Piano lesson books are full of names a parent may not know. Czerny. Burgmüller. Kabalevsky. Most of these composers were teachers who wrote music for their own students. This page says who each one was and names a piece to listen for.
The teachers who wrote studies
A study, or etude, is a short piece that trains one skill. These composers wrote hundreds of them.
| Composer | Dates | Where they worked | Known for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Carl Czerny | 1791 to 1857 | Vienna | A pupil of Beethoven and the teacher of Liszt. He wrote a huge number of studies. |
| Friedrich Burgmüller | 1806 to 1874 | Paris | His 25 studies, Op. 100, each with a title, such as “Arabesque” and “Ballade” |
| Stephen Heller | 1813 to 1888 | Paris | Studies that sound like small concert pieces |
| Louis Köhler | 1820 to 1886 | Königsberg | Easy studies for the first years |
| Cornelius Gurlitt | 1820 to 1901 | Hamburg | Short pieces for beginners |
| Anton Diabelli | 1781 to 1858 | Vienna | A publisher who wrote easy pieces and duets. Beethoven wrote a famous set of variations on a waltz by Diabelli. |
Listen for: Burgmüller’s “Arabesque.” It is quick, lasts about a minute, and children like to play it fast. Read Czerny for kids and Burgmüller for kids.
The sonatina composers
A sonatina is a small sonata. It is often a student’s first piece with more than one movement.
| Composer | Dates | Where they worked | Known for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Muzio Clementi | 1752 to 1832 | London | His six sonatinas, Op. 36. He also built pianos and published music. |
| Friedrich Kuhlau | 1786 to 1832 | Copenhagen | Sonatinas that many students play after Clementi’s |
| Daniel Gottlob Türk | 1750 to 1813 | Halle | Tiny pieces for beginners, each with a title |
Listen for: the first movement of Clementi’s Sonatina in C Major, Op. 36, No. 1. Read Clementi for kids. A teachers’ conference handout lists it as the most advanced piece in the Faber Piano Adventures method.
The great composers who wrote for children
Some famous composers wrote whole books for young players.
| Composer | Book for young players | When |
|---|---|---|
| J. S. Bach | The notebooks he kept for his wife and his son, and the two-part inventions | The 1720s |
| Robert Schumann | Album for the Young | 1848 |
| Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky | Album for the Young | 1878 |
| Béla Bartók | For Children and Mikrokosmos | 1908 to 1939 |
| Dmitri Kabalevsky | Pieces for children, such as his Op. 27 and Op. 39 | The 1930s and 1940s |
Read Bach for kids, Robert Schumann for kids, Tchaikovsky for kids, and Bartók for kids.
Listen for: “The Happy Farmer” from Schumann’s Album for the Young. Suzuki violin and cello students play it too. Read Album for the Young: a guide for piano families.
A name with a surprise
The Minuet in G Major that many beginners play was long credited to Bach. It comes from the notebook he kept for his wife, Anna Magdalena. Scholars now credit it to Christian Petzold, an organist in Dresden. Read who wrote the Minuet in G. Many newer books print his name.
Composers closer to our time
| Composer | Dates | Known for |
|---|---|---|
| William Gillock | 1917 to 1993 | An American teacher whose pieces are recital favorites |
| Florence Price | 1887 to 1953 | An American composer. Her teaching pieces are now in exam books. |
Read Florence Price for kids.
Lesson books also hold pieces by living composers. The publisher of the Royal Conservatory of Music (RCM) books says the series includes newly commissioned works.
Where these names show up in exam books
The RCM etude books for piano put these composers side by side with new pieces. A few examples from the current books:
- Diabelli, Etude in C Major, at Level 1
- Köhler, Etude in F Major, at Level 2
- Burgmüller, “Harmony of the Angels,” at Level 5
- Kabalevsky, Prelude, Op. 39, No. 19, at Level 5
- Czerny, Etude, Op. 139, No. 51, at Level 6
- Price, “The Goblin and the Mosquito,” at Level 6
- Heller, an etude from Op. 125, at Level 7
- Burgmüller, “The Storm,” at Level 8
Read RCM piano books explained.
Why teachers still use this old music
- It was written by teachers. Czerny, Burgmüller, and Clementi knew what small hands could do.
- Each piece has one job. A study trains one skill, such as even fingers or a singing tune.
- It leads to the famous music. A child who plays Clementi is getting ready for Mozart and Beethoven.
How to use this page
- Say one fact before a new piece. “Czerny took lessons from Beethoven” is enough.
- Find a recording. Hearing the piece played well gives a child a target.
- Print a page for the binder. Use the composer study notebook page.
- Place them in time. Try the composer timeline.
Related pages
- Piano method books compared for parents
- Faber Piano Adventures levels explained
- Easy classical piano pieces for beginners, in order
- Composers in the Suzuki violin books: who they were
- Classical composers for kids: a guide by era
Sources
Checked in November 2026.
- The Royal Conservatory. Piano Syllabus, 2022 Edition.
- Da Capo Music Studio. RCM piano etudes: full list of pieces.
- Music Teachers National Association. Level up: conference handout, 2018, for the Clementi sonatina in the Faber method.
- Popplers Music. Suzuki Piano School, Volume 1: contents with composers.
- Hickey’s Music. Celebration Series piano etudes, sixth edition: publisher’s description.
More from this guide
This article is part of Classical composers for kids: a guide by era, from Vivaldi to Britten.
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Asian composers for kids: ten to know
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Use it with your kids
Print a listening page, a practice chart, or a composer fact sheet. Or try a tool, such as the composer timeline or the piece picker.