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Reddit mentions of Adult All-In-One Course: Lesson-Theory-Technic: Level 1

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Reddit mentions: 76

We found 76 Reddit mentions of Adult All-In-One Course: Lesson-Theory-Technic: Level 1. Here are the top ones.

Adult All-In-One Course: Lesson-Theory-Technic: Level 1
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Found 76 comments on Adult All-In-One Course: Lesson-Theory-Technic: Level 1:

u/aaathomas · 132 pointsr/IWantToLearn

Well considering you’re probably an adult. I’d recommended the Alfred Adult Level 1 book. I’ve played piano for 8 years and this is what my instructor uses for her beginning high school who have never even touched a piano. There’s 3 levels and all have pretty well rounded lessons. It teaches a lot of chords, note names, scales, and etc. good luck! Adult All-In-One Course: Lesson-Theory-Technic: Level 1 https://www.amazon.com/dp/0882848186/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_.hRQAb5KQXXJC. If you ever need help shoot me a message

u/TheMentalist10 · 21 pointsr/piano

I've been playing for a long time now, and have never experienced this thing which you term 'piano culture'. Of course there are competitive people in every field—from music to lawn-mowing, probably—, but do you have to associate with them? Absolutely not.

It should not be at all challenging to find a teacher who is willing to teach away from the exams. You may find that you want to take them down the line, or see how well you're progressing by practicing material from the grades. This is fine, as is staying away from them altogether.

At the end of the day, if you want to learn: learn. Self-teaching is not frowned upon at all, it's just more of a challenge and, on average, you probably won't progress anywhere near as quickly as with guided instruction. If your enjoyment motivates you to learn solo, then do that. Lots of great musicians have, and will continue to.
***

Edit**: If teaching yourself is your favourite option, I recommend the Alfred's Basic Piano Course series! Best of luck :)

u/Yeargdribble · 13 pointsr/piano

You need to be almost more careful as an experienced musician transitioning to piano. It seems virtually everyone in your case, no matter how much or how little prior knowledge, seems to greatly over-estimate their abilities and wants to jump ahead. It's really easy to think you know something and try to skip it, but while you might understand it in relation to the harp, actually applying things like reading skills to piano is not the same thing. Yes, you might be able to read notes, rhythms, chords, etc., but that doesn't mean you actually play them in time on an instrument that is physically different. You don't automatically know where your hands go without looking at them.

You'll be tempted to jump into music that is beyond you that you feel like is more appropriate to your level of background, but that you really aren't technically prepared for and will likely end up wasting a lot of time beating your head against the wall in ultra-inefficient practice on rep that is too hard. At worst, you'll end up creating more tension than you should and creating bad habits as a result.

Take nothing for granted. Check your ego at the door and actually work through any book you have. Don't just glance and say, "Pfft, that looks easy." Put your fingers on the keys and see if you really can just sightread even the simplest tunes without mistakes. Sure, if you can breeze through the beginner books nearly mistake free without breaking a sweat, then maybe there is somewhere else to move on to, but those books are full of fundamental building blocks that you may not even realize you're skipping.

I'm speaking from experience for having made these types of missteps and I did so with significantly more musical background that you have now. I used to work through books and "yada yada yada" through sections that I felt were retreading ground I was already familiar with, but I've now realized it was a mistake. Sometimes going back to those bits I assumed I know and forcing myself to actually play through them really showed me something. Heck, even after nearly 25 years of playing trumpet, I'll sometimes still run into useful bits of information because I decided not to just skip over a bit of discussion on fundamental things I feel like I know enough about. On piano I'm still finding tons of deficits that are result of me not slowing down early on. Going back and trudging through things I felt were too easy was a key ingredient in getting my sightreading from a pathetic level to slowly increasing competence. This is what it takes to turn you into a functional pianist, and not just someone who can rote memorize 2 or 3 difficult pieces at a time to show off with.

So at worst you'll spend a few extra minutes breezing through something you already know. At best, you'll discover that you don't actually know something and will be able to work through it and prevent problems down the road.

So with that lecture out of the way, here are some books I'd recommend:

Alfred's Adult All-In-One - It's still going to start basic, but will move a bit quicker and won't have all of the colorful cartoon pictures of a children's book. The whole series is pretty good.

Progressive Sightreading Exercises - This is the book that after years of playing I wished I'd picked up sooner. It seems almost offensively easy, but I underestimated how valuable these simple sightreading exercises could be. Some sightreading should be part of your every day work. If there's ever a day when you're busy and can't do everything you want to do, don't skip sightreading. It's the skill that takes the most time to cultivate, especially for a an experienced musician. You might be able to blaze through your major scales in a few days or weeks with some musical background, but sightreading is a skill you can't cram in through sheer force of will and technical blunt force.

