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Adult All-In-One Course: Lesson-Theory-Technic: Level 1?
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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
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!
Good enough? Everyone should know? If there were only a handful that were useful, then the others would not be taught. Sure, you’ll find that 80% of songs consist of the same 20% components/themes. But there’s no “easy hack to be good enough” — progress is made through establishing a consistent practice routine and setting measurable goals.
Don’t try to go the easy route and skip fundamentals; it’s counter productive when learning piano.
This is a great book for beginners of any age that captures the spectrum of elements to learn.
On a different note, you may find that a hymnal, ignoring the religious component, is an excellent example of the common piano music practices — chord structure, inversions, voicing, etc. If you can play through a hymnal front to back, you can consistently play most American piano music.
I started with this book about four years ago. You can find used copies pretty reliably at half price books:
https://www.amazon.com/Adult-All-One-Course-Lesson-Theory-Technic/dp/0882848186/
I worked out of that for about six months and then started taking lessons, but there are three volumes you can work through yourself with lots of supplemental books. It’s a great series IMO.
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!
Can you afford an inexpensive book? Alfred's is the usual suggestion around here, and it spells everything out pretty clearly. You can pick it up on amazon.
One usually tried and true method to learning to actually play music is to start slow and with some simple pieces. A book like this will help you do that. The journey is long so prepare for a marathon rather than a sprint.
What you describe sounds like a piano method book. Maybe take a look at the table of contents of Alfred's All in One Course to see if it's for you?
Books are your best friends! A standard go-to is Alfred’s method for Adult Beginners.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/0882848186/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_PstNCb0W3JD62
Go through it religiously, page by page. It teaches a lot of basics that will allow you to understand the instrument and music.
Sincerely, The Piano Teacher
Hi,
I apologize if I'm presenting too much information in an unclear way.
"All-in-one adult piano course books" (that self-learners have said were useful to them) have included books like this one: https://www.amazon.com/Adult-All-One-Course-Lesson-Theory-Technic/dp/0882848186/
The goal of that kind of book is to discuss hand technique, and to include written exercises, to give a student a more complete idea of the music & skills & theory. That can be useful without a teacher's weekly lessons.
Maybe you already covered all those topics while you studied on you own? If not, then a book series like that can let a student see if they missed out on learning useful information or useful skills.
Mainly, I was hoping to convince you not to try Czerny exercises without a teacher to set clear goals & to guide your hand technique. It would be very sad if you worked hard on Czerny exercises, only to end up with bad habits or injuries.
Chopin E minor Prelude; Satie Gymnopedie No. 1, Bach - Notebook for Anna Magdalena has some easier (!) pieces - note that these "famous" classical pieces are quite tricky for the complete beginner - but they're good for students who have been learning for a year or so.
For complete beginners I would advise using a book of easy piano pieces - this one I found very good back in the day when I taught beginners:
Alfred's all-in-one adult learning something-or-other. There are 4 volumes, and you can order various bindings. I'd recommend going with whatever's cheapest (comb binding, usually) because they're basically workbooks--you'll be using a pencil (or a pen if you're confident) to complete exercises as you go. (Which also ,sans maybe don't buy the eBook version.)
Here's an Amazon link to the first book: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0882848186/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Also 29 and I started playing 2 years ago.
Check out the instructional book here. It's the first of a three book series with each book touching on both theory and technique.
My best advice is to learn to read sheet music and stick to it. You're going to be tempted to learn to play by following along apps or the synesthesia videos on youtube. You can definitely learn songs this way, but you'll just be shortchanging your skill and experience on a long term scale.
I'm also just getting started and have found three ways that work. I divide my time (usually a half hour session) in three equal parts.
I spend some time learning from Alfred's basic adult...
Then I spend some time jamming just like on the guitar. Find a nice scale ( blues minor is easy and sounds good) and play chords with the left hand and scales with the right. The scales are the same as on the guitar (where I also come from).
Lastly I practice muscle memory by practicing easy leads like the Harry potter theme (Hedwig's), Axel F (Beverly hills cop) or Van halen's Jump intro.
Alfred's alone is just too serious and boring, but it is so very well structured. So I need to do something else also 😃
It's working. I'm both getting better and having fun at the same time.
