Top 5 Tips For Choosing The Perfect Piano Lesson Book

What level piano player are you?
If you are a beginner, finding a Piano Lesson Book is very easy. When I purchased my first piano lesson book I sat at the bookstore to consider what each one had to offer. The piano lesson book I chose included short chapters that taught about the types of pianos, definitions about the parts of pianos, how the piano works, tuning your piano, and caring for my piano. I love to find out how things work, so finding an introduction piano lesson book that included this was nice. I also feel that by understanding more about your instrument you will know how to care properly for it and understand the inner workings.

If you are an intermediate or advanced player I would suggest that if you don't know all of the parts of a piano, how it works, and commonly used vocabulary you might want to touch up on it. I have found that when you take your piano playing abilities to the next level you must speak on another level and understand your instrument better. This knowledge will present to others that you are serous about your piano playing career and have the knowledge necessary to make it big. To find a piano lesson book that will enhance your piano playing skills you will have to search harder. You may even consider looking into hiring a piano teacher or reviewing online piano lessons instead of purchasing another piano lesson book.

What piano playing goals have you set for yourself? Do you want to become a profession performer? Or do you want to take playing the piano up as a hobby?

After you have decided your goal for learning to play the piano, you will look at a piano lesson book differently. For example, if you are simply learning to play the piano so that you can entertain guests on holidays, or to pass the time as a hobby, a basic piano lesson book that teacher hand placement, the names of the keys, and entertaining piano classics will do just fine.

But if you are looking to build an extensive knowledge about playing the piano so that you can move up through the ranks to become a world renowned performer you will want to search for a piano lesson book that goes into greater detail. If I were to purchase a piano lesson book with this goal in mind I would look for a book that covers piano basics, information about piano playing and piano players as well as how to play the piano. I would also consider the author of the piano lesson book. You don't want just any piano lesson teacher. You may want to purchase a piano lesson book from an author that has experienced success. They will know which steps you need to take to become a professional performer as well as the knowledge you need to have to find piano playing success.

What is your budget for finding a piano lesson book?

Depending on your goals and seriousness for learning to play the piano, you will have a different budget in mind. When researching through the local bookstore, I found that an Introduction to Piano Lesson Book ranges from $7.95 to $29.95. The price will differ based on the amount of information and the type of information you are looking for.

For example, I was looking for a book with a lot of information about the piano, being a piano player, learning to play the piano, and reading piano music. I found a book that covered all of this for just $10.95. What a great start! However, after learning the knowledge I wanted from that book, I wanted a book with more sheet music so that I can broaden my playing abilities to more than just the ten songs provided in my first book.

The piano lesson book I found next, included more songs as well as even more playing tips for $29.95. I then wanted to learn to play a specific type of piano songs so I looked for a piano lesson book specific to the style I wanted.

These are the piano lesson books I purchased, I found all three of the books to have quality instruction for a reasonable price.

How to Play Piano by Roger Evans - $10.95

The Piano Handbook: A Complete Guide For Mastering Piano by Carl Humphries - $29.95 (at most bookstores) but I found it on Amazon for $19.77

How To Play Popular Piano In 10 Easy Lessons by Norman Monath - $14.00

I especially liked the information that this piano lesson book had to offer which brings me to my next point...

What style of piano playing are you looking for?

As I searched through each piano lesson book at my local bookstore, I found that not only did they vary in how much information they taught, but that they had different types of songs also.

As I kept searching through them, I found a piano lesson book for classical piano, popular piano, playing pop music on piano, traditional piano playing, children piano songs. All sorts of piano lesson books that included different types of songs and different styles of playing. So before purchasing a piano lesson book look into the types of piano music you like as well as the style of piano playing you want to learn.

What are you going to get in return for the investment you put into your first piano lesson book?

First, by following the first four steps, and answering those questions before purchasing your first piano lesson book, you will find a book that fits you best. You will end up learning a lot more information that you were already interested in learning - which makes it so much easier to stay motivated.

The next thing you should consider is the value that each piano lesson book has for you. I found that many of the high priced books do not include nearly as much detailed and important information as some of the cheaper books. Also, look at what each piano lesson book includes. I found two books that included a CD or DVD to work along with. For many audio and visual learners this may be a piano lesson book to look into. I have met many people that need to see what the instructor is doing to learn, but cant afford to pay the pricy hourly fee's of most piano instructors. So, finding a piano lesson book that has an audio or visual disc included may be very beneficial.

You can find loads of free piano lessons without ever purchasing a piano lesson book.