Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Adult Beginners Forum Alfred's Basic and ALL in One Adult Piano Course Book #1

Thanks - and sorry - things aren't as clear when you type them, as they were in your head. Yes, the first 3 are level 1, 2 & 3 of the same 'series'. I was wondering what the difference was between that series (as a group) - and the 'Self-Teaching' version.

Thanks Tech-key too.

I think I've worked out most of it. It seems the 'Self-Teach' book or set is the same as ONLY book 1 of the 'All-in-One' series. However it has additional introductions/explanations the 'All-in-One' book 1 doesn't have. (No-one really explains what those are - if they're important.) So someone buying them new should either get all 3x 'All-in-One' books, or, get the yellow 'Self-Teaching' book or set, and when they've completed that, get book 2 & 3 of the 'All-in-One' series.

I have the 3x 'All-in-One' books. But I was wondering if it was worth getting the yellow 'Self-Teach' just for the 'extra info' and DVD. I'll go look in those links and see if the DVD contents are mentioned - thanks. :-)

I don’t know how this compares to the DVD, but I use this YouTube tutorial series. This person explains in detail each lesson piece in Alfred’s All-In-One Level 1.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e4gizue_ULg&list=PL8hZtgRyL9WRWJLlIUPl-ydiDc8CZ_SJK

Thanks. Sorry I'm a complete beginner, so I'm probably going to use the wrong terms - but I'm thinking, because the DVD comes with a 'learn to play' course, surely it must be instruction on technique/method: how to play the song, construct chords (which fingers to place where), etc. So forgive my ignorance, but do those youtube videos you linked to cover most everything you think they should, to play each song 'to it's fullest'? i.e. When viewing them, do you feel a bit lost, like it's lacking information, but you're not sure what?

Just a quick comment although I'm not doing the course. There are many unspoken "rules" or "best practices" in playing. A professional classical pianist playing these simple pieces would still play them much better / more beautifully than a beginner since they would intuitively know the rules and practices and they would apply certain techniques that beginners would not learn until much later. But such advanced pianists don't think of all of these various rules in their mind at the same time. These are built progressively over time as you learn piano, and the lower levels become intuitive and automatic before additional layers are added. Piano teacher, Gary D. discusses these progressive "layers" in this post here.

As a result, it is probably best that when one starts piano, one doesn't know all the rules, even if all could be written down. A beginner would be overwhelmed and not know what to focus on - which are more important than others.

The pieces you learn in these method books are not intended to be long-term repertoire but, only to be teaching pieces. If you are missing some rules and consequently can't play the piece as well as a Dr. Alan Huckleberry of UIPianoPed, for example, that is totally OK. Over time, you will master the simple things at layer 1, and gradually add additional techniques as you learn them, layer after layer, until one day you could give Dr. Huckleberry a run for the money.

Yes, those videos are pretty detailed about how to play, scales, chords, fingerings, etc. However, these don't touch much on technique building. You'll have to find extra resources for that. But you can cross that barrier a few weeks later, after you get the hang of the basics. I do have a teacher, but we cover only a few lesson pieces from Alfred’s. I work on most of them on my own. And I’ve never really faced any serious problems. When I face an issue in a particular piece, I usually post my questions in this thread. I have always got good and handy solutions here.

You have the books already. So you can try a couple of lessons in the beginning to test the waters. I want to re-iterate that I’ve no idea about how good the DVDs are. I hope someone can review those for you!

Hi guys, joining the club here, starting piano at 34. Bit of an atypical intro to piano I guess, but I took an interest in making music recently using samplers and drum machines and whatnot, sampling old records, playing with random sounds etc which has been great fun, but having literally no music background or knowledge I quickly realised that without knowing about basic music theory I'm kinda stuck, or at least it'd take me 10x as long to create anything that sounds barely ok.. I kinda want to really understand what I'm doing, chords, melody, progressions, beats, keys.. all of it really, so that when I (try to) make music it's less about playing around until something sounds ok but not knowing why, and more about planning and understanding what I'm trying to make.

So after a few weeks of playing around I bought a midi keyboard and was using that to learn basic chords and stuff, but quickly fell kinda in love with it all and decided I'd like to learn properly and learn piano, so I picked up a Yamaha P-125 and have been basically focusing only on piano for a few months, the whole music making thing has taken a back seat while I try to learn the basics first. That said, I've wasted a few months just copying Youtube vids and not really getting anywhere so I started lessons about a month ago and my teacher gave me this book to follow which has been tough but enjoyable so far.

Sight reading is both crazy difficult but oddly enjoyable, sometimes it feels like I'm making no progress at all but I look back to a few weeks ago when I didn't know what any notes were and take comfort in that at least, but yeah.. it's tough! I'm still slow at knowing what note it is each time aside from a few I kinda instantly know now, I think intervals are much easier to do it by, but it's all improving slowly bit by bit.