Scales, Chords, Arpeggios, & Cadences - This one is fantastic for all of the basic technical competency. It's far from exhaustive, but it's got more than a lot of similar books. I'd recommend same motion scales, major/minor arpeggios and cadences in every key as priority before moving on to 7th arpeggios or scale variations.

u/Joename · 11 pointsr/piano

I'd advise working through a method book with him. Something like Alfred's (https://www.amazon.com/Adult-All-One-Course-Lesson-Theory-Technic/dp/0882848186/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1487281958&sr=8-1&keywords=alfreds+basic+adult+piano+course+level+1)

He can work through the book, and you can play the teacher (correcting posture, recommending fingering, instructing on dynamics, helping him problem solve, etc). The method starts with the assumption that the learner has no musical experience at all, so I think it (or really any other method book) will be helpful.

u/skyfly3r · 10 pointsr/piano

I don't believe there is a good quality website for that. However, this book is an industry standard for adults to learn reading. The lessons are well-organized and it is possible to go through it on your own. It's probably better than anything you'll find online. You can order it on Amazon if you want to avoid stores!

u/MatthewShrugged · 9 pointsr/IWantToLearn

If you already have the piano this is the book my piano class used.
http://www.amazon.com/Adult-All---One-Course-Lesson-Theory-Technic/dp/0882848186/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1458688360&sr=1-1&keywords=learning+piano

Go through it begining to end, practice each song until you have it down and be sure to look up musical examples of concepts such a syncopated notes.

(Edit)
Pawn shops will have plenty of cheap keyboards that will be good enough. A proper piano has 88 keys, but in the beginning a 64 key keyboard will work just fine.

u/TheRealOzz · 6 pointsr/piano

I'm definitely no pro; I started playing about a year ago. But I would not recommend trying to start on either of these, they are relatively advanced, assuming you've never played before.

I would suggest starting with this book:

http://www.amazon.ca/Alfreds-Basic-Adult-All--Course/dp/0882848186/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1453527118&sr=8-1&keywords=alfred+piano

It will help you to understand what you're playing, not just how to press buttons.

Best of luck learning, it's a lot of fun!

u/isuckatpiano · 6 pointsr/piano

Ok this is the path that nearly everyone recommends and (I really would too) so I'll go through the ups and downs.

Get this book

Then go through the lessons with this guy

That's the cheapest way to learn piano. He's got dozens of complete method books that he teaches through.

Downside, the alfred books aren't super inspiring pieces. However they teach you the fundamentals VERY well. For $10 you can't beat it. You'll know all your scales, key signatures, hand independence, chord theory, and most importantly you'll be able to sight read. There's three levels. It'll probably take two years to go through all 3 and that's ok! After you finish the first book start adding in some Repertoire pieces from IMSLP

u/PianoWithMe · 5 pointsr/piano

Alfred's All in One or Faber's Adult Adventures are common suggestions.

u/wolfanotaku · 5 pointsr/piano

You won't find pieces written specifically for a shorter keyboard, but there are a lot of books out there that give you beginner music to work on as you start learning piano. They also try and present you with basic patterns and notes that you will see as you advance. One really popular one is Alfed's Adult All-In-One. There's enough music in there for 6 months to a year if you're a complete beginner.

Eventually you'll need all the keys, but you should be able to get started for now at least.

u/tit_curtain · 4 pointsr/piano

FAQ

http://www.reddit.com//r/piano/wiki/faq

I'd skip skoove.

http://fundamentals-of-piano-practice.readthedocs.io/en/latest/chapter1/ch1_topics/

Discussion, summary of some parts here:

https://www.reddit.com/r/piano/comments/5mn8fi/fundamentals_of_piano_practice_some_boiled_down/

Taubman technique

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLHpGYrNMpSxgcftnjYolpGrnTpNzlM8Qu

https://www.golandskyinstitute.org/blog/teaching-rotation-with-robert-durso

Plenty of beginner piano videos like this one:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iSs0dBjGpv4

All in one method books can work well too, plenty of others.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Adult-All-One-Course-Lesson-Theory-Technic/dp/0882848186/

http://www.pianoworld.com/forum/ubbthreads.php/forums/30/1/Adult_Beginners_Forum.html

Plenty of overlap in these links. Try some out, figure out what works best for you. One important thing you can miss not having a teacher is sitting and moving the right way so you don't hurt yourself. With nobody to critique you as you go, a few different videos, careful reading beforehand, and doing your best to be mindful of any tension and discomfort that develops is advisable. That way you figure out when you're sore and need to reevaluate your style with a few days of minor discomfort instead of a couple months. Certainly possible to get by without a teacher. But with the right teacher you might be able to get a lot out of a lesson once every month or two.

u/NirnRootJunkie · 4 pointsr/piano

I've posted this a few times but I think its well worth repeating:

I am using Alfred's Adult all in one and there is a guy on YouTube that covers each lesson with good instruction and tips.
Here is the link:
Alfred's Video

I also hired a tutor who I meet with every two weeks, just to make sure I'm not picking up bad habits.