This is the one I used. Around page 60 it starts to get significantly more difficult. That's when I had to get a teacher. My teacher really likes this book and gives me homework from it
Alfred's Basic Adult All-in-One Course, Bk 1: Lesson - Theory - Technic, Comb Bound Book https://www.amazon.ca/dp/0882848186/ref=cm_sw_r_apan_glt_i_4EM6J6HNB97SN2F836MR
If you’re American then you might like to check out this https://www.amazon.co.uk/Adult-All-One-Course-Technique/dp/0882848186 I’ve heard good things about it, if your in a European country(like me) the names for notes may be different so you may want to look for another one.
This is a great book with which you can teach yourself. It's a good start.
It seems perfectly clear you are not here for help. You're attacking people who are trying to help you. I am certain if you worked your way through absolute beginner stuff, you would develop the skill. If you are actually here for help, here's a recommendation from personal experience to assist. https://www.amazon.co.uk/Adult-All-One-Course-Technique/dp/0882848186/ref=sr_1_2?crid=23BEE0ISU98FR&keywords=alfreds+basic+adult+piano+course+level+1&qid=1561549221&s=gateway&sprefix=alfred%2Caps%2C139&sr=8-2
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
The piano sub often recommends course books if a tutor isn't an option. The Alfred's Adult Piano Course is the most recommended one I've noticed. It's cheap and easy to find online. I got it and have only worked a bit through it but it seems really good
I have the digital copy of https://www.amazon.com/Adult-All-One-Course-Lesson-Theory-Technic/dp/0882848186
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.
Alfred also had a really good adult course that has 3 levels. Adult All-In-One Course: Lesson-Theory-Technic: Level 1 https://www.amazon.com/dp/0882848186/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_.hRQAb5KQXXJC. My piano teacher uses it for her public high school students who have never touched a 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".
I've heard good things about Alfred's All in One Course. Although I haven't used it personally, I know a lot of people who are using it.
I'm a big fan of this - https://www.amazon.com/Adult-All-One-Course-Lesson-Theory-Technic/dp/0882848186/ref=pd_sbs_14_t_0?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=9MHG9KN1JWKRC1DS1Y68
Heard amazing things about the Hanon books for technique building as well.
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
I've been working through this book, it's good at teaching technique then reinforcing it with music. Plus, it's nice to have something on the music rest as opposed to looking over at my computer all the time:
I started with the Alfred Adult all in one books.
I'm on the 2nd one now and I like them quite a bit.
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.
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.
I recommend this book as a good starter for anyone to get a grip on the basics - reading both clefs, using hands separately, key signatures, scales, chords. There are many books like it but I used this one and think it's a fine starting point. It's also very popular so for any given song or exercise you can find many examples on youtube.
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.
I'm working through Alfred's Adult all-in-one Course. Absolutely no complaints, and I think it would work out even if I had played no other musical instruments in the past.
Highly recommend.
I've written and posted for others on this subreddit:
Getting a piano teacher is always best. If one can't afford one weekly, even a piano teacher once a month would be better than nothing. And if there aren't many in your local area, consider one online via Skype or other video messenger. However, if getting teacher isn't in the cards, and if the online courses like this one are also not in the budget, then best might be getting this book and join this particular discussion forum. Also would suggest learning some piano technique from Youtube videos - for example, I think this one is the most critical when starting. I also recommend this post & document by u/Keselo. GL.
I know you're probably joking, but on the off chance that you're not:
This is a good starting point. I would also recommend learning some music theory. There are lots of online resources for this or if you want it all in one place, The Complete Idiot's Guide to Music Theory is actually a really good book (don't be dissuaded by the title). After you've learned some and want to play some music of your own, MuseScore is a great program that has a huge collection of user created sheet music. You can often find beginner versions of popular songs on their website. Best of luck and remember to have fun!
Of course you can teach yourself. I really like the adult learner books from Alfred. They have companion collections of fun stuff to play and the pieces are achievable and very satisfying. Look into getting the Level 1 technique book and the companion Level 1 Greatest Hits. The book will walk you through learning to read music, fingering exercises and a good variety of styles. Good luck!
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.
The Alfred All In One books have been pretty good so far. I started playing on Friday and have learned so much. Here’s the Amazon link to the first book. You can also use the PDF version.
You need a method.
Popular methods include Alfred's All-in-one, Faber's Adult Piano Adventures.
There's also YouTube. Pianote is OK but I like Bill Hilton's channel.
The FAQ has a great section on how to get started as a beginner. In addition, there is some talk about what and how to practice.
Most people on this sub will recommend using the Alfred All in One series if you want to teach yourself. Amazon Link
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My advice would be to start here.
