When you want to learn to play the piano, the first thing you think is “I need a piano teacher”. however, if you are an adult pianist, learning to play the piano on your own without a teacher is definitely doable. There are piano method books that are specifically designed for self-study. this allows you to learn at your own pace and also save a few bucks on hiring a teacher.
Below is a list of the best piano books for self-study:
You are reading: Teach yourself piano books
- alfred all in one piano course for adults
- piano jumpstart
- music tree books 1 – 4
- alfreds self-taught piano course for adults
- piano for beginners
- faber adult piano adventures book 1
- how to play the keyboard: a complete guide for absolute beginners
- alfred teaching yourself to play the piano
- bastien basic piano level 1
Although I still recommend hiring a piano teacher to review your playing, it’s not a bad idea to start with a self-study book. Self-study books are a great way to get familiar with the piano before committing to intensive study with an instructor. below, I’ll break down each of the books on this list and explain why they’re great choices for beginning pianists.
alfred all in a piano course for adults
The most comprehensive course for beginning pianists is Alfred’s all-in-one piano course for adults. is a successful self-study book that is packed with a ton of content. With over 160 pages of detailed instructions, adult pianists can walk through each unit without a teacher.
Pianists not only get a full breakdown of how to maneuver around the piano, but there’s also a huge focus on the theoretical side of music. With each unit come theoretical exercises to reinforce those concepts and provide a complete understanding of what is happening as you play.
The early parts of the book focus heavily on how to sit at the piano with good posture. There’s even a section dedicated to finger exercises, stretches, and more to prepare your hands for an intense practice section. the layout of the units and the progressive format allow adult pianists to learn in small chunks effectively.
You will learn to play in the c position, in the g position and you will also firmly master the great staff. this allows you to quickly enjoy short pieces as well as more challenging tasks.
Once you’ve completed Book 1, you’ll have all the tools you need to play intermediate to advanced repertoire. a variety of performance styles, from classical to jazz, will also be quite comfortable for you at this point. when book 1 is complete definitely check out book 2 which dives into inverted triads, more complex theory and a great selection of repertoire.
For a full breakdown of how this method book works and why it’s one of the best piano teaching books for adults, read this article.
piano boot
This is an effective method I wrote specifically for learning to play the piano. this is a multi-unit method that accomplishes the following in just 35 pages:
- hand placement
- grand staff reading
- count rhythms and note values
- note interval reading
- bars
Each unit is well focused and moves at a slow pace with detailed instructions. What I have included at the end of each unit are short performance exercises that focus on the material learned in that unit. as each unit progresses, so does the material. The book ends with a series of repertoire pieces to show what you have learned.
For more information on piano jumpstart, you can check out the beginner piano course page here.
musical tree books 1 – 4
Although the musical tree books are aimed at students, the method is also an excellent resource for adults. I recommend it for an adult piano student who wants something easy enough for him to learn the material on his own.
what music tree does well is to divide the concepts. the initial focus in the earlier books, like the time to begin, is on rhythm. to help with that, note reading is off the staff. this means no lines or spaces, just the notes themselves.
eventually, the music transitions to partial staff reading, and this is where pianists learn to read music through count intervals. once the seconds, thirds, fourths, and fifths are comfortable, the music begins to introduce the grand staff.
At this point, you’ll want to move on to the level 1 through level 4 books. Those books introduce new rhythms, key signatures, sharps and flats, new time signatures, and much more so you can play more complex music.
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I recommend music tree for an adult piano learner who wants a slow entry into playing the instrument and also needs a step-by-step approach to learning. the musical tree books provide many details and suggestions to help you start playing quickly. It’s a great self-study book if you can get past the cartoon characters on each page.
alfreds self-taught piano course for adults
What better self-study piano course than one with that name! Alfred’s Self-Taught Piano Course for Adults is much more than just a book. is a comprehensive offering of all the strategies you need to play the piano effectively without professional instruction.
Thanks to the materials that come with the book and the step-by-step instructions, it is almost foolproof for a beginning pianist to start with this method.
The textbook has 192 pages of detailed piano instructions. along with the book is a cd. the purpose of the cd is to provide you with a way to check the accuracy of your playing. the cd contains the piano parts you will play along with an accompaniment to help make the pieces sound more exciting and engaging to play. this is useful when you don’t have a teacher and need a duet part to play.
What impresses me the most is the self-paced study guide that accompanies each piece you play. the instructions are very detailed. for example, on page 4 of the method book, the 4th and 5th harmonics are introduced.
The piece that follows is jingle bells, and the book describes in detail how the hands will move, where they will be placed, and where you can recognize the fourth and fifth harmonics that occur as you play. the book even details things you shouldn’t miss like dynamics, the balance between melody and accompaniment. it even analyzes when to expect the hand to move up and down between specific keys.
Simply reading the self-study instructions can give pianists a visualization of what will happen step by step. in this way when you play the pieces you can anticipate and recognize your mistakes quickly and have an action plan to correct them.
piano for dummies
piano for dummies is a good choice for people who want a quick and accurate strategy for learning to play the piano. no fluff, just simple instructions. while it’s not exactly the kind of faber or hal leonard method you may be used to, it’s still really good!
