Being able to play the piano is important for anybody who is serious about becoming a musician. Being able to play the keyboard is the first step to becoming a music producer and these days, it has become easy to learn.
There are lots of options at your disposal ranging from in-person training, online courses to self-guided lessons. Any option that you choose will require a quality piano method book to guide you in becoming a great piano player.
There are different piano method books which are recommended based on motivation, age and skill level.
What are the Best Books to Learn Piano?
2) Alfred’s Basic Piano Course for Adults
- Popular Choice
- Great for Beginners
- Harmony Style
- Different Song Methods
1) Adult All-In-1 Course: Level 1
- Make Learning Fun
- Written Assignments
- Practice Songs
- Music Theory
3) Piano Scales, Chords & Arpeggios Lessons
- Video Course Book
- Music Theory & Reading
- Interactive and Engaging
Interested to Learn Classical Piano Online? Check These Websites!
Why should you buy a piano method book?
A piano method book is a guide to help people of all skill levels learn how to play the piano. Whether you are being taught by a teacher, online or you are training yourself, you will need a piano method book. Piano method books have in them lesson plans to help you achieve your goals of playing the piano. Since learning never ends, you will also need these books to improve your skills even when you become an expert player.
There are different method books from different makers, and they all contain different types of information but they will all border around lessons like piano fundamentals, techniques, learning exercises, music theory and a host of others. With piano method books, you can enjoy more personalized learning, and you can learn at your own pace. Using a piano method book for self-teaching costs less and takes less time for you. While for teachers, a method book makes teaching easier for students will be able to keep track of their learning process.
Who can use a piano method book?
A piano book can be used by anybody who wishes to learn how to make music with the piano. Their books specially designed for children while there are books for adults as well. As a beginner, there is a method book for beginners; if you already learned how to play but you need to refresh your knowledge, you will find a book for you; and if you are a teacher, there is a piano method book for you. Anybody can use a piano book.
However, before buying your piano book, there are a few questions you should ask. Check out those questions below;
Who will use the book? Is it an adult, a child, a teacher or a student?
- Why are they learning the piano? Is it for leisure purposes or professional purposes?
- Do they have any prior knowledge?
- What part of playing the piano do they want to learn? So you can know what the method book you will buy should contain?
- What is the best process of learning for them?
Once you have answers to these questions, it is time to find a store where you can buy a piano method book. We have put together a list of thirteen method books as well as highlighted some of the critical features of the books.
13 Best Piano Book Reviews - Best Books to Learn Piano
1) Adult All-In-1 Course: Level 1
Here is a course book that is designed to cater to adults who wish to learn how to play the piano. It comes with some features that make learning fun and straightforward.
Some of those features include drills to strengthen the fingers, isometric hand exercises to teach you how to play with the two hands, written assignments to help you master the lessons.
This method book offers basic lessons which you will use to learn how to play the piano. There are songs to practice with as well as drills to help you perfect how to play the piano.
There are also written lessons with which students can learn on their own and master all the techniques of playing. Other things you will learn with this Adult-all-in-one course are music theory and music reading. This book is helpful in formal piano lessons as well as self-guided learning. It is a well-written book that can be understood by just about anybody.
2) Alfred’s Basic Piano Course for Adults
This book offers a beginners’ course for adults who would like to learn the piano. It provides a harmony style and is an excellent way for an adult to get started. It teaches chords for the two hands, and the student will have the chance to learn melodies with more than one note rather than playing only pieces that only have a single note as the melody. This type of book is expertly mastered with the help of an experienced piano instructor or seasoned musician.
It also teaches a lot of songs for students to learn and have a feel of different song formats and methods. Some of the songs include Amazing Grace, Au Claire de la Lune, The Donkey, The Entertainer, A friend like you, Happy Birthday to You, here’s a happy song, Lavender’s Blue, Merrily We Roll Along and a lot of other songs. These songs give the student enough room to explore their creativity as well as play different notes.
3) Piano Scales, Lessons with Elements of Basic Music Theory
This is a video course book that contains videos that teaches playing the essential parts of learning how to master the piano. The components include scales, piano chords, arpeggios, basic music theory and music reading. It comes with thirty video lessons that the student has to stream and the lessons come in 140 steps.
