Piano Lesson Book: Complete Level 1, for the Later Beginner

I have been a piano teacher for about 30 years. I am familiar with John W. Schaum as that is what I had grown up with, along with John Thompson. When I first started teaching, I used the Bastein series, but was unimpressed with the songs. Another piano teacher turned me on to the Alfred's series, and I have used it ever since. I loved it and more importantly, my students love it. They go home from their very first lesson, able to play a couple of songs. It starts them off on the black keys to get them use to looking at the sets of 2 and 3 black keys. This helps them later when they begin learning to locate the different white keys. They always return the next week very excited. Parents are always impressed by our end-of-the-year recital by the songs they hear the kids playing from the beginners to the advanced students. I was curious as to why some people rated this book/series 3 stars and below. Someone thought that you could learn everything from just this book, and you could, but you don't get enough practice with the new concepts that are being taught. We use all 4 books: Lesson, Technic, Theory, Recital. When they say "complete" what they mean is that it has combined level 1a and 1b into one book. For young children, ages 5-7 you would want to use these books. Some thought the words to the songs were silly, but I have never heard my students complain about that in all the years that I have taught. Students who have come to me from other teachers, using other methods, are thrilled when I switched them over to this series. They said that they actually enjoyed practicing. The songs are fun, lively, and pages colorful. Level two gets even better as well as each level that they will progress through. This series teaches about intervals, half-steps/whole steps, the chromatic scale, chords, long/short rhythms, different keys (first book they begin in key of c, then move to key of G) and so much more. Alfred's have filled in the gaps that other methods leave out, and has a good, logical order. I cannot say enough good about this series! I highly recommend the entire series!

I bought this for my musically inclined 11 year old + an inexpensive keyboard off Amazon. She's had guitar lessons for two years, taught herself to play the ukulele and just wants to play all the instruments. I still planned to get her into piano lessons someday, but thought she could work in a book until then. I am AMAZED at how she is progressing, playing with both hands, not just plucking out a song with one hand, but chords and reading those notes on the top and bottom. I don't know if this is a typical result of the book or if I should be investing more money in my future Taylor Swift, but I think this is a great book regardless.

Good book. Son works on it when forced. Kid better get it together if he's going to play for his old man at Carnegie Hall one day.

Alfreds Basic is one of my "go to" teaching methods. The Basic series gets my piano students reading off the staff more quickly than some of the other books out there, even books by Alfred's. They progress very nicely and push my students to do something they tend to not want to do-- read the music! They are very comprehensive, cover theory and incorporate some very fun piano pieces. Highly recommended.

My son started piano recently. At first, we tried beginner books, but they were so basic, that he was bored and frustrated. I tried these "Later Beginner" books, and he is loving piano now. It's just the right level for him, and he's having fun playing sons that actually sound like music.

Our kids recently started piano lessons and this was the book the instructor had us buy for them. It has clear instructions on finger placement for each hand and progresses gradually from the beginning through slightly more advanced stuff. If you have two people, there is even a basic duet part on several of the songs.

This is a wonderful beginner or refresher book! I took piano lessons for 2 years when I was in junior high. After 15 years, I decided I wanted to teach myself how to play the piano again. I have almost worked through the entire book and I feel like it has really helped me grasp concepts down and understand how to read sheet music. You will not be disappointed!

My daughter has taken an interest in piano. I didn’t want to have her take lessons unless I knew she was serious about sticking with it. We did a few introductory lessons, but she’s been taking the book out to teach herself songs! The songs are lovely and she hums them as she draws or plays outside. Well made, thoughtful, very useful lesson book! Once everything opens back up, we will be having her take lessons!

Love that this is the complete level 1 in one book. My daughter is 10 and just started lessons and this book is working great!

Writing all throughout, from crayon, pencil, and sticky note. The cover is ripped off the main book and has to be stapled or completely retaped. This is not the quality I expected for nearly new price.