Amazon link to Alfred book

u/giarox · 4 pointsr/piano

Everyone is right about getting a teacher, particularly for the basics and more advanced concepts as well. I personally started playing through a high school class for a semester then was taught all over again by a guy from my church.

Since then however I have been playing on my own (with books) and learning by ear as well. Here are my recommendations

  • get a teacher, even if its for three months
  • get a good book. Ive used three beginner piano books and my top recommendation goes to the elder beginners piano book, which I used in high school. It is nice because it teaches at a good pace, it doesnt assume youre amazing or a genius and there is a good amount of practice before new topics
  • second is Alfreds piano book, my current book. Which I love and personally prefer, as someone that has been instructed before. I just feel it moves at too quickly a pace for an abject beginner. there isnt as much practice as I'd like and I'd be left behind if my foundations werent already decent
  • third, while still a good book.....I honestly can't remember the book right now. I'll update when I get it. It is a great book long term but it skips through topics really quickly. Much better as a supplement to one of the others
  • failing to get a teacher, youtube and particularly Lypyur/Furmanzyck is a great resource for much of what you'd need to learn as far as theory. He is a great teacher and I highly recommend his stuff
  • Have a goal, a otpic or song that you aspire to and can work towards tangibly. Thats up to you but people here can help you as far as breaking it down and being able to get there
  • and an extra tip, a shameless plug for r/PianoNewbies, where you can learn and improve with other beginners
u/newbdogg · 3 pointsr/piano

While some things translate well it's not as much as you think. You need a method book. Either Alfred's or Faber's

These are the standard methods of learning piano. There are many others, but these are the standard for a reason. They work. Go through books 1-2 then pick a track that you want to learn.

u/LogStar100 · 3 pointsr/piano

Once again, I have to plug the FAQ's thing of at least try to get a teacher or a lesson, since the biggest challenge with self-learning is technique. That said, if you must self-learn, I would recommend getting Alfred's Adult All-in-One course and learning more into theory. The Royal Conservatory of Music has some great things, including a syllabus for piano (as well as the same syllabus for popular music) and a theory syllabus. I'll link it all below. Work through the first book until you have that material down. Also check out musictheory.net for their tutorials, as the theory can get tough very quickly. Once you have worked through those pieces, try looking at some real piano literature (e.g. Pezold: Minuet in G major) and complementing it with the scales, arpeggios, broken chords, etc. that the RCM syllabus can provide. If you are into classical music, there is a published called G. Henle Verlag that grades all of their pieces on a scale of 1 to 9 that helps a lot if needing help choosing pieces. Escalate the difficulty bit by bit. Links below!

 

Alfred's All-in-One course

RCM's piano syllabus

RCM's popular music syllabus for piano

RCM's music theory syllabus

musictheory.net

G. Henle Verlag

Some beginner/intermediate classical pieces graded by difficulty

u/zenhexzen · 3 pointsr/piano

Alfred's All-In-One is a standard recommendation, get the spiral-bound book as it sits well on the piano.

u/Null422 · 3 pointsr/Guildwars2

I found a version for you: https://sites.ualberta.ca/~mmlau/sheetmusic/fearnotthisnight.pdf

It's not Lara's, but it sounds convincing enough (and the chords are not really difficult). Also, I highly recommend this book for beginners: Alfred's Adult All-In-One Piano. That's what I learned with and it was a foundation for branching out on my own.

u/beaumega1 · 3 pointsr/musictheory

I'm fond of the Alfred Adult All-In-One book. It emphasizes both theory and technic. When I was in the business of helping musicians find the right resources for them, this was my go-to book for players like you, who had moderate experience back in the day, but were looking to pick it back up again. It's going to start with pretty basic theory, so you might want to supplement the theory with a more theory-centric book. There's a nice accelerated version of the Theory Time series.

You're likely to find these at popular music retail chains.

u/Huggybear__ · 3 pointsr/makinghiphop

Hey I'm doing the same now, been learning and practicing for about 2 months.

SCALES. Learn your scales and chords and that's what you'll be able to immediately take into making your own original music.

I've just gotten this book, which is part one of 3 and it's been very helpful for me with technique and theory.

u/birdnerd · 3 pointsr/piano

Yes.

