Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Adult Beginners Forum So I finished the Alfred book

So I finished the Alfred all in one books.

As well as the Michael Aaron book 1+2.

What now?

Had a teacher while going through the Alfred all in one book, but no longer have one. Any suggestions? go onto graded books?

I dont care for exams really.

Thanks

Classical? Pick some stuff that you like. There's the Schumann miniature pieces, the Mendelssohn Songs Without Words, the Grieg Lyric pieces, the Bartok Mikrokosmos, the easier Chopin Preludes and so on and so forth. Look at the ABF Recital Index to see what other people have been playing.

The graded books are good for getting started. I used one of the Keith Snell books for a while - and they come with CDs, which would help if you don't have a teacher.

Sam

Thanks.

I tried finding a new teacher, the problem is I phone or email them, they sound all enthusiastic yet then I never hear from them again.

I am using the Keith Snell - Essential Repertoire of the 17th, 18th, & 19th Centuries and really like the material

If you're looking at classical, the Suzuki Piano books have nice material. Book one might be too easy, but check out book 2 and up. Book 2, for example, has 14 pieces from composers such as Bach, Beethoven, Bartok, Mozart, and Schumann, among others.

What about the Masterwork Classics series from Alfred? You should be able to start at Level 5 or higher. I'm currently using this series (Level 5) to supplement the Alfred Adult book level 3. I find them more challenging

Not sure if the OP means he/she finished the Alfred's Book or Books. But since OP is asking what next, I assume he/she has finished all 3 Alfred's books, and therefore Suzuki book 2 might be too easy. It's still a good suggestion as Suzuki has 7 volumes, each with increased difficulty.

And Masterworks Classics also sounds like a good option too as they have study guides to go along with them, don't they?

True.. I would suggest looking them over, before picking one. They do get progressively harder rather quickly. I thought Book 2 had more challenging moments than I thought it would at first glance, and had some smaller pieces worth learning if they haven't been picked up already.

I finished Alfred 3 in July and I am also going through Masterworks Classics. However, I started at the beginning of the series, and I'm now halfway through Level 3. The books so far are technically below the level of Alfred 3 (eg.basic keys, no pedalling). But that doesn't mean they're easy! As some posters have said, they exercise the left hand far more than Alfred did and so give a different experience. For me (self-teaching) that's useful as I hope I'm building a more solid foundation.

PS: I looked at the study guides on Amazon and wasn't impressed.

Thanks for the suggestions. I suppose a trek down the music shop to have a look at the suggested titles is in order.