Learning the piano on your own may seem like a daunting task, but with the right resources, it’s entirely possible. One valuable resource you cannot overlook is the book (or books) you use to learn fundamentals and your first few songs. While the internet is full of video lessons and other useful music resources, it can’t replace a well-crafted, time-tested publication. Find out which books you should consider using to learn the piano.
Top 7 Piano Books for Beginners
Using a book is a preferable way to learn piano: it’s practical, reflects the real way you learn and play sheet music, and reduces distractions that come with digital devices.
Reputable lesson books properly explain all the basic methods you need, such as hand position, notes, rhythm, and basic techniques. Many also include media components, like CDs, so you can listen to lessons about rhythm and notes.
Here, we explore seven of the best piano books for teen and adult beginners ready to start learning.
Alfred's Basic Adult All-in-One Course
Alfred is one of the most trusted names in musical education.
The book progresses at a steady, comfortable pace, focusing on practical material. The straightforward layout helps new students learn how to read notes, build hand coordination, and play basic chords. It’s suitable for teen and adult learners who want a structured approach that progressively teaches new skills at increasing difficulties, rather than trying to learn through one song at a time.
I absolutely recommend this series to students. It’s stood the test of time, and I’ve personally seen it get results.
Allysia, PianoTV.net
The book is intended to be used along with a piano instructor, but motivated students may be able to go through the course themselves. The company also offers supplementary DVDs and CDs for an additional cost to help facilitate learning.
The book is available on the Alfred website as well as Amazon.
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Adult Piano Adventures All-in-One Piano Coursebook 1
The Adult Piano Adventures series, in partnership with Hal Leonard, is designed to guide learners through appropriate skills in a clear order. For beginners, the lessons teach the fundamentals like notation, chord playing and musical form at a reasonable pace.
Purchase of the book includes access to online audio and video support.
Students learn with fun songs like “The Can-Can,” “The Lion Sleeps Tonight,” and more. By combining lessons, theory, and technique, the course provides a comprehensive learning experience.
The print edition is available on the Piano Adventures website as well as Amazon, and the ebook version is available through Apple Books, Amazon Kindle, and Google Play.
The Joy of First-Year Piano
Meant for use alongside lessons with a teacher or self-learning, this classic book has been a trusted resource for beginners for decades. It is useful for building early skills at a relaxed pace suitable for children, teens, or adult learners. The progression of lessons, exercises, and songs develops technique, theory, and musicality simultaneously. Students learn music reading, hand placement, and other foundational skills.
With simple pieces to build confidence and competence in the beginning and slightly more challenging works later in the book, it’s one of the classic books for teachers and students alike.
Piano for Dummies
In partnership with Hal Leonard, Piano for Dummies is the best beginner piano book for people who like explainers. Perfect for brand new students or those who want to refresh their knowledge, the book easily breaks down complex aspects of piano playing into easy-to-follow explanations.
The book promises to be a fun way to learn basic techniques, from note-by-note instruction, reading music, music theory, and how to find your own playing style. Learn musical stylings, such as classical, blues, and rock to find which genre suits you best.
The book goes beyond pure playing theory to include information about choosing and maintaining a piano. With the online video and audio instructions included, lessons are very easy to follow along on your own.
Bastien Piano for Adults – Book 1
Designed specifically for adult beginners, the self-paced course is structured to teach theory, technic, and sight reading through thoughtful lessons. Students progress their skills holistically while building confidence with comfortably challenging music pieces. Educators praise the book for its variety of musical styles, including classical, folk, spirituals, ragtime, blues, and more, as well as the straightforward teaching pedagogy.
This book has to my mind a better systematic pedagogy than the others... there is a lot of "make up your own music" at the early stages - I also approve of that.
NoteSpinner.net
Included with the purchase of the book is a code to gain access to the Interactive Practice Studio (IPS) materials online, which are audio and visual resources for enhanced learning.
