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What are the Best Piano Books for Beginners?
This is a questions that is constantly being looked at again and again by piano teachers everywhere.
And it's a very important one to answer. Why?
Because good piano books for beginners can be the difference between a child sticking with piano or quitting.
In my opinion, piano books for beginners have to make piano fun and interesting. They cannot be overly challenging but they also cannot move so slow that beginners lose interest. I also believe that the best piano books for beginners should have interesting pieces that are appropriate for the age of the student.
Below I've explained why I like the books that I choose to use for my students.
Hope it's helpful!
In My Opinion: The Best Piano Books for Beginners
This is my favorite set. Nancy and Randall Faber have done a great job at introducing the most important concepts for a beginner to learn.
I love how they begin the student right away at thinking about arm weight and the concepts of good touch.
I think that they have organized the material in a very logical and progressive way. I have never had a problem with one my students not being able to understand the progression of concepts introduced.
The above reasons are all why I think these are the best piano books for beginners. However, I also like the songs themselves generally and so do my students. The words and clever and have cute captions to go along with them.
Nancy and Randall Faber make it easy for teachers to supplement other ideas along with their books, all while keeping the students feel like they know what is coming next (always a good feeling for the student).
Piano Adventures: Lesson Book Primer Level (Piano Adventures Library)
If you're only going to get one book, this is the one to get. The Lesson Book has some of the best songs as well as instructions on posture, hand position, and basic theory.
Amazon Price: $6.50 (as of 07/10/2009) 
Piano Adventures Gold Star Performance, Primer Level
I prefer the Gold Star Performance to the regular Performance Book because I like the songs in this one better. It goes at a quicker pace but that is easily adjusted by your teacher.
Amazon Price: $7.95 (as of 07/10/2009)
Piano Adventures: Technique and Artistry Book, Primer Level
This book has lot of good drills for working on the correct hand position, finger independence drills, moving from one hand position to the next, etc.
Amazon Price: $5.95 (as of 07/10/2009)
Piano Adventures: Theory Book Primer Level (Piano Adventures Library)
This book does a great job at introducing theory in a fun way. They also order the concepts very well so that nothing is confusing or difficult.
Amazon Price: $5.95 (as of 07/10/2009)
Never Too Early to Start!
The Best Piano Books for Beginners: Adults!
So you want to start piano as an adult?
Not a problem! The Alfred Books are great for adult beginners.
You still get all of the quality of the Alfred Books but not all that frilly stuff that makes you feel like an eight year old.
The concepts move much more quickly since it take adult a lot less time to understand them.
However, the training of making the head/arms/fingers move together the way you want will still take you some time and Alfred does a good job of moving slowly enough to let you do so.
All in all, I think that these are the best piano books for beginners for adults looking to learn to play the piano.
Alfred's Basic Adult Piano Course: Lesson Book, Level One
This has all of the information on hand/body positioning as well as all of the pieces that you will play. The songs are much more suited to the adult piano beginner.
Amazon Price: $9.95 (as of 07/10/2009)
Alfred's Basic Adult Piano Course Theory
This book goes at a good pace for an adult piano beginner. The concepts are explained well and are not belabored.
Amazon Price: $6.95 (as of 07/10/2009)
A Little Favor
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Best Piano Books for Beginners: Special Occasions
Let me guess, one of the reasons you want your children (or yourself) to learn to play the piano is because you want them to be able to play for special occasions...Christmas, Weddings, holidays.
Well, you're in luck because a lot of the well-respected piano method books have comes out with wonderful collections of the best piano books for beginners for special occasions.
I still INCREDIBLY STRONGLY suggest that you get all of the piano books for beginners above (young beginner or adult) if you are at all interested in having your child play the piano well. You cannot expect to get these and have a teacher teach them for these books. Make sure that they know the basics before you have them playing for special occasions.
That being said, these are the often the cutest songs and are great to hear around the holidays...especially if it's a beginner having fun with them!
Alfred's Basic Adult All-in-One Course: Christmas Piano Book (Alfred's Basic Adult Piano Course)
This is a good one of the adult beginner. You will be able to approach these piano pieces in a short while. Don't be shy though!
Amazon Price: $6.95 (as of 07/10/2009)
Alfred's Basic Piano Library Merry Christmas Level One 1 ; with Duets
This book has very cute songs and the duets are wonderful. These are so much fun to play for the holidays.
Amazon Price: (as of 07/10/2009)
Piano Adventures: Christmas Book, Primer Level
This books is best for the youngest beginner. Great, fun pieces that get them really excited for the Christmas season.
Amazon Price: $3.95 (as of 07/10/2009)
Piano Adventures Christmas Book, Level 1
This one is best for the slightly older beginner (after 10 years olds). The songs are slightly more challenging and go at a faster pace. Still very cute.
