This book was published in 1935 and on the first page it states that the book is for pre-school beginners or youngsters of any age. In the foreward for the book, the authors describe the motivation for writing it. This was because, a son of one of the writers was “repelled rather than attracted” by the contemporary tutor books of the day. The writers states that children imitate what they hear, so they felt that by playing by ear or by rote should be greatly encouraged. And, they fell that so much can be done by this method without the hindrance of notation. This approach would have been a trailblazer at the time. It differs from the Suziki method in that short, repetitive patterns are used rather than longer pieces.
Learners are expected to imitate sounds aurally, with the help of gestures and body movements, that they hear and all have titles that describe the sounds that are going to be created. Some of the titles are - Raindrops, Indian Tom-Tom, The Grasshopper and The Tic-Toc Clock. Later on in the book scales are introduced with a piece entitled “Going up and Down the Stairs” or the position of the notes on the piano are learnt by spelling the words cab and cabbage. Unfortunately there are a few titles that are not acceptable today.
The method helps to establish the pupil’s knowledge of the piano and an excellent aural groundwork is established too. Quite often the player is playing a note in each hand. Indirectly the pupil is learning concepts such as articulation and dynamics. Melodic intervals are introduced and a few of the pieces use arpeggio patterns. The illustrations in this book are excellent for the era and there are very well-written parts for the teacher to play.
Mana-Zucca, Augusta Zuckermann, was born in New York in 1885. Her parents were Polish. She died in 1981. She was an actress, singer, pianist and composer. Her only child, a son, was born in 1926 and I assume that it is her son that the authors are talking about at the start of the book. Preston Ware Orem, 1865 - 1938 was born in Philadelphia. He was a composer, pianist and writer on music. He was credited in 1935 with co-authoring the song Happy Birthday.
If you wish to read more about ‘The First Month at the Piano’ by Mana-Zucca and Preston Ware Orem please refer to ‘A Pedagogical and Educational Examination of The First Month At The Piano by Mana-Zucca ‘ by Laura Helene Keith.
References
Ancestry.com