Alfred's Basic Adult All-in-One Piano Course: Lesson, Theory, Technic (Spiral-Bound Edition)

A little background before I get into the real review: My 14 y/o trumpet player daughter has been wanting to learn the piano for years. Because she has C.P. we had been putting it off thinking that trying to coordinate both hands at once and read music would be too frustrating for her. Her trumpet teacher disagreed and recommended she start with the Suzuki method as she has and incredibly good ear and quite a bit of natural musical talent. From my understanding of Suzuki, there is quite a bit of parent involvement required. This is a problem for me given I have limited experience playing an instrument (flute. I really should have listened when my mom said I'd regret giving it up) and absolutely none with the piano. I bought this book to help rectify that, knowing that I'll be sitting in on her weekly lessons and absorbing a lot of information there. Having only had the book a couple of days, I love it already. The book assumes you are coming to the piano with no prior musical experience and starts from the very beginning. It introduces the musical alphabet and shows where each note falls on the keyboard. When reading from the staff is introduced, the note names are printed right in the note so your eyes are traveling along the staff instead of looking elsewhere. With each lesson on theory you are given exercises and practice tunes that reinforce the lesson. There are also written exercises to really help make those connections solid. You move along fairly quickly, playing simple melodies with each hand separately to playing with both hands. Once harmonic intervals are introduced (pg.26) and you start playing the melody with one hand and harmonics with the other, you really feel like you're making music! It's pretty exciting to go from not knowing where middle C is located to playing Jingle Bells with a bit of harmony in 2 days! I can't wait to continue to grow with this book. I do plan on adding scales and such to my practice sessions, as these are truly the things that will help you progress and give you a more fundamental understanding of how music is put together. Playing scales and arpeggios are just as important to a musician as stretching is to a runner. They may not be the most fun, but they are essential, which my daughter hates to hear. Some have said that the song selection leaves a bit to be desired. While I don't disagree that songs like "Tisket, A Tasket", "Lightly Row", and "Aunt Rhody" are juvenile, (these are the songs all young musicians start with. The Good Lord knows I've sat through many a squeaky beginning band performance of them!) they are the type of song that build that foundation for the great things to come. By the time you finish this book you should be able to play songs like "Over the Rainbow" and "Singin' in the Rain". You can also find loads of simple piano music online for free and there's always the option of purchasing books of beginner music if you find that you're board by the selections provided. Also be aware that this book does not come with the c.d. Not really a problem as there are loads of nice folks who have uploaded videos to youtube of all the songs. Just search for Alfred's Basic Adult Piano and you'll have your pick. All in all, I really am enjoying learning with this book. I feel like I'm able to grasp the concepts that are introduced and will be able to help my daughter along once her lessons start in a couple of weeks. I'm looking forward to finishing this book, which I hope will come sooner rather than later, and starting on the next one.

I really enjoy this book and feel that I've learned a lot so far, although I'm only halfway through. It would be ideal for beginner students or those needing a brush up, especially if they are working with a professional on the side. I'm in my mid-30s, doing it through self-study and find it relatively easy to do. I'm hoping to get a proper acoustic piano eventually and would love to know how to play well first. I've never had musical training, but have played off and on by ear--meaning, I didn't know most chords, notes, or proper hand positions, and I certainly couldn't read music. That's certainly changing! Right now, I'm just seeing how far I can get with it and may take lessons later when I can afford it. I'm currently using a 61-key keyboard at the moment, but plan on getting one that's 88-key with properly weighted keys for advanced lessons to tie me over for a couple more years until I can get an acoustic. While it's certainly possible to learn on your own (this far, anyway!), I definitely recommend looking up instructional videos to help with hand positions and posture. I found several on YouTube, such as one called "The 5 Basic Elements of a Correct Posture," by an English-speaking Russian instructor. I also suggest getting the CD combo package to help with tempo (hint: if it's under $10, you are likely not buying the combo). I mistakenly bought the one without the CD and you will definitely want it, and the combination package is less expensive than buying separately. If you wind up getting the book without the CD, you can find demos on Youtube as well; it's just a little more tedious. So far, I've located all but one (at the beginning of the book) and I'm just a little beyond page 50. This will come in handy for songs that are unfamiliar to you or are a little more difficult to play. Once you get to p. 50 or so, things kind of take an abrupt leap in advancement (position change) and the book kind of loses its clarity at that point to some degree, but it's not impossible and demos definitely help. Just make sure to do those little assignments and practice loads. Because I play by ear and tend to memorize things well, I always go back to songs, even if I've previously played them before. That way, I make sure I'm reading the notes rather than sounding them out. All in all, I really enjoy it and I'm pretty amazed that I'm actually reading music, even if it's with difficulty at times as I progress in the book. Because I tend to be my biggest nag, I will likely get the adult self-study version, too, but it was recommended by reviewers to start with this one. I also plan to get the eMedia Piano and Keyboard Method software program. I hadn't seen it until after I purchased this book, but I feel that it will help me more with tempo and what not. I'm also visual, so that may help as well.

