Alfred's Self-Teaching Adult Piano Course

One of the most popular self teaching piano books. Just started learning it. Really can't complain. The quality of the paper and color print is superb. It's a big sized book.

finding this really easy to follow. a great beginner book.

A very good book

Good book for beginners like me. Songs are well planned after each excercise. I am growing in confidence after each excercise.

I have been learning with this book a couple of weeks and I am really pleased with my progress.Admittedly, I've had piano lessons 35 odd years ago as a child, and therefore, before I started with this book some weeks ago, I could still remember the very basics of reading notes (no majors and minors, just the simple ones), and could eventually - after counting up or down from the middle C - locate the corresponding keys on the keyboard, but that was about it. This allowed me to go through the first pages faster than somebody with no knowledge of reading notes or playing an instrument at all. From page 30 (out of about 200) or so onwards I feel that I am learning new things and I enjoy the challenge. I am confident that someone with no prior knowledge whatsoever can study by themselves with this book, IF they are1) learners who are happy to learn through self study (not everybody is, while others actually prefer self study rather than learning with a teacher)2) willing to go through the first pages really slowly and meticulously and stick to it even though these first lessons are not exactly the most exciting ones. You might get a bit bored or frustrated, but if you keep going you will get there, and it will soon get more interesting.If you want to become a really good grand pianist obviously sooner or later you will need a teacher, but for someone like me who mainly wants to be able to accompany songs, or someone who wants a solid introduction into music theory and playing the piano before taking it further it's really good.note to players from the UK: the book is American, and they use different terms in music theory. Again, for someone like me not a problem at all, but if you are from the UK and planning to take it seriously, look up the corresponding British terms on the internet as you learn about the theory.

With time on my hands during lockdown, I finally bought a keyboard and decided to teach myself to play. After paying for two online courses, I was losing interest in practising because they didn't explain some things well and there is no teacher to ask. Trying to go through lessons on a tablet was also frustrating, so I got a voucher for my birthday and this book got really good reviews so I gave it a try.I'm half way through and so far I love it. It's well written as if a teacher is talking to you and it gives just the right amount of help, whilst also leaving some things for you to remember, but it's easy to go back a couple of pages if you don't, or you've forgotten in the 24 hours since you last practised! The diagrams at the top of the page are very helpful.I had already learnt to play the flute and read music, which meant I could skip a bit at the beginning. Bass clef was my nemesis in the first two courses, but it's beginning to sink in with this book.Looking through the latter part of the book it seems quite daunting, but I'm looking forward to it. The only reason I haven't given it 5 stars is because I'm only half way through.

The CD is a useless gimmick that has no relevance to the beginner player or the book. It teaches you the wrong use of fingers wich will hinder future learning. It certainly lacks practice pieces, one per lesson only and not one to consolidate what you have learned. The second half of the book is a little random. It will be difficult to progress to another system unless you have a teacher because of the error of the fingers from the beginning.

I absolutely loved this book! I already had experience in music with other musical instruments so it was not too difficult for me to move to the piano. The book does not have those boring exercises you usually see in beginners books but you learn easy songs as soon as you start playing. It's progressing fast enough to always keep you interested and excited! I have already finished half of it in a few weeks and I couldn't be more satisfied with a book!I'm not sure if it would be ideal for a total beginner since I already knew the basics when I started it, but it seems to me that everything is very well explained.

As an adult learner I wanted something more interesting than the 1950's tutor I had previously tried using. This introduces playing more than one note, per hand, at an early stage and the author treats the student as an adult. This is rarely the case with instrument tutors. Highly recommended.