Welcome to the club. I'm 31 and ALSO trying to learn keyboard (on a 61 key MIDI keyboard).
From what I've seen there are courses (some free, most are paid) on udemy. Then there's also youtube.
Honestly, finding a teacher would be your best bet, but the second best free method is this:
Find a WELL RATED piano for adults book on amazon, take the Table of Contents and find videos that teach those topics.
Just a random pick from the top rated ones:
https://www.amazon.com/Adult-All-One-Course-Lesson-Theory-Technic/dp/0882848186
OR, get a curriculum from a piano school and go searching online based on that.
Found this one in a few mins of google search:
https://www.esm.rochester.edu/community/files/Piano-Curriculum-2015.pdf
Time is really the biggest issue. If I can find a way to "success" (say, playing Fur Elise somewhat properly) I might even make a guide on this.
You have Group Piano, that's different. There's an All-In-One course that is a little more autonomous. It's a good book -- I own a copy.
http://www.amazon.com/Adult-All---One-Course-Lesson-Theory-Technic/dp/0882848186/
Yeah there's no shortcuts and you're gonna be bad at it for a while. There are efficient and inefficient ways to learn though, so you want to start off learning the right things. Learning how to teach yourself things is also a great skill that will follow you through life.
You have to also learn to notice and be satisfied with the EXTREMELY small victories you will have at the beginning. The first couple weeks it was just being able to move 2 different fingers on different hands independently. Maybe it's noticing that I ran a scale just a little bit smoother and more automatically than I did yesterday. Maybe I flip back to the beginning of my book and easily play a simple tune that I struggled with for days during my first couple of weeks.
I am an adult learner but using an "All in one" piano method book has been really great. It covers all the fundamentals and is laid out in a step-by-step manner. It cost only $20 and for me, has been a great place to start. I use Alfred's Adult Beginner All-In-One (amazon link). For me, books seem like the best way as you need a collection of music to practice with that is the right level of challenge. As a beginner, most music is too hard so spending a few $20s on books that have stuff that's usable for you seems like a worthwhile investment.
I think it's important to have an ordered structure so you don't get gaps in your learning. I have also used many youtube channels. They are helpful, but often just give you random lessons in no particular order so you're going to get gaps. So, the book is the main thing supplemented by youtubers for random tips and tricks.
I have found these channels the most useful but there are zillions of piano teaching channels. I like the random information you get (curve fingers, practice slowly, don't use apps like Synthesia, etc etc) but I strongly feel these are only a supplement to the book or some other regimented, planned lesson set.
https://www.youtube.com/c/LearnPianowithJazerLee/playlists
https://www.youtube.com/c/LessonsOnTheWeb/playlists
https://www.youtube.com/user/DCGraf1/videos
Other than that, search out some beginner friendly music that you are motivated to actually practice and play. The music in the lesson books is often kinda blah, it's great for learning concepts and sight reading but I know you don't wanna play Kum-Bay-Yah forever. Find something that isn't too difficult, but sounds good and inspires you. For me, I want to learn just one nice-sounding piece that I can bust out as a party trick. For me, Satie's Gymnopedie No.1 is motivating me. It's simple and sounds great, but as a beginner practicing it so I can nail it 100% of the time and still make it sound MUSICAL is engaging. I tried to start with a white stripes song but even that was too hard for me, I had to back off and learn some other concepts first.
I have a list of the main things I practice, on a given day I could choose just 1 or 2 of them, or more. I could spend 10 minutes on each one or an hour on each one:
- warm-up with a hand independence/coordination drill (such as playing an Alberti chord bass in one hand and a scale in the other hand, then swap hands)
- Scales. I started with C major and am working my way around the circle of fifths until I learn every scale. I learn a new scale once or twice per week. Every time I sit down at the piano I run through some scales. Ones I know really well I run through quickly, and spend a few more repetitions on the new ones.
- Do a lesson or two from the Alfred method books. This could be quick, but I have gotten stuck on some concepts that took me a few sessions to really nail down.
- Practice sight-reading some EASY pieces - I use Alfred Masterwork Classics level 1, basically these are simple pieces that I don't care about memorizing so I use them for sight reading practice. There are also lots of free or cheap websites/apps for sight-reading but it's not always actual music, just random notes.