If you can't find a teacher, I recommend the Alfred All-in-One Basic Adult course. Should get you going while you find a teacher (do this).

I've been playing for six months and it's the best decision I've made in years.

u/ValkornDoA · 2 pointsr/piano

You don't need 88 keys if you're just starting out, in my opinion. Songs you'll be learning to start won't go anywhere near the far ends of the piano. Weighted keys also are much more expensive.


I'd just go with something like a cheap used Yamaha 76 key (I see them on Craigslist now and again for like $100) and see if it's something that he likes. For resources, get him the Alfred Books for Adult Beginners. If it interests him and he wants to pick it up, that's when I'd consider something nicer.

u/tcptennis · 2 pointsr/piano

I'm attempting to teach myself some basic piano. I just ordered this book and some stickers, as well as made some flashcards to help me read notes on a staff. Are there any recomended books, youtube vids, drills that other self-taught players used?

u/Rose375 · 2 pointsr/AskReddit

I thought this book was really good. http://www.amazon.com/Adult-All-One-Course-Lesson-Theory-Technic/dp/0882848186/ref=pd_sim_b_8

I don't think you really need a teacher, these books do a good job of explaining everything. (There are three.) If you have basic understanding of rhythm and how to read music even if you can't do it perfectly, you should be fine. =) Have fun!

u/dftba-ftw · 2 pointsr/piano

Lol are you me?

Your story is scary close to mine, I took lessons from 9-12 and just started to try and get back into around 23.

I can tell you what I did, I'm still kind of figuring it out myself:


I bought a P115 (600$), I didn't have the option to use my old unweighted piano as it broke many years ago, I could have gone with the P45 (450$) but recent college grad with decent paying job so I said fuck it and dropped the extra 150$ based on this subs recommendations.


That being said playing on a decent weighted keyboard is infinitely more enjoyable than playing on an unweighted keyboard; I think if I had had something like a P45/P115 (they use the same key action so they feel the same) I would have stuck with lessons as a kid longer. It is just so much more enjoyable to sit and play at.


As for getting back up to speed I try and practice 30 mins ~ 1 hour a day in 15-20 min sessions.


I usually do a Hannon Hand Exercise then I do a scale/cords ( I'm just working my way through major and minor scales one per day).


I bought Alfred's All-in-One Adult Beginner Course and blasted through the first 3/4ths of the first book and now try and do one little chunk (lesson and associated song) a day or over the course of 2 or 3 days based on it's difficulty.

I try and sight read something new everyday and really focus on technique and dynamics, so I'm working my way through Kabalevsky's 24 Pieces for Children one piece a day, nice and slow, focusing on dynamics, technique, and tempo.


Lastly I picked two songs I wanted to work on that are just slightly above my current level and maybe a little bit below the my level when I quite all those years ago. The way I practice those songs is by picking out the hardest measure and working on it nice and slow, hands apart and together, then work on the next hardest measure, and so on and so forth.


So that's what I'm doing, maybe you can find a nugget of help in all that, I did a fair amount of research on how to practice and what to practice ( had some really boring days at work lol )

u/mtszyk · 2 pointsr/piano

Hi OP.

I'm 27. I had piano lessons for several years when I was a preteen. I stopped and started a few times in the past several years.

I recently picked up Alfred's piano books (I'm sure there are better options for this specific use), which contain far easier pieces to play than what I played when I was 8-9 years old.

But that means despite not knowing the sheet music, I know I can play the pieces themselves fairly easily. It's been AMAZING for me to get started sight reading again.

In other words, find pieces that are easy for you to play technically, so that when you're practicing the piece you're actually working on how to read the music, not play the piece. In my opinion, anyway.

u/Tyrnis · 2 pointsr/piano

For Alfred, that's definitely the correct one, although I'll point out that one comes with a DVD -- if you don't want the DVD, you can get it for less. Here's the one that's just the book.

u/ouselesso · 2 pointsr/videos

Just my two cents, sounds like you are practicing wrong. Grab Alfred's Piano Method, go lesson by lesson and go silly slow. You'll be reading pretty fluent in under a year I guarantee it.

EDIT: Meant to link Level 1

u/EntropyOrSloth · 2 pointsr/piano

This book is basically the course you knew as a kid but with the music upgraded for adults. It is one of 3 volumes that takes the student to intermediate level.

u/ayogoke · 2 pointsr/piano

I'm currently working through Alfred's adult piano, and I enjoy it so far. I'm also using Hanon's Exercises to work on technique and stamina.


That's all I've got, I'm currently in the same boat as you. All I really know, is to avoid synthesia lol.

u/scottious · 2 pointsr/piano

Get a beginner piano book and start working through the exercises.

