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

Anyhow, I recently picked up the Alfred's Piano course, in conjunction with a keyboard purchase, mainly to teach me how to read music. The piano was a learning tool more than anything. But this book has sparked my interest in the piano! I'm actually having a lot of fun "playing" the lessons (the keyboard helps too).

Overall, this is a great book that combines lessons, theory, and technique.. It's exactly what I was looking for. If you order the book, I'd recommend getting the book/CD combo.


What a fantastic book!   May 4, 2007
Cynthia H. (USA)
22 out of 22 found this review helpful

About a month ago, I decided I wanted to learn to play the piano. I have been playing guitar for almost 5 years but had no experience with reading music or any professional training, and since I want to start recording some songs soon, I thought it would be nice to have some piano skills.

I chose this book based on other reviews, and they had me convinced. Well I've been using this book for about two weeks now and I cannot be happier! It's ultra-comprehensive, and starts simply but moves quickly. I love the exercises included in the book; they have helped very much with reading notes (which I am finally learning!) I'm almost on page 40 (out of more than 150, I believe.) The songs to practice are fun, and I can't even believe how much I've learned in the small span of time I've been practicing.

If you want to learn how to play the piano, buy this book! I can't say whether it's a substitute for a good teacher, since I've never had one, but if you are self-motivated and prefer to work at your own pace (and thus enjoy learning even more!) I would recommend this book 100%!

Hope this helped!


Accompaniment CD is not flawed, in fact it can be very useful if used correctly. Read carefully   August 26, 2008
Mark
15 out of 15 found this review helpful

Some reviews here say the CD is flawed because the recordings are not solo piano demonstrations and can be confusing for the learner. I do not agree with those reviews. Here is why;
On each piece, the background accompaniment instruments are heard on the left channel of the recording. The piano part is demonstrated on the right channel. On many sound systems, balance between the left and right channels may be changed, either by adjusting a single "left/right balance control", or by adjusting the volume of the left and right speakers individually. These adjustments allow isolation of either the accompaniment instruments or the demonstration piano part, or modification of the blend between the two.
Alternatively you can convert the each recording to MP3 (or other) formats and get a good media player where you can have a control over left/right volume channels.