- Practice my challenging personal piece that I want to memorize and learn perfectly. E.g. Satie's Gymnopedie
- Practice or learn a new Cadence or Arpeggio
- Do a speed/strength drill such as a Hanon exercise
- Random noodling / having fun. I randomly try chords until I hear something I like, then try to come up with a chord progression around it that sounds good, or try to come up with a little melody over it. If I really like the sound, I try to write it down in musical notation and figure out what scale I was using, what chord it was, etc. For me, this is fun and a good way to learn theory.
Do what you like and have fun. I'm just a beginner so I might be doing things wrong but I thought I would share the resources I've found so far.
This is a great book for beginners. Adult All-In-One Course: Lesson-Theory-Technic: Level 1 https://www.amazon.com/dp/0882848186/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_.hRQAb5KQXXJC.
good luck!
If no teacher, then start with Alfred's.
Alfred's Basic Adult All-In-One Piano Course : Lesson, Theory, Technic
I like the Alfred's books but there are ton out there. I haven't used any of the apps but try some out. These books do a good job of starting a progression that teaches reading music as well as some basics on theory and different songs. It's a good place to start and if you really want to get better, get a real life teacher. Having someone who know more, watch you play can teach you faster and better than any book or app.
https://www.amazon.com/Adult-All-One-Course-Lesson-Theory-Technic/dp/0882848186?ref_=ast_sto_dp
Already being able to play other instruments doesn't really open up any shortcuts. You still need to start where everyone else does, at the very beginning. Alfred and Faber both publish very popular and well respected "adult" method books. I went through both at the same time but that's not necessary; both are equally good. Start with book 1 and on page 1. Don't assume you can skip anything. I went through those books after having messed around with piano on and off for many years and I was shocked at how much I learned. If you happen to already know something in the book, then you can get through that material that much quicker.
Buy this book, practice and study from it at some regular cadence: https://www.amazon.com/Adult-All-One-Course-Lesson-Theory-Technic/dp/0882848186
Get this. I've made a of progress.
Yes, I am self taught. I bought this book and I use it as my guide/textbook.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/0882848186/
For the app, I use Complete Music Reading Trainer.
Here is the Google Play link.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.binaryguilt.completemusicreadingtrainer
Here is the App Store link
https://apps.apple.com/us/app/complete-music-reading-trainer/id1550798715
I loved the free section so much that I paid the $4 for the full version, and I'm not really the type of person who pays for apps.
My digital piano is an older Casio, specifically the CDP230R. I bought it 5 years ago for $350, and it came with the stand and the bench as part of Costco's Christmas deal.
The little display shows you where each key press is located on the staff (either treble or bass), and then the lessons show you which fingers to use for which note, and if you did it correctly or not. And you can choose to practice either the right/left hand or both at the same time and you can either go section-by-section or do the entire song at once. You can also jump around to specific sections you're struggling with and practice those at a much lower tempo until you perfect them.
Honestly, I would've bought a 2nd piano if they didn't discontinue them for their newer pianos.
I wish I had gotten more involved with the built-in software 5 years ago, because I would have been much more advanced right now. Newer pianos seem to rely on smartphone apps now instead of built-in software.
If you haven’t checked it out, I start most of my adult students who are starting from square one in the Alfred All-In-One Adult Piano course. It just does an excellent job with mixing theory, technique and easy repertoire into a single book. You’ll do a few exercises about how to read music, and then it’ll give you examples to play things that you just learned. So it has really great repetition and renforcement of concepts.
Here’s the book on Amazon (highly recommend spiral bound because it sits flat on a music stand or on the piano): https://www.amazon.com/Adult-All-One-Course-Lesson-Theory-Technic/dp/0882848186
Scroll a bit on the example pages and you’ll see some example material. Also, if you search this book on YouTube, there are people teaching and going over the lessons for free! So if you ever needed help visualizing something, there’s a bunch of videos out there.
https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLeW-cELRAmSl9fQyFwa9BIpeSHzlxuSYM
I’ve actually considered doing a piano teaching course myself on YouTube but it just seems overwhelmed with people doing the same thing so I’ve never really took the jump into it.
But anyway, it’s a very popular book for teaching adults at a manageable pace. They also have several subsequent books so when you feel like you’re ready to move on, I think there’s at least a second and third book.