It'll take a long time to learn and internalize properly but with some dedication, it will become more intuitive

u/CivVISpouse · 2 pointsr/piano

This is not a recommendation because I haven't used any of the Alfred books myself, however I observe that if you get & use this one, you can then participate in discussions on and getting help with using it in this 8000 message forum discussion thread going back 12 years.

u/pandrice · 2 pointsr/IWantToLearn

I would highly suggest investing the time and money in Lessons. You will improve much faster under the guidance of a teacher (even just once or twice a month) than by yourself. If you absolutely refuse to go this route, however, I would suggest getting "Alfred's Basic All-In-One Piano Course Book One" (https://www.amazon.com/Adult-All-One-Course-Lesson-Theory-Technic/dp/0882848186). Go through this book and the others in the series (I think there are 3 total) and by then you should have enough technique under your fingers to be able to learn whatever songs/tunes/pieces you want.

Speaking as a professional musician (classical trumpet player) I can't stress enough the value of practicing scales and other "boring" technical exercises. These fundamentals are the building blocks of virtually all the music you'll ever play and the more you practice them, the easier it will be to learn new music. Good luck and happy practicing!

u/Taome · 2 pointsr/piano

Former classical guitar student here that definitely agrees that piano is easier than guitar in many ways. Anyway, there are a number of method books for piano such as Alfred's Adult All-In-One Course: Lesson-Theory-Technic: Level 1. A search at Amazon for "piano method books" will turn up others. Good luck!

u/looneysquash · 2 pointsr/piano

You'll need a method book, such as this one. If you look at the table of contents, that should give you an idea of what you'l want to learn.

But the book can't tell you if you're holding your hands exactly right. Or that you always hit that one note wrong. Or that you're bobbing your head while you play but don't realize it. Or that you're not playing evenly.

So for those reasons and many others, a teacher is recommended.

And you'll probably want to wait and buy their preferred method book rather than trying to force them to use this one.

u/Metroid413 · 2 pointsr/piano

That's fine. There's probably some information on self-teaching in the FAQ on the sidebar but it's usually recommended to find at least some instructor ( a lot of them are pretty cheap). Check church pianists, maybe ask your college's piano students/faculty, etc.

If you're going to self-study I'd recommend getting this book and start with a method book such as Alfred's Adult All-in-one.

u/ronthebugeater · 2 pointsr/piano

24, started when I was young, never got beyond "Teaching Little Fingers to Play". I'm picking it up again now, and after a week am 70 pages into the first book of Alfred's adult piano course.

I'm going much faster now due to increased technical ability (played the clarinet and a few other instruments in school) and the ability to sit still. Piano practice is also a pleasure, not a chore.

My wife is my teacher, even if she has some bad habits (loves keeping both thumbs on middle C - she is mostly self-taught)

u/Excendence · 2 pointsr/piano

Hello! This question has surely been answered before, but this is definitely the thread to ask it in again. I started learning piano at the beginning of this year by taking a class at my university, and what really kept me going was the weekly lessons. We used Alfred's all in one adult piano book 1 http://www.amazon.com/dp/0882848186/ref=pd_lpo_sbs_dp_ss_3?pf_rd_p=1944687542&pf_rd_s=lpo-top-stripe-1&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_i=0739013335&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=13PYJQZQ6C25YD6GVMVW , which progressed at a perfect pace, and I was assigned anywhere from 20 pages a week in the beginning to 4 by the end of the semester, until the book was completed and the year was over. I guess the questions I'm asking are for good incentives to stick to a regular routine of practicing (i.e. the little gpa booster the class was for me before) and more importantly, if I should move to alfred's book 2 or if anyone knows of a piano book that picks up from the basic skills I've learned yet has slightly more intriguing music! Thank you so much in advance :D

u/JuanPRamirez · 2 pointsr/piano

I run a discord serve aimed at helping people that are new at piano, but if that doesn't work for you I also recommend these sites.

MusicTheory.Net - to give you the overall idea of what music theory should be.

PianoLessonsOnTheWeb - for overall piano lessons. Not much seen into this guy personally, but what I have seen is pretty good.

Bill Hilton - absolutely awesome youtuber that provides some good ideas and techniques on what to do

Michael New - Overall really good at describing music theory.

Alfred's - Overall one of the most highly regarded beginner series known out there. Highly recommend.

