 in Supersonics Plus

Level 5: What’s inside

Like Level 4, Level 5 is divided into repertoire and skills streams rather than one fixed sequence. Together they give students experience across the remaining major and minor keys, different musical traditions and styles, historical repertoire, chord playing, and creative work.

Air Navigators: Major Keys

The major-key sequence from Level 4 continues with the remaining six major keys, completing students’ practical experience of all 12 major keys through repertoire.

Rainbow Surfing (E♭ Major)
Over the Horizon (E Major)
Sunburst (A♭ Major)
Air Sprites (B Major)
Chasing the Dawn (D♭ Major)
Odyssey (G♭ Major)

The Outer Worlds: Minor Keys

The remaining six minor keys are explored through a contrasting set of pieces, completing the major and minor key sequence begun in Level 4.

Countdown (F♯ Minor)
Ascent (C♯ Minor)
Exosphere (F Minor)
Celestial (G♯ Minor)
Wormhole (B♭ Minor)
Descent (E♭ Minor)

Solos

This group brings together a range of contemporary styles, rhythmic feels, moods, and technical demands. It gives students repertoire that is less tied to a particular teaching sequence and more focused on applying their skills in complete musical works.

Salsa
Funk
Battle of the Ants
Steppin’ Out
Shooting Star
Autumn Mood
The Space Between
Monsoon

World Music

Students encounter music drawn from a range of countries and traditions, giving them experience with different melodic, rhythmic, and stylistic ideas.

Kangding Love Song (China)
Ailein Duinn (UK)
The Ballad of Down Under (Australia)
Joshua Fit the Battle (USA)
Siyahamba (South Africa)
La Cumparsita (South America)

Historical Sounds

Historical repertoire becomes more substantial again in Level 5, with music from several eras and composers. These pieces give students experience with different textures, forms, articulations, and stylistic conventions while preparing them for a wider range of classical repertoire.

Prelude in C Minor (J.S. Bach)
Sonatina: 1st and 2nd movements (Clementi)
The Wild Rider (Schumann)
Ballade (Burgmüller)
The Entertainer (Joplin)
Dance With Me (Bartók)

Chords and Creative Work

The chord stream continues from Level 4 with more sophisticated accompaniment patterns and rhythmic styles. These pieces form the second half of Pop School Level 2 and are supported by creative exercises that encourage students to use the same harmonic ideas themselves.

Ballad 3
Tango
Triplets
Ballad 4
Syncopated 1
Waltz 2
Boogie Woogie 2
Syncopated 2
Ballad 5

Plus 3 creative exercises.

Level 5 is not intended to produce identical students who have all worked through exactly the same repertoire. At this stage, there should be room for students to develop their own musical interests while continuing to cover the broader skills and experiences appropriate to the level.

The individual Level 5 Minis make that particularly easy. Every piece from the complete Level 5 book is also available individually, so teachers can select exactly the material they need and combine it with other Supersonics repertoire, examination pieces, student choices, or music from elsewhere.

The complete book therefore works well as both a teaching resource and a reference point. It shows the breadth of keys, styles, harmonic work, historical repertoire, creative activities, and musical demands students should be encountering, while leaving plenty of room to decide how each individual student gets there.

What’s included in Level 5

Level 5 is designed to give teachers a broad Intermediate framework while leaving plenty of space for students to develop their own repertoire interests.

  • 140 pages of structured material
  • Designed to support approximately 1–2 years of lessons for Intermediate students, and suitable for all ages
  • The remaining six major and minor keys, completing all 12 major and minor keys across Levels 4 and 5
  • Original solos, world music, and historical repertoire
  • Chord-based pieces and creative activities
  • A wide range of rhythmic, technical, stylistic, and expressive challenges
  • Individual Mini versions of every piece for flexible teaching and repertoire selection

By this stage, the aim is increasingly for students to use the skills they have built to explore a much wider range of music. The method still provides structure, but there is deliberately much more room for teachers and students to decide where to go next.

Supersonics Pro members

Level 5 is available exclusively to Supersonics Pro members.

Pro members can access and print the complete Level 5 book through Supersonics Plus, use the individual Level 5 Minis and supporting digital resources, and purchase printed copies at member pricing from the Member Bookstore.

Supersonics Pro members can print Level 5 immediately through Supersonics Plus or purchase a printed copy from the Member Bookstore.

Level 5, its individual Minis, backing tracks, and supporting digital material are available as part of the Supersonics Pro membership.