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Hal Leonard Student Piano Library: Adult Piano Method – Book 1
A well-structured book for self-learning, adult beginner students can use this series to progress their piano skills at a steady pace. The book teaches new concepts and material at a quick, yet reasonable, pace to keep things fun and interesting. Through the entire course, students will learn solos, technique, and theory.
The included interactive online audio supplement provides accompaniments for a variety of music types, including contemporary popular favourites, Christmas tunes, traditional hymns, and more.
Like most resources today, the book is available on Amazon, as well as Hal Leonard directly and other popular booksellers.
The Classical Piano Method – Method Book 1
A Schott product, this comprehensive course book leads students through a variety of exercises designed to teach the fundamentals, from fingering patterns to sight-reading and more. Using traditional and classical pieces, the lessons guide students in honing their skills and understanding while seeing real progress. Theory checks, diagrams on playing and technique, and practice tips help keep new skills sharp.
The book’s repertoire focuses on classics, like “Spring” from The Four Seasons, “Swan Lake,” and more.
Included with the course is a helpful CD of performances and accompaniment tracks. It's often considered the best book for learning piano that focuses on classical training.
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Factors to Consider When Choosing a Piano Book
The right piano book, or books, will match your needs and preferences, giving you all the tools you need to build your piano skills. Any beginner piano course book worth its salt will teach the fundamentals, like posture, hand techniques, and how to read notes on sheet music.
From there, students should be taught more intricate skills like rhythm, chords, and music theory. Most books combine practical skills and drills with learning a specific piece of music that allows students to apply those new techniques. This approach builds confidence in students, showing them the results of their efforts right away.
There’s nothing remarkable about it. All one has to do is hit the right keys at the right time and the instrument plays itself.
Johann Sebastian Bach
The details of how a piano book promises these results are the varying factors you can weigh against one another. Look for these details when choosing a piano book:
Learning Style: Are you a foundation-focused learner, or do you want to dive into learning a piece of music right away?
Choose a course with a more traditional pedagogy if you like to hone your basics with drills before applying them to music. If making immediate progress is what you need to stay motivated, choose a book that uses fun, familiar pieces as a base for building skills found within the song.
Genre Preference: Most teachers and self-teaching resources focus on classical pieces, at least to start with. Classical music is very recognizable and was often originally written for the piano (or harpsichord).
But, if classical pieces bore you too much, you’re better off finding a book that incorporates the type of music you prefer. Folk, country, jazz, R&B, rock, pop, contemporary classical, funk, or any other genre: there’s a beginner piano book that has you covered!
Progression Pace: If you’re musically inclined, you might like a faster-paced book with bigger jumps in between lessons and more self-directed repertoire expansion. If you’re new to music in general or like to take your time learning new instruments, find a book that explains things more thoroughly and provides more lessons for the basics.
The audio and visual additional resources are especially important in this area for both types of learners.
Supplementing Your Learning
Piano books are proven staples for learning how to play, but these days, there’s no need to rely on a book alone. Enhance your learning with additional tools and consistent practice.
- YouTube: Find simple or comprehensive video tutorials about any technique, get tips and tricks from experienced players, find accompanying tracks to practice with, and listen to a metronome to keep rhythm.
- Practice Techniques: Your tools are only as good as the effort you put into them! Ensure to practice consistently and use your book to guide your lessons.
Consistent practice in shorter stretches (even 10 to 20 minutes) several times per week is more effective than longer, infrequent sessions.
- Apps: There are many apps for learning piano available on phones and tablets. Apps provide tools like quizzes, metronomes, music accompaniment, ear training exercises, and additional sheet music for learning new songs.
- Lessons with a Tutor: Even if you don’t want to learn entirely with lessons from a piano instructor, taking an occasional session with a personal private tutor can help make sure you’re on the right track. Feedback from a real person is invaluable when learning an instrument. Even one or two lessons can boost your progress!
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Learning how to play the piano is one of the best skills you can pursue. In addition to being able to play music, the journey prepares you for more musical appreciation and gives you satisfaction in your accomplishment. Pick up a trusted piano book, schedule your practice sessions, and start mastering the piano today!
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