Paul Barton - Overall to be amazed by his godly voice/humbleness and his overall playing (inspiration)

Discord - Shameless plug of my very own discrod server!

u/tommyspianocorner · 1 pointr/piano

Something like the Alfred courses might work well for you if you already have some music theory. Mainly aimed at Adults (can't tell your age here of course) but if you know some theory even if you're a little younger it shouldn't be an issue. You can find them on Amazon of course. Then supplement this with some good YouTube videos on basic technique. For this, I'd check out Pianist Magazine's YouTube Channel or Website - they do a good selection of beginner lessons which should supplement the Alfred book nicely.

u/hellkite91 · 1 pointr/anime

Sorry for the late response. Regarding learning music theory, are there any books about that and other piano related topics you would recommend? For the time being, I've bought a copy of Alfred's All in One Course book, but wouldn't mind grabbing more books that I can read to improve.

u/UmbraVeil · 1 pointr/SJSU

Alternatively if you are disciplined to do so, you can pay the music use fee (at the student services center) for access to the instruments and teach yourself piano.

I did this a few semesters ago. It was a great stress relief and highly enjoyable. If this is something that you might be interested in, this is the book I used, Alfred Adult All-In-One Course. There are multiple other books in this series to guide your profession. Also, /r/piano is a great community to follow for additional help and inspiration.

u/Itsmeagainmom · 1 pointr/IAmA

I was going to say "a human teacher" but if it's about money I would suggest this: http://www.amazon.com/Adult-All-In-One-Course-Lesson-Theory-Technic-Level/dp/0882848186

I use that for my adult beginning piano lessons. It's very user friendly and has a CD with it. $20 normally in stores with a CD. Easy to understand and easy to work with solo.

u/andygralldotcom · 1 pointr/piano

Digital or paper, either way. Here's one on Amazon

Idk that I'd call it a Bible. It's just one good method that is popular among self teaching adults.

u/totorokun · 1 pointr/piano

I was in the same exact situation, played guitar with only tabs. The Alfred all-in-one book for piano is highly recommended on this sub and it’s what I’m using right now to learn. It covers theory, reading sheet music, and practical playing - everything you need to get started! Make sure you get the Plastic Comb version which is much easier to handle than a book that keeps trying to close itself.

https://www.amazon.com/Adult-All-One-Course-Lesson-Theory-Technic/dp/0882848186

u/snappleteadrink · 1 pointr/piano

Same boat as you. Skoove is pretty badly designed and seems to semi force you to memorize songs as you said. I'm working through this book right now and I truly believe it will answer all of your questions. Its got a little bit of everything and it will force you to read the music and play in time since the notes wont "light up".


https://www.amazon.com/Adult-All-One-Course-Lesson-Theory-Technic/dp/0882848186/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1504196307&sr=1-2&keywords=keyboard

u/shaba7elail · 1 pointr/piano

Alfred's All-In-One Course is the easiest and best book I've tried. I also highly recommend getting a couple of private lessons especially at the beginning to get help with hand technique and other things that you may incorrectly teach yourself.

As of keyboards, fully weighted keys are of utmost importance to learn to play with proper dynamics. I recommend the Roland FP-4

u/carthum · 1 pointr/piano

If you haven't already check out Piano World Forums it is the most active piano related forum I know and the people are very helpful. Someone else recommended you try Alfred's series which is a popular way to start. I'm using Alfred's adult all in one and enjoying it so far.


If you can afford it get lessons. Half an hour a week won't cost much and you can stop yourself from making mistakes that will cause real problems later on.

u/stevenxdavis · 1 pointr/IWantToLearn

If you want a book to learn from, the Alfred All-In-One Course is good for adults.

u/PhatTimmyT · 1 pointr/worshipleaders

I'll echo several comments on this thread. Take some time to learn theory yourself. Learn to read music. If all you knew how to do was speak English but never read English you would be missing out on so much beauty. I'm not saying become a proficient sight reader but at least learn about the written language of music.

Some ways to do that are to audit a music theory class at a local college, go through the lessons at musictheory.net, or pick up an easy adult piano course book like the one below which is how I got my start learning to read music before heading to college. The piano is the best instrument to learn how theory fits together on and learning theory on the piano has made me a phenomenally better guitarist.
http://www.amazon.com/Adult-All---One-Course-Lesson-Theory-Technic/dp/0882848186/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1452649895&sr=8-1&keywords=adult+piano wh

A great place to start with these musicians is to begin using lead sheets. I've done this with several churches I've consulted with. (I'm work with a few church consulting firms helping churches transition music styles if they need to go more contemporary or blended to be more relevant to their community.) Taking an older church lady who is used to reading the block chords in hymns and using lead sheets to transition them to chord charts has worked 100% of the time. Lead sheets help them follow the count, which is what they're used too, but only gives them the melody to read. Songselect.com and praisecharts.com has all the lead sheets you'll ever need.

