Starting to Play (Classic Piano Course book 1)

Very user friendly, organised and well presented book for complete beginners like myself.

Although this is a very good book it was massively confusing to a beginner as the musical theory terminology is simplified (American) and didn’t match with UK music teaching terminology.I’ve only discovered this now and it’s too late to return it. The seller should carefully highlight this on the advert.

I started out self teaching from books and this was one of three books that I bought. This book does not go heavy on the theory and gets you straight in with understanding what the note lengths are and how to read the grand staff. It then starts you out playing within the range of fives fingers so you do not need to move your hands from their starting positions. This allows you to concentrate on learning the notes in the score and also the important task of keeping your eyes on the music notation and not on your hands. It then changes the starting position of your hands later on so you can learn to read from different places of the grand staff and then eventually works you into stretches and playing notes that require you to move your hands to different positions.Now, I have to be honest, when I began piano lessons, I had mastered a number of the pieces from this book but had not realised that I hadn't quite understood how the music was supposed to be played and was making minor timing mistakes that meant the music was not sounding as the composer had designated. The music teacher has helped me get these faults in order and now I am playing the pieces a lot better.I now play graded pieces for Grade 1 but here is the thing, the tunes in this book are really nice and even though I am playing more challenging pieces, I like to go back to this book and play through the music it offers. I haven't finished the book yet but I am still working my way through it to compliment my graded work. I would even say it is assisting my graded work as the later pieces are at about Grade 1 level.I agree with other reviewers that nothing beats having a piano teacher. I think that at the very least you should have a competent piano player listen to you playing the pieces from the book to ensure you are playing them correctly. However, as a book that keeps you motivated, I think it does a brilliant work. Carol did a really good job of choosing interesting pieces that are a pleasure to play and listen to.

Edit: watch out for some printing errors. There may be more but these are the ones I've clocked so farp37, the exercise has space notes, not line notes (copy of exercise on p38)p40, the information is only partially printed and is very misleading (see photo)I've started having piano lessons and my teacher recommended this book. It's great, very clear, good selection of tunes and some nice trivia. I previously played the violin in school so I had a bit of rusty music knowledge but this suits total beginners. Have a look on YouTube and you'll find quite a few people playing the tunes which I find really helpful to get an idea of how they should sound.I think I got a duff copy because there wasn't a dummy keyboard included as it says on the back. Otherwise I totally recommend it.

Clear layout, revision of basic musical terms and an interesting range of music that I actually want to play. It's many years since I had any piano lessons and whilst I've played a bit since, I wanted a book that would help develop technique. This doesn't disappoint. The pieces gradually progress in difficulty, show finger positions and include both simple arrangements of classical music and original compositions by Carol Barratt. As a tutor intended for adults, it manages to avoid many of the cliched pieces found in tutors for children and I'm really enjoying the original compositions. If you've had lessons before & can read music, this book is excellent revision. If you're a complete beginner, the pace is quite fast for a self-tutor but more manageable if you're learning with a teacher, and there are teacher accompaniments for each of the pieces on each page. Just one minor point, it's several years since the book was published and a CD or links to accompaniments online would be a really helpful addition to future editions.

I am another who's come back to the piano (it's an old keyboard now) after a gap of many decades. As a child I had started grade III but had forgotten so much. I tried before some 20 years ago, hence the old keyboard, but the music in the teach-yourself book was so banal I could take little interest in it. Even before you are halfway through this book 1 there are some lovely little pieces. I can't say I'm finding it all easy, but practice makes perfect. I've already bought books 2 and 3 and am looking forward to the challenge. Do wish I could locate my old exam pieces from the (gulp) late 50s, since I loved some of them even then. If only I had thought to tell my mother not to chuck them out... One thing I think would be helpful, particularly for any complete beginner learning without a teacher, would be a CD of the pieces, so at least you'd know what you're aspiring to.

This book was recommended by my piano teacher to guide the syllabus. I've been using it for a few weeks now and I think I am learning ok with it. I just never thought I'd be learning classic piano XD I would like for there to be more focus on playing piano as an accompaniment, but I guess if you don't know about reading sheet music, this book teaches you the basics first.

I got to around grade 4/5 a LONG time ago but have forgotten so much, so this is a useful guide to familiarise myself with the basics again. However - I am quickly speeding through the pages and there's not much in the way of adapted classic pieces as most of the book is dedicated to the very basic stuff for laying the foundation.I would say it's OK for true beginners but if you have some knowledge of music, maybe a stage up might be more suitable.