This method book is easy to use, and a lot of students have used it to get masterful the piano. It is fun, interactive and engaging. The videos make it easy for the student to understand the creation of music, the technique of playing the piano and the ability to flex your creativeness.
The good thing about this method book and streaming video is that it can be used as a self-guided or used alongside a teacher. This book makes you an expert within a short period.
4) Adult Piano Adventures All-in-One Piano Course Book 1
Faber Adults Piano Adventures All-in-One Piano Course Book is designed to be used by adults who have never played the piano before. It is created for adult beginners to help them develop their understanding of music.
The book comprises of music techniques, lessons, and theory all in one place so they can be easily accessed. The Book 1 offers music fundamentals, playing of chords, music notation and musical form. The layout is redesigned to make the hierarchy of information better and to focus on important musical concepts. It also emphasizes step by step learning, so the learning process does not overwhelm the student.
You can go with the learning process at your own pace, and there is online support to make learning easier. It comes with over 120 minutes of instructional videos as well as different tracks with audio accompaniments. With this track, students can learn a diversity of techniques and also master different types of tunes and song arrangement.
5) Modern Course for the Piano
Being a musician and composer himself, Joh Thompson has gone on to share his wealth of knowledge of music with other people who would like to delve into the art of music creation. His book has been used by teachers of different categories of people; from children to adults.
The Modern Course for the Piano is created for people who at least have an idea of the basic piano fundamentals and know music reading. It teaches the process of playing the piano with the two hands and it makes it fun and exciting.
The book covers some exciting features such as teaching the various hand positions so you can be better at playing the piano, contains pictures that show finger positioning, includes materials that teach necessary playing skills. To enjoy using this method book, you only need to be familiar with the basics of music reading, the different notes of the piano and have the ability to pick out tunes.
6) John Thompson’s Easiest Piano Course
This book, specially designed for children is made with everything that will make children interested in learning the piano. With colorful illustrations and characters, you sure will get the attention of your child with this book.
It has a step-by-step lesson plan, and it comprises of features like reading-aloud exercises, worksheets, and accompaniments to aid the teaching process. It is like every other child book, and the lessons are set up in a way that it will be easy for your child to flow with the book.
It is an excellent book to expose your child to the piano world and get him or her started with getting acquainted with musical instruments. John Thompson is a top creator of music learning materials and piano method books; we cannot expect anything short of the standard from this book.
You’ll not have to deal with complexities as everything in the book is written as simply as possible, and the learning pace of a child is considered in the writing of the book.
7) Alfred’s Self-Teaching Adult Piano Course
This is a 192-page book that is used to teach adults how to play the piano. Alfred’s books in their characteristic style of passing along information in a friendly manner continue with this piano method book. Just like the previous version of the famous Alfred’s Basic Piano course, this self-teaching piano method book tows the same line with the earlier version except that this one can be self-taught.
It features guide pages written to teach music to people who have no knowledge about music and with this book, it feels like there is a piano tutor close-by teaching you how to play.
It comes with 65 musical examples and five bonus music pieces such as Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas, Over the Rainbow, Laura, At Last, and Singin’ in the Rain. There is an included CD which contains the engaging arrangement and the piano parts for the musical examples.
8) Primer Level – Lesson Book: Piano Adventures
The Piano Adventures Lesson Book: Primer Level is one of the piano method books that can be used by piano students of all ages who have a teacher or are taking self-guided lessons.
This piano book contains features like Introduction to the piano, Grand Staff, Note Values, learn to recognize steps and skips and Learn to play in C five-finger step patterns. There are different units in the book, and each unit introduces a specific skill while referring to the ones previously learned.
For anybody who does not have any prior knowledge and wants to learn playing the piano, the Piano Adventures Lesson Book is a suitable book to use. The book can be used to acquire a specific piano skill which can be a stepping stone to another skill.
Although it is created to cater for young players, it can be used by anybody of any age who does not have any previous knowledge of playing the piano. It will be a simple book for adults, but it is suitable enough to give all the necessary knowledge and skillset.
9) Level 1 – Lesson Book: Piano Adventures
This is the second installment from Faber Piano Adventures. It is another level higher than the Primer Level, and it offers simple chord playing. This book provides the grad staff notes and teaches the concept of dominant notes and tonic notes.