I have been a piano teacher for about 30 years. I am familiar with John W. Schaum as that is what I had grown up with, along with John Thompson. When I first started teaching, I used the Bastein series, but was unimpressed with the songs. Another piano teacher turned me on to the Alfred's series, and I have used it ever since. I loved it and more importantly, my students love it. They go home from their very first lesson, able to play a couple of songs. It starts them off on the black keys to get them use to looking at the sets of 2 and 3 black keys. This helps them later when they begin learning to locate the different white keys. They always return the next week very excited. Parents are always impressed by our end-of-the-year recital by the songs they hear the kids playing from the beginners to the advanced students. I was curious as to why some people rated this book/series 3 stars and below. Someone thought that you could learn everything from just this book, and you could, but you don't get enough practice with the new concepts that are being taught. We use all 4 books: Lesson, Technic, Theory, Recital. When they say "complete" what they mean is that it has combined level 1a and 1b into one book. For young children, ages 5-7 you would want to use these books. Some thought the words to the songs were silly, but I have never heard my students complain about that in all the years that I have taught. Students who have come to me from other teachers, using other methods, are thrilled when I switched them over to this series. They said that they actually enjoyed practicing. The songs are fun, lively, and pages colorful. Level two gets even better as well as each level that they will progress through. This series teaches about intervals, half-steps/whole steps, the chromatic scale, chords, long/short rhythms, different keys (first book they begin in key of c, then move to key of G) and so much more. Alfred's have filled in the gaps that other methods leave out, and has a good, logical order. I cannot say enough good about this series! I highly recommend the entire series!

I bought this for my musically inclined 11 year old + an inexpensive keyboard off Amazon. She's had guitar lessons for two years, taught herself to play the ukulele and just wants to play all the instruments. I still planned to get her into piano lessons someday, but thought she could work in a book until then. I am AMAZED at how she is progressing, playing with both hands, not just plucking out a song with one hand, but chords and reading those notes on the top and bottom. I don't know if this is a typical result of the book or if I should be investing more money in my future Taylor Swift, but I think this is a great book regardless.

Good book. Son works on it when forced. Kid better get it together if he's going to play for his old man at Carnegie Hall one day.

Alfreds Basic is one of my "go to" teaching methods. The Basic series gets my piano students reading off the staff more quickly than some of the other books out there, even books by Alfred's. They progress very nicely and push my students to do something they tend to not want to do-- read the music! They are very comprehensive, cover theory and incorporate some very fun piano pieces. Highly recommended.

My son started piano recently. At first, we tried beginner books, but they were so basic, that he was bored and frustrated. I tried these "Later Beginner" books, and he is loving piano now. It's just the right level for him, and he's having fun playing sons that actually sound like music.

Our kids recently started piano lessons and this was the book the instructor had us buy for them. It has clear instructions on finger placement for each hand and progresses gradually from the beginning through slightly more advanced stuff. If you have two people, there is even a basic duet part on several of the songs.

This is a wonderful beginner or refresher book! I took piano lessons for 2 years when I was in junior high. After 15 years, I decided I wanted to teach myself how to play the piano again. I have almost worked through the entire book and I feel like it has really helped me grasp concepts down and understand how to read sheet music. You will not be disappointed!

My daughter has taken an interest in piano. I didn’t want to have her take lessons unless I knew she was serious about sticking with it. We did a few introductory lessons, but she’s been taking the book out to teach herself songs! The songs are lovely and she hums them as she draws or plays outside. Well made, thoughtful, very useful lesson book! Once everything opens back up, we will be having her take lessons!

Love that this is the complete level 1 in one book. My daughter is 10 and just started lessons and this book is working great!

Writing all throughout, from crayon, pencil, and sticky note. The cover is ripped off the main book and has to be stapled or completely retaped. This is not the quality I expected for nearly new price.

I am a piano teacher for over 30 years and I recommend "Piano Lesson Book: Complete Level 1, for the Later Beginner" for it's clarity and strait forward presentation of the material to learn. I use it also for younger talented beginners who like to go forward a little faster then regular children. This books has the right amount of information on one page and leaves space for the teachers or students notes. The songs are appropriate for younger and close to teenage children. Some songs have a teachers accompany (duet part) which helps the student to learn to stay on track with the beat/counting, sounds great and create a joyful lesson in which the student wants to play the song a view rounds more.