The Spiral-Bound edition is worth the extra couple of bucks. I recommend this 3-book series to anyone getting into piano. It helped me get up to speed quickly. I spent around 6 months on each volume and I had a teacher when I started on the second volume, which made a massive difference of course. Anyway, if you're on the fence, you won't regret it. This series has been around for a long long time for good reason.

I’ve seen people giving the book poor reviews because it doesn’t come with the DVD anymore. You can find all the songs in a single playlist on YouTube if you search for the name of the book. I’m having a lot of fun with this book mostly because the songs are great. There are a few really fun blues riffs and some great traditional American (US) spirituals that are really fun to play. That said, I’m disappointed in its treatment of music theory. The book introduces concepts but doesn’t always explain why they’re important or how they relate to other parts of music theory. For example, there are 3 different types of minor scales - natural, harmonic, and melodic. The book introduces the types and explains how to make them in each key but it doesn’t explain WHY there are 3 different types of minor scales. The answer is super interesting and really helpful but I had to go onto YouTube to learn about it. It would be nice to have a course that you could trust was comprehensive in its explanations about theory so you could be sure you’re not missing anything. I haven’t found anything better, so I would still recommend the book for introductions to concepts. I would just suggest that you supplement the music theory component with other materials. Andrew Huang has an excellent introductory video on YouTube for those who are interested. Gracie Terzian has a more in depth playlist that I also recommend. The book also doesn’t offer much in terms of technique exercises. It offers a few but given how important technique is, especially for beginners to keep from developing poor habits, I would have liked to see more discussion of technique. If you’re looking for technique exercises, there are some wonderful channels on YouTube with really fun exercises that are great for training but also sound really beautiful. I recommend Learn Piano with Jazer Lee, for more advanced exercises and true-piano-lessons.com for beginners.

They perfectly fit my keyboard, makes it much easier to learn and memorize the location of keys.

I have subscribed an online course and in the middle I was stuck as the instructor never thought ho we to use both hands at the same. I realized though out the course he only teach left hand play then right hand never at the same time. 0 sheet music reading. So I was looking for books to study the sheet music and I found Alfred's Basic Adult All-in-One piano book. In page 5 NOT only you start reading notes on a sheet music while understanding how to use both hands. There is nothing better out out there with this price. I can't wait to buy book 2.

First, I think this is a really fine book for adult learners -- especially those who may have played piano or another instrument before. The material doesn't belabor each new subject, so if there is something you aren't sure about after you've moved ahead in the book and want to review it, the information will be easy enough to find and you don't feel like you're getting hammered with too much material. Most of the songs are typical to primer books for just about any instrument. Some of the guitar books have the same songs in them, in almost the same order. The audio files from the DVD are very helpful, especially if you aren't familiar with the tune. They give you good examples of what it should sound like at tempo. Which made me think of something. If you don't have a metronome you should get one and use it. Practicing with it will help even out your playing immensely. One thing I did notice, is that the DVD doesn't appear to have all of the audio files on it that the book (and the Amazon and Alfred websites) say it should have. I've emailed Alfred's tech support and am waiting for a response to see how I can get copies of the missing audio files. As near as I can tell the following are missing. Lullaby, Chasing the Blue Away, Good People, Auld Lang Syne, The Stranger, Over the Rainbow, At Last, Singing in the Rain, Laura, Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas, Ballad of Gilligan's Isle, Chattanooga Choo Choo. That said, by the time you finish the previous lessons you should be able to work you way thorough these songs with the mp3 file. It may take you longer without hearing the audio, but you should be able to do it. If you need the audio (that matches) the music, there's a program called Musescore that you can use to enter the notes and play back the file. This may seem tedious, but there is one important benefit from this -- if you enter the notes using the keyboard (instead of the mouse) it reinforces what you have learned in the book reading the music. When I hear back from Alfred's I'll update this post with their response. 8/20/13: I heard back from Alfred's tech support. The CSR Matt was very helpful and sent a CD out with the missing items on it. Great customer service! I upped my score to a 5 now. I am very pleased with the book.

