Fortunately, several options are available for learning piano these days. There are numerous piano Apps and piano method books to choose from! Honestly, sometimes it's overwhelming to sort through it all. Here I've included my top favorite resources that are used within my own piano studio, specifically for adult beginner students.
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Faber Adult Piano Adventures Series (Book 1 and 2)
It's an all-in-one course meaning it includes repertoire, music theory pages, and small technical exercises throughout the book. This is my go-to resource for beginner students since I find the progression of learning is very easy to follow, especially if you are going the route of self-taught learning. This book series even includes extra repertoire options such as Faber Adult Popular, Classics, Christmas, and Disney.
Alfred All-In-One Course (Books 1-3)
Similar to the Faber Series, the Alfred course includes a little bit of everything. However, it is more chord and position focused. This means although there is standard note reading practice, the hands tend to stay in a fixed area of the piano and repetitively go through the same chord patterns. This can lead to repertoire staleness and uncomfortable reading if you're reading other sheet music outside of these patterns. However, I've used this book to provide students with extra song options, and it is good practice for lead sheet reading (Left hand reading chord symbols written above right hand playing the melody).
Anthologies:
I love having piano anthologies so I have a variety of pieces all in one book. Here are a few beginner anthology options.
*I would start with preparatory level if you are just getting into note reading and Level 1 when you are comfortable with note reading. *
Classical: Keith Snell Essential Repertoire of the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries (Preparatory Level)
Keith Snell Essential Repertoire of the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries (Level 1)
Faber Developing Artist Original Keyboard Classics (Preparatory Level)
Faber Developing Artist Original Keyboard Classics (Level 1)
Pop: Easy Beatles
Technique:
Aside from note reading, it's important to also develop finger dexterity and agility across the keyboard. I know most students dread learning the "boring stuff" like scales, arpeggios, and chords. I once was one of those students! However, these are the building blocks to playing piano. Learning music is like learning a language; the technical exercises are comparable to learning basic sentence structure in a new language. Once you have the fundamentals down, you can create more complex and colorful sentences. Likewise, you will develop more familiarity of the geography of the keyboard and be able to play more complex pieces.
Bastien Scales, Chords, and Arpeggios
Keith Snell Scale Skills Preparatory Level
Keith Snell Scale Skills Level 1
Additional Online Sheet music!
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Note reading:
I love www.musictheory.net (Free) which is also available through an App called Tenuto ($3.99). Through this site and App, you can practice everything from note reading on the staff to ear training with intervals and chords. It is even customizable so you can test yourself wherever you are in your learning journey.
Metronome:
I use the ProMetronome App and recommend this for my students to download when they first start lessons. This is a great way to internalize steady pulsing of the music! Don't get frustrated if it doesn't "click" with you right away. Using a metronome is a skill that takes some getting used to, but over the long term, it is worth the time and effort of practicing with it.
Final Thoughts:
I hope these resources are helpful for you to get you started on your self-taught piano journey or if you are currently taking lessons with a teacher and want some supplemental books. The lists I provided for you are what I found my adult piano students respond well to over my 15 years of teaching experience.
#adultpiano #pianostudent #adultpianolessons
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