In the book, I'm slowly working my way through it, some songs I find are surprisingly difficult, for example Jingle Bells, that was my first song that really had me like.. damn. Not sure why, but I think using weak fingers for the left hand chords, C/G and D/G(?), it all feels so unnatural, but if I take it super slow it's not so bad. I've found myself skipping forward anytime I feel like I'm doing a song more by memory than reading, which I'm not sure is a good idea or not, but the challenge of reading and trying new parts I think is keeping me on point. Every day I go back and basically play from the first songs to the current position and on the current song keep at it.

One issue I have, not really related to the book but my teacher, is that I'm British living in Asia but don't speak the local language well, and my teacher's English isn't great, so it's a bit tough to sort of really go into depth about learning, but it's the only option I have really. The teachers and school itself is highly rated, so they definitely know what they're doing, often having highest ABRSM(?) scores in the country, it's just the language issue. I guess a kick up the backside to keep learning the language as well as piano!

I was wondering about how I could supplement the book with maybe scales and chords practice and try to learn the theory behind everything - is it too early? That's kinda the aim of everything as I mentioned and the main reason why I'm learning piano, but I don't really know the best way to go about learning that structure wise - just keep going slowly through this book and pick it up along the way?

Any advice would be great. Thanks!

Welcome PeegZoo! That is an interesting start you have had, and you are young enough to go as far as you want with all the years ahead of you. I am 10 months in (started at 59), nearing the end of book 1 in a couple months. I'll give what i think are the most important things to learn in your first year.

1) Learn to count out loud while you play - do it a lot because this is the key to having good rhythm. Try using the metronome at some point, but rely on counting yourself, I hear it becomes ingrained at some point.

2) Become attuned to recognizing tension in your hands/forearms/shoulders. You want all fingertips to be lightly resting on the keys until they are called into action - and when 1 finger moves, all the others should stay put. Solving this problem is an interesting journey....

3) Learn how to practice efficiently. When just starting, like you already recognized, going slow is a major element of practicing efficiently. There's a lot more to it, but for now get used to playing slow and gradually ramping up as your brain and hands learn it. Your brain processes your practice session while you sleep.

Jingle Bells is tough because it is the first song where you play both hands at the same time. You will find there are a handful of pieces in book 1 that all students struggle with because there is a new technique that is noticeable harder than the gradual learning generally going on. As for supplements to the method book, I eventually chose Alfred's Greatest Hits, Level 1. Scales will be introduced in book 1 - mostly the 2nd half of the book. For where you are right now, I think focus on the method book, do the counting out loud, and get your groove fixed on regular practice. And there is tons of info here on PW on topics you will be interested as you go along. Good Luck - It takes a long time to learn piano so you want to enjoy the process of learning!

If your music school gets the highest ABRSM scores in the country, then your teacher is accustomed to using the ABRSM curriculum. In addition to learning repertoire, ABRSM will also have a sight-reading component, ear training, scales, etudes, theory, etc. needed for the grade exams. You might just ask your teacher to introduce some of those components to you instead of setting out on something independently. In fact, if you inquire, you might find your teacher was already planning to start those with you later. It would not surprise me if typically some of these things such as scales are added only after the absolute beginner has gotten a foothold on the piano (perhaps via this method book or others like it).

Welcome PeegZoo! You have got wonderful practice tips! Wanted to address one little part of your post though..


I don’t think it’s too early to start learning about the theory behind everything, as long as you set realistic expectations on what can be directly translated to actual playing skills right now. Alfred introduces basic theory gradually, usually followed by a few pieces which strengthen that lesson. But if you are interested in theory by itself, you’d have to heavily supplement it. I mostly watch YouTube videos on music theory, but I’ve not been structured about it. I’ve found those immensely helpful though, and the repetition due to the randomness has actually helped solidify some concepts. Something like this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ICDPWP6HUbk I’m pretty sure I got this link from somewhere in this forum, though I don’t remember where :P

To take care of the structured aspect, I've got myself a theory book recently after reading this post by Tyrone. Hope you have fun learning the piano, theory, and everything in between! Keep us posted

Thanks guys, super helpful.



This I've just started doing, I have been trying with the metronome but soon felt like throwing the piano out the window, it's so distracting, counting is a bit less annoying and off-putting and I guess may even be more beneficial in the long run to internalise it?



You could be right, it is super early I guess, maybe I'm just impatient to really get into the whole theory stuff, scales etc. I guess it wouldn't hurt me to just go along with the book and school and maybe just practice scales around the circle of 5ths on the side very slowly or something on the theory side to keep myself getting too bored by the whole technique and sight reading parts, but I'll ask her and see what the plan is or if there can be a specific focus on that side of things some lessons.



Awesome, thank you! I'll give these a look. Interesting about jazz as that's what I wish to be able to play in a few years (or decades ha), in general the music I want to make outside/including piano would be influenced by jazz a fair bit I guess. I figure jumping straight into jazz piano wouldn't be the best idea(?) without getting the basics down and understanding the underlying concepts hence currently starting from scratch with traditional piano stuff, but am I right in thinking theory plays a much more important role in jazz than classical and traditional stuff?

Well, whether or not you are going to be taking ABRSM exams, something you might want to do to find out what "grade-appropriate" "other stuff" you should be learning is to take a look at the ABRSM piano syllabus, use it to determine your very approximate level (that is, if it isn't 'Grade 1'), and then see the other grade-level skills associated with that Grade Level in both that piano syllabus and also the ABRSM music theory syllabus.