Several of the less complimentary reviews complain that the book is boring or slow... it's a beginner book. One states that there are other books that are using classical music and not some of the simplistic music, one calling 'When the Saints Go Marching In' a children's song. Really? If you've ever been to New Orleans you will note that every drunk in town plays it.... but I digress. This is a beginner's book. I'm taking lessons and my instructor had no other adult students at the time and the only material was either very advanced, or kiddie books featuring 'London Bridge', 'Mr. Froggie' and other embarrassments for adults to play. Now, I should mention that I'm over 60 and have never taken any musical lessons of any kind. Before starting lessons five months ago I could not even read music. This book has been a tremendous learning tool for me, but again, I have no musical education whatsoever. Those who have played piano or have taken other lessons where they have learned to read music and possibly have learned theory will undoubtedly find this book too elementary. I have read that there is too much playing in the key of 'C' and that's a bad thing. Well, for a beginner, it's a good thing as it allows you to start playing some simple songs fairly quickly and that's really the way to keep beginners interested and motivated isn't it? As with all educational pursuits, first you need to define you goals. If you goal is to become a serious player, you definitely won't be there at the completion of this book (can't comment on successive books as I don't have them yet). If your goal is like mine, to just be able to play to amuse myself, I think this book will put you on the right path. Some of the things I like about the Alfred's courses are the supplemental books; you can pick up books with a lot of additional songs that correspond to the lesson books; my teacher has asked me to choose some songs to play and it isn't that easy to pour through books looking for songs that I can play at my beginning skill level. As for music theory; you won't pick up a ton of it in this book as it's just too advanced for people needing a book this basic. However, I have found the 'Idiots Guide to Music Theory' to be a great book to help me get more up-to-speed on theory, and I use my teacher to help me with the parts that I don't understand. There are a lot of good beginning books out there, but frankly, you really can't compare them to working with an actual teacher, and I guess I supplement my teacher with this book.... or is it the other way around?

I'm old now, but in my teens I played flute to grade 3 and keyboard had become a recognised instrument around the time, and I did my grade 1. Meanwhile 30 years passes with no interest in any instrument or need to read music, hence my starting point is having some understanding of reading music but am very, very rusty. Plus, predominantly being used to flute, where you only play one note at a time from the treble clef, looking at the grand staff is very disorienting. I've had this book a few days and it's been quite good overall. A good mix of introducing a concept or chord, then putting it into a bit of practice with a very short piece, small chunks of music theory with some audience participation (you're asked to write in the book to help reinforce and remember concepts), rinse and repeat. I quite like the pacing of it overall, but it does feel a little chaotic. The issues I have with it are that I hate the "finger number" system used, it's completely slowing down learning to sight read and I feel it's a bad habit forming, even though I understand it exists as you do need strategies for where to position your hands on the keys - I just wish it would tell you the hand position at the very start and nowhere else as it's such a massive crutch and a block to learning properly. Another minor grumble is common with most books, in that the music pieces are old stuffy (presumably copyright free) pieces of music that feel quite juvenile, though at least they're not nursery rhymes or anything that bad. I still give 5 stars for this because it's affordable for what you get, there does seem to be method to the madness, and I'm sure going through the book and jumping backwards to try and make knowledge stick (particularly with chords) when you feel you're not quite ready to progress will work in the long term. I have reached a sticking point where suddenly I can't play the piece, but overall the pacing has been good. I would recommend, but I have also recently ordered the "piano adventures" book 1 to supplement this.

Muy útil y práctico para las clases de piano, llega en buenas condiciones. El contenido bastante completo. Obviamente viene todo en Inglés.

This course book has been the perfect way to start learning as an adult. My tutor guided me through it, it is very well laid out and easy to follow. Makes learning as an adult more accessible!

J'utilise cette méthode en parallèle de mes cours en école de musique. Elle m'est très utile car elle me permets de travailler progressivement : exercices des doigts, apprentissage des accords, enchaînement des accords. Tout cela avec des morceaux simples et progressifs en parallèle des exercices.

I'm really happy with this self-study piano book. It's easy to use. I highly recommend it! Plus, you can find helpful YouTube lessons for almost every page. After this I am definitely buying the next level 2 book!