Great beginner piano book. I used it when I was a kid and was very pleased to find the exact same book to teach my children piano. They only changed the cover. :)

This Alfred's Silver Book Series is outstanding...I teach piano and I find I can use this series for either slow or fast learning beginners...I use the Lesson Book along with the Recital Book. The Lesson book exposes the student to a new musical concept, and the Recital Book develops that concept with an additional 2 or 3 pieces...resulting in total comprehension and skill development.....Great to use the Lesson Book & Recital Book together.

This beginner's piano lesson book is great. My niece's piano teacher recommended it and my niece loves it. She doesn't even complain when it comes to practice as it explains step by step what she needs to do for each lesson. The illustrations are great and makes it easy for the beginner piano student to learn and practice.

I am actually managing to learn the piano from this and as a person with not great hand coordination and a slowed down brain due to general aging, that's pretty impressive to me.

Got it yesterday, never played piano before and now I am already playing to simple songs! Looking forward to going through the whole book!

The book I received has many pages missing. For example it jumps from page 28 to page 36. I had to go purchase it at a store - the book is great, but it is just missing pages. If you purchase this, immediately verify that you have all the pages.

Nice compilation of music and lesson that goes hand in hand....just like the Palmer Method Lesson books 1a, 1b, etc...but refined down to the best songs in one book! I Like it and us4e it to teach my nieces and nephews piano lessons.

Bought for Granddaughter she is doing very well with it.

Excellent instructional book for my 16 year old who is learning piano for the first time. She is picking it up quite well. Book is clear and concise, and perfect for her age group.

Simple to use, excellent illustrations, logical lesson progression.

I learned this book when I started lessons at age 7. I’m all grown up now and ready to teach my own daughters how to play piano...found this lesson book that’s exactly the same as the one I had just with a different cover. It still had all the same songs. Great beginner book 👍🏼

Great book my son is having a blast mastering all of these tunes

My son seemed to enjoy this book in his journey to improve his piano skills.

Great book for beginners. Ordered for my son to begin learning piano on is keyboard. The lessons have been easy for him to understand and catch on. It was a great refresher myself as well. The shipping was good and on time.

the kids needed this for piano lessons. It arrived on time and worked great

Great piano lessons book

Easy to follow! Wish it had on line videos

I got this book to teach my friend who is in his 20s how to play. This book is awesome because it is easy enough that if I'm not there he can also teach himself a little bit.

I liked how easy it was to read the books and find out where my fingers needed to go. By the way I'm 70 years old and decided to learn how to play the piano, my instructor says I'm doing pretty good. I wanted my fingers to stay flexible.

Excellent

My daughter started piano lessons at age 7 and is considered a "late beginner" only because, at 7, she has a much better ability to understand the mathematics and theory of music. I would recommend for any student wanting to learn more than just "how to play". The instruction is very clear and even I have learned (or had my memory refreshed) on theory.

My 9 yr old son just started taking piano lessons and his piano teacher asked me to purchase this book for him to use. So far so good, he's only had 2 lessons and is picking up the piano really quickly.

I took a couple of years worth of lessons when I was a kid, and I wanted to get reacquainted with the piano.This book has been great, providing a nice balance of basic and more challenging material. I'm looking forward to the second book in the series.

Book came in perfect condition. Recommended by piano teacher.

EXCELLENT series! I especially appreciate it's COLORFUL graphics and sensible development for my students with learning differences.

Good

Daughter has been taking lessons for 2 months and she's playing really well so far. She loves the songs!

I like the Alfred series. The children start playing music from the beginning. The books with accompanying CD are my preference as the children are not allowed to pass from one piece to the next until they can play along with the CD perfectly. They enjoy the challenge.

Just as pictured

Just what my wife wanted for her piano students.