I personally memorize things best by writing it over and over, so if you’d like a workbook where you really just drill the notes and theory concepts into your head, I really recommend the Royal Conservatory of Music “Celebrate Theory” books. The early books are meant for younger learners but unlike other books, they look a little more academic and aren’t covered in cartoons lol. It’s very thorough and repetitive and gives you a chance to write everything multiple times. And they progress slowly so you could easily supplement the Alfred book or another adult lesson book with the theory book and just keep up with the concepts you’re learning or use it for review.
https://www.rcmusic.com/about-us/rcm-publishing/celebrate-theory/celebrate-theory-preparatory
With a lot of things, small frequent contact is the best way to learn and memorize things. So 5-10 minutes a day or every other day is much better than 2 hours once a month. But as adults, it just gets so hard to spend the time. I usually recommend to my adult students to only have a long lesson once every two weeks because once a week doesn’t really give them enough time to really review the material. So it’s always ok to move at your own pace ☺️ if you come across anything that you can’t seem to find an answer to, hit me up!
Yes, of course.
I started with this book - https://www.amazon.com/Adult-All-One-Course-Lesson-Theory-Technic/dp/0882848186/ref=tmm_other_meta_binding_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1629767124&sr=8-4
And I followed along with this YouTube Channel - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e4gizue_ULg&list=PL8hZtgRyL9WRWJLlIUPl-ydiDc8CZ_SJK
Good luck!
Try telling him about the Alfred books for learning piano. Thats what I've been using and I can read pretty well now
This one and the other 2 levels: https://www.amazon.com/Adult-All-One-Course-Lesson-Theory-Technic/dp/0882848186
It will also teach him proper technique and give him lots of tips to make his life easier, unlike simply piano
the alfred's adult all-in-one is widely suggested: https://www.amazon.com/Adult-All-One-Course-Lesson-Theory-Technic/dp/0882848186/
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
You mean to this one? Cz he have more versions. https://www.amazon.com/Adult-All-One-Course-Lesson-Theory-Technic/dp/0882848186
Get this book. Then join this forum thread and start sharing your progress.
Cheapest reasonable piano keyboards (vs synth) is probably Yamaha P45 and Casio Privia PX-160. Next tier up is Roland FP-30, Kawai ES-110, and Yamaha P125.
Best online course I've found is this one since it covers very well piano technique. I subscribe myself even though I also have a teacher. If you don't get that one or try learning by yourself (via book), you'll need to pick up technique from Youtube videos starting with this one.
If learning by yourself, via book, you can get this and subscribe to this forum thread for support.
>How far can I get in 2 years, assuming I stay serious? Been doing a lot of research and reading through the FAQ's, but don't understand a progression guide. Like when do you move up to lvl 3 from level 1, when do you move up to higher levels in general, etc. And how much time does it usually take?
In 2 years with out a teacher, if you really do stick with it, you'll learn a number of pieces that you've learned from scratch each time and not really have the skill of playing the instrument more the skill of playing those pieces.
Levels with numbers like that are usually associated with a specific grading system and every one is different. ABRSM is one of the more common ones around here. A lot of people just use Novice, Beginner, Early-Intermediate, Late-Intermediate, Advanced as student levels. How everyone progresses from one to the other changes based the person. You don't really just become "early-intermediate" one day, instead you kind of gradually work into it. I didn't self-teach, but after 2 years I was just starting "Early-Intermediate" rep.
Well, definitely take lessons with a good teacher and search around and look for a good teacher. Some teachers are good, some teachers are not so good.
But, this series is really working wonders for me right now. I plan to get a tutor as soon I complete the series:
Never believe that you have to start when you are five to play an instrument. Look at most kindergarteners do you think they really learn anything until their older? Unless they are a prodigy, which most musicians aren't, most people start playing instruments later in life.
This thread from r/IWanttoLearn you may find useful: IWTL how to teach myself the piano
From r/piano, some people have found some online resources they like. https://www.youtube.com/user/Lypur is apparently a great resource. Some people have also recommended this channel's playlist which follows along Alfred's Adult All-In-One Course
I will caution you that learning piano correctly can be extremely challenging without at least a full-size keyboard and a physical teacher. Though, it sounds like you aren't trying to get into a conservatory or something like that, so these things should be sufficient to at least get you playing something you enjoy.
The Alfred books are really nice. My teachers used books from that company when teaching basic technique and theory. As you get more advanced, you might have to look into more obscure drills or guides to get your hands into shape.
Edit: werdz
You need to do a lot of basics before you even think about jumping into jazz. You're trying to build a house without a foundation otherwise. It's going to be very frustrating and you're just not even going to understand the basics of what's going on in something like the Mark Levine book. That's like taking a college level creative writing class in a language you don't speak.
This Alfred book is a decent place to start.