Just as an example, if you check this syllabus, you'll find that by completion of Grade 1, you should be able to do two-octave C, G, D, F major scales with each of left and right hand separately (p. 15) while at a tempo of 60 BPM (p. 11). Checking the theory syllabus, you'll note for example, that similarly, by the completion of Grade 1, you should, "understand the construction of the major scale, including the position of the tones and semitones. Scales and key signatures of the major keys of C, G, D and F in both clefs, with their tonic triads (root position), degrees (number only), and intervals above the tonic (by number only)." (p. 2)

Knowing approximately what you should know at your level should give you a basis for discussing with your teacher the process of actually learning what you should know.

Thanks, that's helpful, it actually gives me a structure and targets, things to focus on. I imagine she's gonna introduce all these slowly but I'll bring it up next lesson also just to confirm that we'll be following the same sorta path.

Yes, I don’t think it would be a good idea to jump straight into jazz piano. It’s better to get a hang of general note reading, rhythm, and hand independence first. The Alfred All-In-One book introduces its first blues piece around page 100. I’d suggest hold off till you get to this point, unless your teacher introduces it first! I get where you are coming from, because I tend to be very impatient as well But you know what, you can practice chord progressions on the side. I used to do that quite a bit, when I started. Regarding whether theory is more important in jazz and classical, I think the fundamentals would be important for both. From what I’ve seen there is a whole bunch of different theory related to chords and what not, in case of jazz. I’m also pretty ignorant on all this TBH :P

You are correct it is most beneficial to internalize it. However, using a metronome is another skill in your arsenal that can be helpful down the line. It will also give you an intuitive feeling about how fast 60 BPM is vs. 80 BPM which is important because as you go along songs are played at different speeds. Also, several people in the 2-5 years experience level use the metronome a lot because they feel it is very effective for them. So you might expose yourself early on just to get a sense of it....and to prove to yourself that you can train your brain

Thanks guys, helpful advice.

Another question, is it normal for your fourth/ring finger to sit on top of your pinky sometimes? For instance I'm at the pages 68-70 where it's going from G-C by moving fingers 3 and 5 right - in C position my finger is a little off but by the time I move across it's basically on the E as well.

Like this :



Also, as you can probably see my fingers are not exactly thin and slender, so I'm always hitting other keys when using the same fingers for the D7 in key of Gmaj, as my thumb has to go up for the F# my ring finger has to go up the left side of the C# to hit C but I'm always either hitting C# and stumbling or end up using the middle finger naturally - does this come with time and practice or is there something in particular I should be working on? I do the strength exercises in the book like holding all 5 keys and then raising each finger only for a few notes etc. but was wondering if this is a normal experience for everyone learning?

I find that playing scales is a good way to encourage using the correct finger for each key. I start each practice session with 5 minutes of scales - it's a great way to "warm up" and get the fingers moving.

Thanks I'll start doing that yeah, maybe add the written scales too for memory. I have a little music book with empty staffs on that I can write in so I'll just try and write the scales out daily over and over going around the circle of 5ths as well as playing them, hopefully some of it will stick in my brain. I have a memory like sieve nowadays but I think with consistency it'll happen.

Are you proposing to write for yourself the accidentals on harmonic and melodic minor key scales? Because in the case of major keys and natural minor keys, I've read that writing accidentals which are already in the key signature are not a good idea as doing that is a crutch.

Instead, you should just remember the flats & sharps. This should not be difficult to do for both major keys, which go by circle of fifth order, and natural minor keys, which simply start 3 half-steps lower than the major key it is relative to (and therefore shares the same flats & sharps with).

Not too sure what you mean there

My plan is to go around the circle and just write out each scale as I go around, major scales only for now. I think with minor they are relative and you can work them out with a formula based on the majors? So I aim to just get the major scales down over the next few months or however long it takes, then from there translate it to minor. Just basically writing out the key signature and then notes of each scale. Do you mean it's better not to write out all the notes on the staff and just write out the flats/sharps for each scale?

Not entirely sure of the best method to learn and memorise scales but I was watching a YouTube video linked a few posts back and the guy teaching the music theory class recommend ed it as a way to stick them in your brain, just writing them out whenever you have the chance.

So take the E Major scale. The key signature for E Major has sharps for F, C, G, and D, in circle of 5th order. Sure you can write on a staff the notes of the scale starting from E, but if you are proposing writing in the F#, C#, G#, and D# on those notes, that would be a crutch and not a good idea. Those sharps are already in the key signature.

On the other hand, if you were writing out the C# melodic minor has some accidentals in addition to the F, C, G, and D in the key signature. There, the ascending A# and B# should be written in.

That's all that I meant.

EDIT: On second thought, I guess writing in the flats & sharps, even if they are already in the key signature, onto the staff in front of each note might not be a terrible idea during the learning process of learning/memorizing those for scales and keys. I guess I am mainly reacting to those who write in all the flats & sharps on the score of repertoire they are learning. That is a crutch.