Great book as described with quick shipping

I think this is perfect for my older students as well as adults. I have been using this series for over 30 years of my teaching experience.

Her instructor recommended this book and she finds it easy to read and loves her classes more

One of several different piano teaching methods available. I find it especially good for elementary age children.

Great books for beginners. I used these as a 6 year old learning to play piano, and am now using them to instruct my nephews who are 5 years old. Highly recommend.

Wonderful nook and I really like the different instructions provided.

Good product!

Great book for beginners if you can get it.

Good book to learn to read basic sheet music !

Great book for starters. Very easy to use and understand

New and from a great brand. Great book to write in

Nice

I am having so much fun with this book. I use to play piano and was pretty good. This book allows you to play some of the songs I use to play, just a little easier. I feel it is a true keeper. Makes me feel really good every time I sit down to play. That's what it's all about.

Beginner book for Seven to eight graders starting out.

good

My son enjoyed this for a beginner with piano lessons. Recommended by an experienced pianist.

The teacher ask us to buy this

Just the same as when I was a kid.

My book was missing about 20 pages!

perfect

Daughter loves this

It looks like a good choice for my 12-year-old student.

I use Alfred series as a piano teacher first of all for the songs. The lyrics are clever and reinforce the lesson it is teaching. The tunes themselves are original and catchy. The method is simple and in a logical order. This particular book in the series progresses quickly thru the pre-notereading stage and gives more practice on c & g position songs. It is designed to lead to book 2. However, I find that this book equips my student to get right into Alfred's Masterworks Classics series level 1-2 which features "real" classical songs.

The book is as described. Thanks!

This product arrived promptly. The condition was excellent (brand new). I ordered this product because I am taking piano lessons and this series of books is what my piano teacher instructs from. I was pleased with the songs, although I felt they were slightly too young for me. This book is geared more toward older children rather than adults. Other than that, it works great for me, and the learning pace is just right. I would recommend this product!

Although the material in this book seems a bit simple for the targeted age group it covers a great deal for a level one beginners book.

good bookgood

Was and is a great book for children to learn how to play a piano - Thank You!

Good, like it

This book was recommended by my childrens piano teacher. It is very easy to follow along, especially for those taking piano lessons for the first time.

My son started his piano lessons and this is a great book for starting lessons.

Awesome book for my son to learn the piano.

Did not receive book.

as described

This is just what my daughter needed! She just turned 12 and although she has never had lessons, she does know how to read the notes and can play a few simple songs. This is a perfect book for her because she is now learning to play at a bit of a higher level and the songs sound beautiful. ( I do not play piano, but she plays much smoother with the help of this book). She did already know where your fingers go which was needed for this book.

Trying to learn

Excellent for young students.

great book! You will like this-Great songs-- Love this song and most of the music like this-- just what I was expecting and wanting-- this is great MUSIC --would recommend! LOVE THIS MUSIC== GO GET IT-- REALLY, IT IS AWESOME-- BUY IT- YOU WILL LIKE IT FOR SURE! ORDER NOW IT COULD BE YOURS! love this song! you will go far-- check them out and you will see! I dont know what else to say-- try this group! really-- too many words for feedback though

I am a true beginner for the piano. This is not a complete lesson book at all. Just a few pages in, it refers you to 3 different lesson books. If you can read music, then you can move on. If not, you will be stuck... just like I am.

This is a good book for beginner piano learners. It is well illustrated. Still practicing through. It is quite self explanatory.

I felt like this book was way too simplistic, repetitive, and along the same lines as other Alfred books for later beginners. However, I found the layout and text to be very juvenile, and the songs were not ones I would want to play over and over again. I'm an adult beginner, so I took the title to mean that adults could use it too, but I much prefer the Fletcher and other Alfred books. Keep looking-this book is not for adult beginners.

Perfect for students starting in grade 4 or higher.

I haven't played a piano in 40 years. I just bought a piano and I bought this book also. It's great! I'm getting it back must quicker than I expected. I just ordered more of the series.