The book doesn’t just focus on the repertoire. much of it is theory oriented and explains what actually happens when you play. for example, he explains that when he plays a C major chord, he understands how the root, third, and fifth make the quality of the chord what it is.
I like this book because it comes with an audio cd to accompany the text. It’s a great way to train your ear to hear what your eyes see! many of the songs included on the disc are popular tunes that you would be familiar with. that makes it easier to play!
The other great thing about this book is that it goes beyond the classic style. it also covers rock, jazz, and pop music, as well as tips on how to play that style the right way. The book provides a glossary of musical symbols that you can refer to as you progress through the music.
There are many “shortcuts” in the piano for dummies book. for example, there’s a page you can tear out and paste over the piano that breaks down all the white key names along with the enharmonic spellings of the sharps and flats.
While this is a great self-study book, it’s not necessarily for beginners. It’s not a time-consuming tour like the musical tree, and probably less practical than Alfred’s adult piano courses. what it does well is give you a great breakdown of the piano and get you playing quickly.
faber adult piano adventures book 1
faber already makes a standard piano adventure book that has a great selection of custom pieces to play. The Faber Adult Piano Adventures book is just as good as the younger version. everything in one course comes in a variety of packages.
you can get it just with the book or add it to the cd/dvd package for extra accompanying and instructions. if you want to use this as a self-study book, definitely get the additional cd/dvd resources because it’s a great way to check your playing and have a recording to play as a duet.
This book focuses heavily on the technical and theoretical concepts of each piece. this way, you’re not just playing pieces, but you understand what you’re doing as you play. this level breaks down the musical notation from scratch. you’ll know exactly how to count beats, how to find notes quickly, and then combine it all with proper theory and technique.
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the theoretical exercises are brief but quite detailed. it is step by step, so you will have to go through a process. for example, theory exercises in the G major pentascale have you read the passage, write the harmonies, and then play the melody in the petascale with the chords you’ve added. everything is carefully designed so that you are not skipping steps and are not getting the most out of each exercise.
the setlist also has short tracks written on the page. for example, some will ask you to identify what key the piece is in, or to locate a newly learned scale within the piece. other instructions detail how you should play the music and move your hands.
self-study usually means without a physical instructor to help you play the piano. however, faber has provided an excellent resource with their online training module. there are several hours of online instruction that you can access at any time as you work your way through the book.
tutorials of the pieces you are playing, explanations, an example of theoretical exercises and much more are included. that material can be accessed at any time convenient for adult piano learners.
how to play the keyboard: a complete guide for absolute beginners
This book by ben parker is pretty good if you need a beginner’s approach to playing the piano. In the first minutes of working with this book, you will be playing popular music even if you have no experience. it’s a short method at only 48 pages, but it covers everything you need.
How to Play the Keyboard: A Complete Guide for Absolute Beginners tackles piano performance using lyrics to help you become familiar with the keys. that’s a little different than some of the other books that put a big emphasis on the big staff, this book uses note names so you can play quickly. there is also a focus on playing chords and basic piano exercises.
The book has many photos and illustrations to help pianists. The book focuses on simplicity, so for someone who is a fast learner, it may seem too easy. however, if you’re a complete beginner, I think you’ll find this book to get you going at the right pace.
alfred teaches piano on your own
If you haven’t already noticed, Alfred publishes some of the best piano method books on the market. They provide so much variety to suit all kinds of learning styles. An often overlooked course they offer is learning to play the piano. This, like his other courses, focuses on adult pianists learning to play for themselves by providing them with useful tools and strategies to do so.
This course is 96 pages long and focuses on the fundamentals of playing first. from there, it slowly graduates students into music notation, scales, and rhythms. there is also a very comprehensive explanation of what the keyboard looks like so you can maneuver it with ease.
The book is organized into 9 useful units. the first unit focuses on the introduction to playing the piano. everything discussed here includes finger numbers, sitting posture, dynamics, and much more. the next unit immediately jumps to position c and has warm-ups to go along with that.
The next few units cover the grand staff, f-position, how to play chords, and the theory behind them. by the end of the book you’ll be familiar with five-finger patterns, phrasing by dropping and raising your hands, and much more.
This book also includes an audio CD so you can work as a duet. Ultimately, it is very similar to Alfred’s other self-study course, but with more emphasis on theory and mechanics. If you want something more expansive that covers more hand positions, scales, and advanced playing, definitely check out Alfred’s All In One course for adults.
bastien basic piano level 1
Only Bastien’s Basic Piano Book Level 1 can teach you a lot about the piano. however, the complete set is necessary to cover all the necessary elements for complete pianists. the music in this piano method is original, so even though it’s not recognizable, it’s still nice music to play.
The main lesson book is 56 pages long, so it’s a bit short compared to some of the great adult piano methods. still, there is a lot of material there. Pianists are guided through finger positions, patterns, notes, rhythms, and other elements of notation.
While this book is fine for self-study, there are some areas that are not fully explained, as you will find in other methods. With a little thought, most beginners will understand. it is not for complete beginners in the sense that it covers all aspects and moves a bit faster than most methods.
If you’re looking for additional repertoire or a broader approach or theory, you’ll want to invest in the complete set of four books that you can find here.
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