It gives the students the ability to play in different positions and the process of learning is basically through reading and being able to identify intervals through the 5th. With the introduction of staccato and legato touches, students can discover the vast potentials to become a virtuoso within a short time.
This is a level that that progresses from the interval orientation to reading through the complete range of the Grand Staff. Students will learn the 5-finger approach in a new manner and in a way that they can fully exploit their inbuilt music potentials. It is suitable for young children, and the pace of learning is slow and well-detailed.
10) KP1B – Bastien Piano for Adults, 1 Book Only: A Beginning Course
This method book is a fast-paced and challenging piano method book designed for beginners. It teaches piano enthusiasts things like music technique, music theory, sight-reading, etc.
Every section of the book starts with theory and then proceeds with a musical piece for practice to master what was taught. The musical pieces in each of the segments cut across different genres so that students will find their favorite genres. Each lesson does not come simply as each of the lessons focuses on the difficult parts of playing the piano such as dynamics and technique.
The book teaches piano chords, how to locate notes on a piano and the fundamental musical terms that you must know as a piano player. So it essentially is a book meant to provide foundation knowledge for adults who don’t have any experience of playing the piano. Learning is also made more comfortable and enjoyable albeit fast-paced.
11) Piano and Keyboard All-in-One for Dummies
For a fun and exciting music lesson, the Piano & Keyboard All-in-One for Dummies is the best option. It is suitable for people who have never come in contact with a piano before or even experienced the process of making and reading music.
It explains music in a friendly and straightforward language and offers all the basics of music theory while applying these lessons to playing the keyboard. If you have been playing the keyboard for a while too or taken lessons in the past, the book offers some valuable tips which you can use as a refreshers course. Just a few lessons and you will find yourself playing like you never left.
This book helps you master playing the keyboard and opens a world of possibilities which you will experience once you get the hang of the musical instrument. For aspiring piano players and keyboardists, this is the book for them.
12) Suzuki Piano School New International Edition Piano Book and CD, Volume 1
The Suzuki Piano School New International Edition Piano Book and CD is a piano method book designed to be used by students from different countries. It comes in different languages such as German, Spanish and French. It also comes with a recorded CD performed by recording artist Seizo Azuma.
You can buy the book and CD separately or together, and it features impressive music selections, and each page is dedicated to one music piece. The book is translated into different languages and thus can have a farther reach across countries. It can be used by both young players and adults, and for those who have no previous piano playing knowledge.
13) Piano Book for Adult Beginners
This is a book designed for beginners and comes with 20 video lessons that can be streamed. It is fun and engaging for both students and teachers, and if you do not wish to do a lot of music reading, this is the piano method book for you.
The lessons will help you expand your creativity and knowledge base of different piano songs. You will also be able to better your skills, understanding, and creativeness. You can use this method book as a self-taught guide or use it with the supervision of a piano coach. With the streaming videos, you can understand playing the piano better.
There are different favorite songs covered in this method book and streaming videos such as “Amazing Grace,” The Entertainer, Happy Birthday, House of the Rising Sun, When the saints go marching and a whole lot of other great songs. Flex your music potentials with this method book.
Choosing the Best Book to Learn Piano
Buying a piano book has been made simpler with our review of the above-listed books. There is a method book for everybody regardless of age. You can either buy a book that you can learn on your own or get a piano instructor to guide you.
2) Alfred’s Basic Piano Course for Adults
- Popular Choice
- Great for Beginners
- Harmony Style
- Different Song Methods
1) Adult All-In-1 Course: Level 1
- Make Learning Fun
- Written Assignments
- Practice Songs
- Music Theory
3) Piano Scales, Chords & Arpeggios Lessons
- Video Course Book
- Music Theory & Reading
- Interactive and Engaging
If you are also looking for something refresh your knowledge, one of the above-described method books will suffice. You, however, need to understand what you are looking for and what precisely the book offers before buying it.
On a final note, you should make sure you check the specifications of the piano method book you want to buy. Buy a book with spiral binding rather than regular binding. You have to consider the longevity of the book alongside what the book offers you.