I actually don't think the Levine book is even a good place to start for pianists with general background. It's great for people who already have some jazz background or have a teacher guiding them through it, but it's a resource book, not a method book.
At some point you might want to jump into Intro to Jazz Piano which will explicitly cover 3-7 voicings written out in every key (though you need to graduate beyond reading them pretty quickly). You should be able to look at any chord symbol an immediately know the 3rd and 7th of the chord the way you know the color of a stop sign when you look at it. Aimee Nolte also covers this concept to some degree, but as you'll notice, this already presumes a ton of knowledge and if you're not at that point you're going to be like, "Holy shit! Slow down!"
Jazz and R&B aren't necessarily things you can just memorize where you fingers go. You have to understand what you're doing
Beyond that, a little more on R&B and pop in general is The Pop Piano Book. Depending on exactly what you want, this might be a better route than any of the jazz books. It's hard to say. Jazz theory will be very useful in general for helping you get deeper into R&B harmonies, but a lot of times when people say "jazz" they don't actually know what they mean. It's like saying "pop" or "classical." Bach, Beethoven, Liszt, and Cage would all fall under the umbrella of "classical" but are nothing alike. Doo-wop, Rock, Metal, and boy bands all fall under "pop" but aren't that alike.
It's the same with jazz. There are a ton of flavors, so the word jazz itself isn't really that useful. But given your interest in R&B (and I'm guessing more modern R&B which is less like early rock), I'm assuming you're talking about lush harmonies, similar to some gospel and soul.
Sorry, that wasn't too helpful. Check Bill Hilton's channel on Youtube. A good portion of his content going to presume a ton of knowledge, bu the may have some videos that hit the sweet spot for your situation and she can learn by rote.
Honestly, pretty much everyone is just going to tell you either get lessons or learn from some formal source. I hate to be a buzzkill, if you're both learning at he same time, she's always going to be significantly behind you because the barrier to entry is so much higher and development is going to take longer.
I'd honestly suggest maybe starting with this book. But once again, my fear is that the development time gap is going to make you two not necessarily want to take this path. However, if you do, there will be tons of other fantastic resources available.
If you keep moving forward, you'll likely hit that spot with guitar, but for guitar it happens much later. You can get passable and able to fake it early on, but it gets harder to progress later. But with piano, all of the necessary skill is upfront and once you've got it, you can kind of coast and pick up new skills (in pop music) very quickly.
I'm a pretty big fan of the Alfred books for piano.
Hal Leonard has a good staring guitar method as well as several books on various styles. Most of the style books are intermediate to advanced though.
Piano is a thing where Youtube can be helpful once you're already pretty established by looking for tutorials on stylistic stuff (Hal Leonard also has style books for keys that I love, but are not even remotely for beginners). Stay away from Synthesia style "tutorials." This Guitar Hero approach seems much easier to those who don't read well, but virtually none of the skills transfer to anything and they really don't help you learn what you're doing.
With guitar, if you're not starting with electric, you might want to make sure you're using fairly light strings on an acoustic. There are some schools of thought that if you learn to man up on acoustic, electric will be easy, and it's true, but honestly, you'll probably just get frustrate if you're using a high action or heavy string acoustic when you run into barre chords. Learning shapes on a lighter or electric guitar and then figuring out the small adjustments needed to fret them on an acoustic/heavier guitar later will keep you from being needlessly hampered in the learning process.
Barre chords can be a big roadblock for a lot of beginner guitarists and it doesn't help that many books start with things like F and Bm which are close to the nut. In one sense it makes sense since they are near all of the other open chords you're learn as a beginner, but on the flip side, F is probably the most difficult basic barre chord period.
These are moveable shapes. If you can't get it to fret on the first fret (F) then practice somewhere easier like the 5th fret (A) and slowly work your way down toward the nut.
Get this book, never look back: https://www.amazon.com/Adult-All-One-Course-Lesson-Theory-Technic/dp/0882848186/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1488034110&sr=8-1&keywords=alfred+piano
Good luck!
I'm using this.
I feel like one of my previous posts might be relevant here:
> 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
I think this post from before might help you.
> 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
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.
If you want a book to learn from, the Alfred All-In-One Course is good for adults.
App? Get some books.
Is this the book you're referring to?
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Adult-All-One-Course-Technique/dp/0882848186
I'm doing the same. I've found that The <em>Alfred's Basic Adult All-in-One Course</em> is a really good beginners book for adults.
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.
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
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