As a worship leader it's your responsibility not to grow complacent and learn, learn, learn as much as you can about music. Disciple these junior-high students into great church musicians. Meet them in the middle and share a common ground with them. You learn some theory and they learn some improv. Win-Win. Also, be patient.

u/Jy329 · 1 pointr/piano

By Alfred's did you mean this one? I believe the course in university used this instead so if the first one is what you recommend my wallet will thank you.

u/gnuvince · 1 pointr/piano

I'm sort of in the same situation as you; I'm 31 and hadn't played since I was 11. For the past two weeks, I've been spending time at the music library of my university:

  1. Going through my old Dozen a Day books; I'm still on the easy ones (doing the preparatory one at the moment), but they are great for exercising the fingers.
  2. Going through the Alfred All-In-One Course; I don't know if it's the best series for self study, but it seems to have all the qualities I was looking for: mix of theory, finger exercises, simple melodies and a progression that doesn't remind you of drawing an owl.


    I haven't started playing songs quite yet, my motricity and coordination are not quite up to par, but I found my old books such as Technic Is Fun (vol. 1-3) and a book of simple Mozart songs that I'll probably be picking up in the upcoming week.

    Finally, there is one thing that has been absolutely essential to get me to practice an hour every night: having fun! I remember how much of a drag I found piano when I was a kid, I would try to find ways to reduce my practice time in the weirdest possible ways; it's no wonder I quit. Whatever you decide to do, just make sure it's fun for you, otherwise you'll just be miserable.

    Good luck buddy!
u/alessandro- · 1 pointr/piano

This is pretty good! It's impressive you were able to work that out by ear.

If you can learn to read sheet music, that will really help you out a great deal. If one issue you have is reading rhythms, you need to use a counting system. (The system I use is described in this PDF.) An excellent resource for reading rhythms is the book Rhythmic Training, which you can get inexpensively, especially if you buy it used. (Edit: note that this book is for professional/college level musicians, so if you can't get all the way through, that is completely OK. But going through the first few chapters slowly and steadily and clapping the rhythms is probably a good idea.)

For reading notes on clefs, you kind of just have to do it. It takes a lot of practice and will be slow going at first, but will get easier. One book for piano that includes both the very basics of music theory and some things on technique is Alfred's Basic Adult All-in-One Course. Maybe you could ask for Book 1 for Christmas, if you celebrate Christmas?

As far as technique goes, one thing I notice is that the index finger of your left hand is collapsing at the first knuckle (screenshot). That shouldn't happen. You might find this video (by piano professor John Mortensen) helpful on what your hand should look like when you play.

Good luck as you keep playing!

u/Emperor315 · 1 pointr/piano

I found this a great resource along with a grade 1 piano solo book.

You will of course know the theory being taught but you still need to learn how that translates to the piano. Plus it's laid out logically in that it teaches a technique then gives you a piece which utilises that technique.

u/puzzleheaded_glass · 1 pointr/musictheory

Yeah, so when they say "can read music" they probably mean "can play 'three blind mice' on the piano from a written staff with a minute to practice". They'll teach you all you need to know about chords, intervals, scales, etc.

If you have access to a piano, get yourself a basics book or the first chapter or two of a comprehensive book and you'll be golden (I like this one for basics with goofy cartoons and this one for comprehensive adult learning). Piano is definitely the best instrument for visualizing music theory and learning staff notation, because the staff notation translates very directly to the keyboard.

u/TheRealMickey · 1 pointr/piano

Adult All-In-One Course: Lesson-Theory-Technic: Level 1 https://www.amazon.com/dp/0882848186/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apip_gBUqNe4W5SUlR

I just started myself and teacher had me buy this... so far so good

u/nanyin · 1 pointr/CasualConversation

There are a lot of resources online - youtube etc, but I prefer books so when I decided to teach myself how to play around 2 and a half years ago I used Alfred's Adult all-in-one, progressive sight reading, and Easy classics to moderns.

Once I felt comfortable enough with sight reading, I just started buying whatever I liked. I also sit down and transcribe the music I like. Just got done learning this track from pride and prejudice, and it barely took a week to learn! It's so wonderful to see my fingers flying across the keys, I can't even describe it.

You might also like flowkey.

Good luck, and I'm sure you'll thank present you for starting - say 5 years from now, when you're sitting at your piano and feeling generally amazing after a particularly good improvisation :)

u/SocialIssuesAhoy · 1 pointr/composer

Hello! Piano is my primary instrument (although I don't perform) and I've been teaching piano for 10 years.

I'll be interested to see how quickly your fingers do pick up the instrument. In my experience, the big challenge with piano is the fact that you're expected to do so many different things at the same time. Voice division happens not just between your two hands (although that can be challenging enough at first) but it also often happens between fingers of the same hand. Every instrument has its hurdles, and this is the big one for piano. But it's not really a hurdle, it's more like a constant uphill battle. I would be very surprised if you worked at it for several months and then one day it just "clicked"; it's more like a very gradual process.