Amazon Price: $4.95 (as of 07/10/2009)
Other Lenses to Check Out
I've made a couple other lenses that are piano related...especially if you are just thinking about starting your child (or yourself!) on piano lessons.-
Tips for Buying a Piano: Picking the Perfect One
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There are things that you must do when picking a piano. Here are just some of them: 1) Look for any damaged parts. Assess how bad the damage is if there is any. Scratches are no big deal, broken keys are. 2) Do all of the keys work? Do any stick?...
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The Best Metronomes Out There
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Metronomes can be incredibly helpful in keeping you honest with the beat. Let's face it, it's hard to focus on expressing anything when you're struggling to keep/find the beat. While it can be incredibly frustrating to find your tempo wandering, it...
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The Best Piano Theory Books
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The importance of learning music theory cannot be stressed too much. As a piano teacher, I have seen first hand how much learning music theory affects someone's success when learning to play the piano. As pianists, we have a total advantage when it...
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What is the Best Age to Start Piano Lessons?
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There are two major things to say about what the best age to start piano lessons is: 1) No one is every too old to start piano lessons. Even if you had the horrible experience of having played piano in the past and were told that you "weren't music...
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What is the Best Age to Start Piano Lessons?
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There are two major things to say about what the best age to start piano lessons is: 1) No one is every too old to start piano lessons. Even if you had the horrible experience of having played piano in the past and were told that you "weren't music...
Successful Pianists
A Good, Involved Teacher + Exteremly involved parents + Good Quality instructional Books = Successful Pianists
Child Prodigies
It's sort of a hobby of mine to search YouTube videos to find amazing videos of child prodigies.
While that term may be overused, it's still really fun to see what some children are capable of.
What it really comes down to very often, I believe, is an amazing teacher. Here's where parents can have a huge influence!
Music Matters Blog
I really love this blog because it covers a variety of really relevant and important topics about music and piano.
It very often points to resources like free sheet music and the best new websites.
Fetching RSS feed... please stand byWhere to Buy a Piano
Even if you don't play piano, it is good to try it yourself. Play around on it and listen carefully to the sound; do you like it? Do you enjoy the ones that sound more mellow and thick, or do you like the ones that have a clear, sharper sound? There's really no correct answer to this so go with what you will want to listen to for a long time.
For more information on, go to my lens on what to looks for when buying a piano
- Piano Mart
- A huge collection of any kind of piano you would want to buy. This is a reputable site and is well known for good service.
- Name Brand Pianos
- This is another site where they have all sorts of pianos. You can buy newly restore name brand pianos. When it comes to name brands, I do believe that it matters when you're talking about pianos. Brands like Steinway and Bechstein are very good and last a long time.
- Digital Pianos
- This is your place for digital pianos. Digital pianos can be great if you need somewhere to practice without bothering anyone else in your house. If you are to get a digital piano, make sure you buy one with weighted keys so that it feels like a real piano.
- All About Pianos
- This is a site that will answer a lot of your questions about pianos. It's very detailed and has a good FAQ section.
Online Piano Lessons: No Hassle Learning
Not interested in getting a piano teacher?
Don't want to buy piano books?
Can't afford piano lessons right now but want to start?
Online piano lessons are becoming more and more popular as technology becomes increasingly better and higher quality.
You can get relatively inexpensive piano lessons with instructional videos and music.
Online Piano Lessons from the most popular online teaching site.
Cute Kids Playing Piano
There is nothing cuter than a plump little hand exploring the keyboard.
I have to say, she wasn't playing some song that I know but she wasn't just bang...
Janelle teaches her cousin Samantha (Stephie's girl) how to play a few notes, wh...
Caleb practicing his piano assignments.
Sofia likes playing on the Kawai Digital Piano
Josh is actually playing a song, Sam is accompanying him.
and he played more keys!
"To me, the piano in itself is an orchestra. --Cecil Taylor"
Motivate Your Kids to Play Piano
Learning to piano isn't all fun and games.
Motivate your children with these cute t-shirts.
While I don't advocate bribing since it won't get you far, making piano playing fun and exciting is key (no pun intended) when starting the piano.
Also, playing piano isn't always the "cool" thing to do when you're a kid in the school system. Make your child feel special for knowing this amazing skill.
Help Kids in Need
America Can! is a non-profit organization operating public charter high schools throughout the country. America Can! academies provide a second-chance education for at-risk youth - kids who have dropped out or are at-risk of dropping out of school.
What Do YOU Think are the Best Piano Books for Beginners?
This is something that piano teachers get together and argue about all the time. What are the best piano books for beginners?!
Here's the usual debate:
Faber & Faber vs. Alfred.
What, in your experience, has been the better method book?
Which piano method do you prefer: Faber & Faber or the Alfred books?
Fetching blurbs now... please stand byFaber & Faber
Alfred
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besbrodepianos wrote...
Useful resource!
I hadn't seen the "Piano Adventures" series before.
Posted January 30, 2009