This is an excellent book for older beginners; I'm helping my 12-year-old grandson, who is a percussionist in his middle school band and wanted to learn another instrument and more about music. This really fills the bill for us.

Great book, its helped me a lot and helped me learn quickley how to play the piano. Worth every penny!

Dissappointing. I have their Alfreds beginner method for Adults, and I find that is much better for young children. What is wrong, as it introduces actual notes, unlike the Adult method which I love, it would put the name of the note inside the note on the staff. This book does not do that, it only puts the name of the note earlier, but not on the staff. Thus, the student has greater difficulties reading when the notes are on the staff.

None

It was exactly what I expected.

I received this book very quickly. It was just as described. I think the book it's self is very well written. I have no reason not to give 5 stars. I will buy more books in this series.

This was the book her instructor uses in class. I love the way it progresses through songs and teaches how to read music.

Great for someone who is starting to learn piano

Great book and very easy to learn!

I really like it.

This is the best lesson book on the market for ages 7-9 but still not great. Students find the lyrics of most of the songs too childish and silly. It does progress at a good speed for this age range and is good for teaching to read music and basic concepts.

The book is exactly what you see. I wish it had more scales at the start of the book, but it is enough for learning to play piano.

fast shipping and exactly what i wanted! learning how to play the piano and this is a perfect book if you dont know how to read music.

This book arrived promptly, packaging was adequate to protect the item but not overkill, book was exactly what we needed. Very satisfied. Thanks

There was writing and stickers throughout this book. It is very hard to follow when there is writing all over the pages and stickers placed all over the pages.

Was a gift. Not sure about anything except A.) It arrived quickly and B.) I didn't hear any complaints regarding this book.

This book was almost new and has worked out great for my daughters piano lessons. It would have been more than double the price to buy new from her teacher.

I'm just getting use to music lessons in this fashion. It's a good way for me to have a copy of my student's book without having to carry the book myself. I use this with the iPad.

Good book but having a printed copy would be better

Pretty book 1 and 2 combine but less.

Very good book for a learner.

Did not work for us.

Great book for starting off

as advertised

Excellent

Not what I expected.

My daughter loves these books

I received the book right away which was great because my daughter had just started private piano lessons and I couldnt find this specific book in any stores near me at the time. It was brand new and we are happy with it. Thank you!

She likes her lessons

Not what I was expecting!

This book was categorized good, and it was like brand new- I was very impressed! It was clean, unmarked in, and fully satisfactory.

As advertised

I haven't receive the book.

good piano book

Poor image quality.

Very nice booklet, however I gave up on piano lessons.

The book came in good shape, as described. Received in time and no problems with payment or contacting seller. My only concern is that the edition of the book was not described in the web site. So I thought it was the newest one, but it wasn't.

Quite used. There were stickers all over the book. Looks like a good book for teaching kids to play though.

not my favorite method book, but okay.

very, very practic and usefull..come at handy to teach and improve

I would not recommend any Beginning Piano Lesson books which start using one hand at a time

The price was right (offered kindle discount made it free) but not worth the time to download or the struggle required to make it usable. A few dollars for a used version of the real book is preferable to 'owning' a kindle version that doesn't allow printing so that one might read the music while playing. You might try propping an iPad on your music stand, but not me.

In all the year's, I want too learn how to play piano. All the book's I look at, was just too hard for me to under stand. So when I was gave a old piano, at age 49. I start to look around to see what was out that. A friend told me about this book. So when I got it at a yeard sale. Got home. I check it out. And found it was so easy to used. This is a great book for people that has not read song book and that it is easy too follow. It been a joy to learn how to play the piano. >^..^< But when I hit a wrong note, the cat's let me know, big time. .

