Introduction to Piano Books
Learning how to play the piano has never been as easy as it is right away. Just take a moment to imagine how people used to learn keyboard skills decades ago. Days, when there was nothing like the internet and information and learning materials, were limited. From such days, the only way to learn how to play a keyboard was probably through a personal tutor or by self-teaching which I can only imagine how difficult it is. This is why we really need to appreciate all the old people who perfected the art that is playing pianos with limited resources back in the days.
Fortunately for us, we have more than enough learning materials for everyone dedicated enough to become a great pianist. We are in the days where piano tutors can be accessed easily through the internet and if we feel they aren’t enough then we can go ahead to seek even more learning tools from the web.
Among the most useful learning tools are piano books. These are materials that can teach everything from how to place your fingers to how to play complex notes. Most of these books are written by accomplished musicians and tutors with vast experience in the music industry. They understand the kind of struggles that learners usually go through from the starting point all the way to the end. This has given them a unique insight which they utilize to help learners overcome the challenges in an easy way.
There are dozens of piano books out there that have useful information for all beginners. Basically, piano books can be categorized into two groups, piano books for young beginners and for adult beginners. In this review, we will be looking at the best piano books for adult beginners. Take note that in some cases, a book can be useful to both adults and children of around 10 years going up.
With that said, here are the best piano books for adult beginners:
Alfred’s All-in-One Adult Course Book
According to music experts, teachers and even students, Alfred’s All-in-One Adult Course is arguably the best keyboard method book in the market at the moment. This book combines different kinds of techniques to offer useful and easy-to-follow instructions that all adult beginners can utilize.
The Alfred’s keyboard method book starts by introducing the eager pianist to the basics of all keyboards and piano benches. A good introduction is useful as it equips the learner with all the vital information to build a foundation upon which they can mount their skills. In this first part of the book, you will learn about finger placement, scales, chords, and all other necessities before you get down to actual practices.
The authors of the book have done an incredible job explaining everything so comprehensively especially the introductory bits. This makes it possible for self-tutoring beginners to learn with more ease.
Once you are done with all the introductions the book moves quickly to the more hands-on bits. Here, you will start learning about the various playing styles among other things. We have to say that the entire planning in this course is done remarkably well to boost understandability. Everything is arranged in a logical manner allowing you to build one skill on another and so on until you become a refined pianist. This also means that as you progress, the lessons become tougher and tougher. Don’t worry though because the guide is clear enough for you to understand.
With Alfred’s all-in-one course you won’t be moving from one lesson to the next just like that. The method book features assignments after each lesson. These are aimed at gauging your mastery of the lesson. If you perform well on these assignments, then it’s a clear sign that you can move to the next. If a certain bit proves difficult, you can just go back, read through the guide again, do some practices and try out the assignment again. We advise you to make sure that you are satisfied with your performance on each assignment before moving to the next lesson. This is because the lessons build upon each other and hence if you don’t grasp the content in one of them then the next lesson will also be too difficult for you.
The book also comes with various finger exercises which are also very well explained for you to understand and follow. These exercises will strengthen your hands improving their pace and accuracy. It’ll take time until your hands become really quick but with lots of exercises, you will finally gain the exceptional skills that make up an accomplished virtuoso pianist.
This course comes with some popular tunes to make your learning experience exciting. Some of the books in this course are even sold with CDs that you can listen and play along during your practice sessions.
Another incredible thing we loved about the Alfred’s Method Book is its ability to work with almost all types of keyboards. You can use this course with different sizes of keyboards. However, people with full-sized keyboards will have an upper hand over their counterparts. The course is also usable to people of different skill levels. Even intermediate players can find some very useful tools from this book.
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Faber Piano Adventures
The Faber Piano Adventures is another really useful method book that comes in various levels depending on your immediate playing skills. For beginners, you will have to start from level 1 which explains the basics and then move on to the next parts once you have mastered all the content here. The difficulty increase as you move up the levels and so will your expertise.
One thing that most people love with this method book is the fact that it gets you playing as soon as possible. This is especially useful to fast learners. You are, however, cautioned against rushing yourself through the lessons. Remember, the aim is to make you the best possible pianist and not just to finish the course.
This method book also comes with various other tools to guide you through your learning process. You will receive supplementary materials including artistry books to help you with both theory and performance. The book and tools provide useful instructions on matters such as transitioning between finger position, learning basic chord structures such as dominate, seventh chords, and tonic.
The Faber Piano Adventures makes a great tool for both learners and their tutors. With it, your teacher will be able to follow up on different aspects of learning the piano more easily as you also use it for your part-time practices. Also included with the book is a progress chart that you and your tutor can use to record and monitor your progress.
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Bastien Piano for Adults
The Bastien Piano for Adults method book is another incredible learning tool that offers a fast-paced course to get you started in no time. The book has some really challenging lessons ensuring that you don’t become an okay pianist but a great one.
This particular method book has a very simple and designing helping learners of all skill levels to understand what is being taught. Each lesson starts with a theory sections explaining what it entails and the best techniques for achieving what the lesson is trying to teach you. After the theory, you will get into some basic practice sections and this is where you use the techniques to play and perfect the taught skills. Finally, you will have some challenging assignments to perfect the learned skills even further.
The book features different music genres. This will be useful in diversifying the learner’s skill set. Also, you can use this opportunity to know which genre of music you love the most or which one you are more good at.
The Bastien Piano for Adults method book is a fantastic tool that will help you learn with ease and at a fast pace. It will also make your learning experience an entertaining and memorable one.
Conclusion
The above three piano books make up the tip of the cream. This is as reviewed by experts, teachers, and students. Therefore, if all you want is an engaging and easy-to-understand piano book to kick start your music career then you need not look any further.