My point is, I've had many very dedicated (and older) students and this is always what trips them up. It can be frustrating to understand all of the theory surrounding the music, and to be able to read the sheet music with ease, but then you can't even play a relatively simple song after hours and hours of practice. Just keep that in mind!

There's probably a better choice for you, self-teaching isn't my area of expertise because of course whatever book I choose for my students, I'm there heavily supplementing and modifying it. But I do generally like Alfred's adult beginner course. You can expect typically several songs per concept before moving on (although it varies), so if you feel as though you've easily mastered something you can skip the next song or two and move on to the next element. They have several courses with several names, you want the one linked below. It wraps up piano, theory, and technical exercises... you can't get one that has piano and exercises without theory but oh well.

https://www.amazon.com/Adult-All-One-Course-Lesson-Theory-Technic/dp/0882848186/ref=pd_sim_14_4?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=0882848186&pd_rd_r=1DH8WFM7G5TPK6EWGPP3&pd_rd_w=JPSME&pd_rd_wg=7clgx&psc=1&refRID=1DH8WFM7G5TPK6EWGPP3

I also like the "A Line a Day: Sight Reading" series. They're just bitesized sight reading exercises with increasing difficulty. The books are skinny, there's at least 4 (that's as far as I own up to) and I think it's just a nice package of exercises.

https://www.amazon.com/Line-Day-Reading-Bastien-Basics/dp/0849794226

u/Minkelz · 1 pointr/piano

Aflred All in One - A reliable go to for the complete beginner to get them using both hands, reading music, understanding chords and keys etc.

Improvising Blues Piano - Great book for intermediate to later beginners looking at exploring contemporary styles.

Exploring Jazz Piano - Similar to the blues one but using jazz which requires a higher level of complexity.

u/DarxusC · 1 pointr/piano

Amazon URLs don't require anything after the last "/", it's all for tracking how you got to that page. All that's necessary is:

http://www.amazon.com/Adult-All-In-One-Course-Lesson-Theory-Technic-Level/dp/0882848186

u/GimePizzaOrGimeDeath · 1 pointr/piano

https://www.amazon.com/Adult-All-One-Course-Lesson-Theory-Technic/dp/0882848186/ref=pd_lpo_sbs_14_t_0?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=SSS3WMS25D61PVS77NWY

I highly recommend this book for learning basic theory. I used it years ago and it's great for beginners, especially if you can't get a teacher

u/atomatoisagoddamnveg · 1 pointr/piano

I see that this book is well reviewed on amazon. Getting through a book like that would take me long time, and it looks like the fingering info is spread out through the book.

It makes a lot of sense that I should play in a more efficient way, and not the comfortable way.

u/amandatea · 1 pointr/piano

Ah okay. Maybe you could find a teacher online who will consider bartering with you - if you can trade something with them - so you can still get lessons and save up. Barring that, you could do one a month line u/and_of_four suggested.

There's a reason that we're all so heavily encouraging getting a teacher - because it's crucial in getting a good start. :)

But okay, the book that I use with my adult students is Alfred's Basic Adult All-In-One Level 1 - it has the lessons, songs to play, and theory exercises. I haven't seen too many of the "teach yourself" books, so I don't know how much theory they have.

"webpianoteacher2" seems to be a good YouTube piano teacher. I haven't watched a ton of his videos but he seems to fairly comprehensive and seems to be comprehensive in his teaching coverage. "Lypur" seems good too, but his sound is really bad quality.



Edit: phone apparently posted before I was ready. Editing for adding links and more info.

u/Skuto · 1 pointr/piano

Amazon sells a Kindle version: http://www.amazon.com/Adult-All-In-One-Course-Lesson-Theory-Technic-Level/dp/0882848186/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1407330259&sr=8-1&keywords=alfred%27s+adult+all+in+one

You can read Kindle books in your browser: http://read.amazon.com

I wouldn't recommend this for piano books, though! You want a spiral bound book (which Alfred's All-in-one is) that you can lay open on your music stand.

u/GilletteOlaf · 1 pointr/piano

I use this one: https://www.amazon.de/dp/0882848186/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_q40lDbXHNB465
But I don't know if there is any difference between the content of those two books.

u/gaahma · 1 pointr/piano

I also agree lessons are very valuable. But if you are committed to learning on your own, check out Alfred's Adult Piano Course.

$10 on amazon

Adult All-In-One Course: Lesson-Theory-Technic: Level 1 https://www.amazon.com/dp/0882848186/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_JU.FybXF1KYT6

u/Asusralis · 1 pointr/piano

I'm using this.