I have been playing piano for a few years now, and am what you would probably call an 'advanced player'. I can play some pretty big pieces, but even so, I STILL come back to this book once in a while an play a tune or two from it! I have tried several other piano books, but this is the best beginner book I have ever found, and the one that taught me how to play. Take note: I had NO prior experience playing piano before I tried this book, unless you want to count tinkering around once in a while on a tiny, 20 key keyboard. It all started when my brother began taking piano lessons in primary school. He had a fantastic teacher and she assigned this book to him for starters, because she had faith that he could learn fast, and because it's something she's been using for years (that teacher later left and the new teacher also used the Alfred books). I wanted to learn piano too but didn't really want to take lessons, so I listened to what my brother learned from the tutor, but mostly, I looked through the book, practised, and learned to play better than I ever had just by reading through the book and taking my time mastering each song (a little friendly competition between me and my brother didn't hurt either ;) ). Before I knew it, we were through the book, could play every single song perfectly, and could even read notes. We eagerly pushed on to Alfred's Basic Complete Level 2/3 (also highly recommended), which is more challenging, has even more fun songs, and is overall an even better book that we both learned an enormous amount from. I still have never had a single formal piano lesson, but have progressed to level 5, and am planning on getting level 6 (the final book) as soon as possible. The wonderful piano teachers who used this have also had great success with their students. The book itself is lively, easy to read and to follow. It has a bunch of colourful pictures that don't interfere but add to the book, making the songs even more fun to play. It isn't filled with boring diagrams or note charts, but instead has quick, easy to understand, and very useful notes about, well, notes, as well as hand positions, musical terms, etc. As one reviewer said, it DOES start you off playing with each hand separately so you can get the feel for it, but rapidly progresses to using two hands. Overall, it starts you off slow and easy, but progresses you fast after you've gotten the grasp of it. At the same time, you learn many of the essential principals you'll need to play even more advanced music. If you are a very beginning beginner, I would still highly recommend this book, even though it says "For the later beginner". As I said, it teaches you fast, but if you have absolutely NO experience with musical instruments or are a slow learner, I would recommend getting another one of Alfred's beginning courses. This book is for ALL ages, whether you're 1 or 100. If you're an adult just starting piano, don't hesitate to use it! If you have a 3-year-old who likes music (ALL toddlers seem to like music), get them a small keyboard and let them tinker around with it. If nothing else, they'll at least like the colorful, fun pictures in the book. If you think you can handle learning at a faster pace, get this book. If not, get it anyways, and get one of the earlier beginner books - you can STILL learn from it! The fun doesn't stop there: once you have a basic grasp on how to play, there's no limit to the music you can find - the internet is chalk full of beginner to advanced songs for free! Try 8notes for free beginner music. We found some really fun free music at Gilbert DeBenedetti's site. Even if you're not the music book type, print out a few songs and try to play them: you'll be very pleased with the result! You can follow my lead and self-teach yourself, or find a good tutor. It just depends on what you're like and how fast you want to learn. You can still learn fast on your own if you have the determination! Whatever book you use, if any, piano is a GREAT starter instrument, and I can't recommend it enough. If you're stressed, angry, or sad, play an instrument. Even if it's a garbage can drum, making your own music, no matter how "bad" you think it is, is about the best good-for-the-soul stuff you can ever ask for. Happy playing! :D *Please check out my customer image for a guide to all the Alfred books and in which order to use them - I helps a LOT! :)

Great lesson book for late beginners.

As an adult teaching myself to play piano... clear concise instructions

With this series you barely need a teacher if you are good at practising.

Great tool

This book was recommended by my piano teacher for my daughter and it is actually a very helpful book. As a beginner she needed something easy to understand and enjoy workimg through and this book is it.

Recommended by my daughters piano teacher

good

good

good thanks

Good piano book for beginners.

Thank you so much I am so impressed

My daughters teacher wanted me to buy this book. It is a really nice book to begin with. It is easy to learn to play something when you can't play the piano yet.

Very good

Satisfied of the product

This Alfred series is fantastic. I've been teaching piano for 45 years, and only came upon it about three years ago. I thoroughly recommend the whole series of books, when teaching children up to early teens.

Excellent book

its a piano teaching book does what its supposed to do

I have been a piano teacher for 30 years and this is still one of my favorite series to use for students.

Good all round starter book.

Bon cahier pour débutant de plus de 10 ans

Recommended buy for those who want to learn

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