Alfred's Basic Adult Piano Course: Lesson Book Level 1: Lesson Book, Level One/2236

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The second book has more diversity in selection and includes a healthy mix of contemporary, Classical and original pieces. You’ll find everything from “Brahms’ Lullaby” to “Canon in D” to “La Cucaracha”. The downside of a chord-based approach is that your left hand won’t be as equipped to deal with Classical music if you’re headed that route. Classical music requires a more dexterous and independent left hand, which is initially more tedious to develop.

Alfred’s Basic Adult Piano Course [Method Guide + Review] Alfred’s Basic Adult Piano Course [Method Guide + Review]

Chords are great because they allow your left hand to get in the action early without too much struggle. Chords are a way you can make your pieces sound pretty good even from the early stages. And chords are hugely important if you’re interested in learning any type of contemporary music.The Alfred series has been around for a long time – I grew up using their regular lesson books for children, and I’ve taught with their books as an adult. I’ll give you a brief overview on how to go through Alfred’s Basic Adult Piano Course if you’re a complete beginner, and then we’ll get into some of the finer details. At book two I’m often prompted to say things like “Hang in there! The pot of gold is around the bend!” There’s so much to overcome at this stage in your learning journey – I’d almost go so far as to say it’s one of the hardest points of your learning journey period.

Alfred Basic Adult Piano Course (all-in-one, Level 1) Alfred Basic Adult Piano Course (all-in-one, Level 1)

However, I tend to use the Piano Adventures adult series nowadays. I haven’t used it for as long, but I think it has a slight edge in that it’s more balanced in its pop/Classical approach, and it’s less hokey. One reality of books meant for beginners is that they tend to be kind of hokey. Learning “Mary Had a Little Lamb” is practically a rite of passage, but it can be a little dispiriting for the adult beginner who longs to play serious music. I’ve been asked about this method time and time again, since it’s one of the most popular method book series for adults. I can’t believe it’s taken me this long to do a video on it! I find this leanness to be an advantage, though. Students can usually complete this book without getting tired of it (unlike the first book). As with the first book, the level two book comes with corresponding books if you’d like to stay within the Alfred family but not be limited to the selections of the method book.

However, there are still plenty of easy wins and straightforward pieces, such as “You’re in My Heart”. Other popular series include the Piano Adventures for adults and the John Thompson piano course, both of which I plan to cover on this channel in the coming months. But once that natural motivation starts to fade, they hokeyness becomes a problem. At this point I like to introduce supplemental pieces (perhaps something from the RCM’s Preparatory books) – pieces that seem more professional, serious and fancy. In today’s video and blog post we’ll be talking all about Alfred’s Basic Adult Piano Course. We’ll go through the material this method book covers, talk about its pros and cons, and I’ll let you know if I recommend it for your piano learning journey.