Today, I’d like to tell you about the Concept Collections books, edited and published by Vibrant Music Teaching, the pedagogical project led by Nicola Cantan. These books are released quarterly and feature pieces by various composers, all centered around a specific musical concept.
Each collection focuses on a particular topic such as octaves, waltzes, or relative keys, and every piece in the book is composed to explore that concept. Each volume includes 8 to 10 pieces, ranging from elementary to intermediate levels, and each one comes with a short pedagogical note.
One of the great strengths of these collections is their flexibility: they allow you to teach the same concept to students at different levels, making them perfect for group activities. The theme of the collection can also serve as a springboard for exploring related topics like music history, theory, improvisation, or composition.
These books are only available for a limited time, usually, only the two most recent volumes can be purchased. While the printed editions are available to everyone, the digital version with studio-licensed access is exclusive to members of Vibrant Music Teaching. At the end of this post, I’ll briefly explain what the platform offers.
Concept Collection 12: Dorian
Concept Collection 12 is all about the Dorian mode, and I had the pleasure of contributing alongside Elizabeth Swift, Lynette Sawatsky, Peter Rudzic, and Rosemarie Penner.
This collection offers an excellent opportunity to dive into the world of Dorian. As I mentioned earlier, you can simply work through the Dorian pieces with your students. But if you’d like to go further, the theme can be expanded in many directions:
- Ear training: singing Dorian songs, identifying melodic patterns in this mode, etc.
- Theory: how the Dorian scale is built, which chords it contains…
- History: examples of Dorian-mode music from medieval times to today.
- Improvisation: there’s no better way to absorb a concept than by improvising with it (Forrest Kinney has many improvisation resources using modes).
I’m sharing with you the two pieces I’ve composed for this post. The first one is A Bird in the Forrest, and it’s written in E Dorian mode.
The second one is titled Distant Lighthouse and is written in D dorian. In this piece, t.he right hand plays two voices: the melody and a sixteenth-note accompaniment.
Previous Volumes
The earlier volumes are no longer available, but I wanted to give you an idea of the kind of concepts explored and the types of pieces included, by sharing some of the editions I’ve participated in:
Vol. 2 – The Other Pedals: focused on using the middle and left pedals — those great unknowns for beginner students. For this volume, I wrote two pieces: Picnic by the Pond and Jazz Waltz. Here’s a recording for you to listen to:
Vol. 5 – Unposition: a collection exploring the full range of the piano keyboard. My contributions were After the Rain and Exploring the Keyscape.
Vol. 6 – Octaves: focused on octave intervals. I contributed two more pieces: Carnival Toccatina and Autumn Waltz, which you can listen to below:
I’m currently compiling these pieces into a book that will be available in 2026
Other Resources by Nicola Cantan
To wrap up, I’d like to briefly highlight some of the other excellent resources Nicola Cantan has created. Her contribution to music education in recent years has been truly impressive:
Vibrant Music Teaching (VMT): It is an online platform and community for music teachers that provides resources, training, and support to enhance piano teaching. Its content includes a large library of games, a video library filled with all kinds of resources—carefully sequenced and organized so you can easily find or follow the most suitable and convenient materials for each lesson—and a community of teachers available to answer questions about the tools, or to discuss any other topics through a forum format
Colourful Keys: Nicola’s main website and blog, where she shares a wealth of ideas for piano teaching. It also hosts her store, where you can find resources such as the Piano Paintbox method, pedagogy books, games, dice, flashcards, and more.
Rhythm in 5: a book of 25 fun, easy-to-prepare rhythm activities suitable for students of any instrument, not just piano.
Practice Pie: a resource filled with ideas to help parents support their child’s practice at home in a positive and productive way.
Have you come across Nicola Cantan’s work before?
Do you use any of her materials in your teaching?
I’d love to hear from you in the comments, and thanks, as always, for reading the blog!
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