Alfreds Basic Adult All In One Course 1: Lesson * Theory * Technic, Comb Bound Book : Palmer, Willard A by Willard A Palmer

Alfreds Basic Adult All In One Course 1: Lesson * Theory * Technic, Comb Bound Book : Palmer, Willard A Reviews

• 
  Taya

  The main issue I have with it is that it doesn't even mention that the UK and the US use totally different musical terms and the British terms are not given in this book, whereas every British book I have at least mentions the difference so beginners are aware of it. Consequently, a lot of very happy British beginners have given 5 star reviews, apparently with no idea that they have learned entirely incorrect terminology. Whereas we in Britain use 'crotchet' and 'minim' etc., this book refers only to 'quarter note' and 'half note'. More annoyingly still, a note the kind you play as opposed to the written kind is referred to as a 'tone'. In the UK, a 'tone' is a distance between 2 notes. So the pattern for all major scales is Tone Tone Semitone Tone Tone Tone Semitone. A semitone is half a tone. This will be very confusing later on if you have learned to refer to individual notes as tones. The Americans call a tone a 'step' and a semitone a 'half step'.If you are using other repertoire or teaching material for beginners, this book won't be compatible with most of them as a lot of methods teach starting with both thumbs on middle C and the fingers moving outwards from there. This book starts with the right thumb on middle C. But the left hand starts on the C below, with the little finger on C below middle C. This means a lot of the fingering you have learned for early tunes in other books won't apply here.I got this book as a adult supplement to my main beginner's method, which is aimed at children, with the aim of expanding my repertoire. In this respect, it'll be fine. It starts at the beginning with each hand and teaches you how to read notes from scratch too. There's a sizeable amount of theory included and a good range of pieces, as well as some decent material on chords. The spiral bound edition lays nice and flat but does not include the CD, not that you really need it. If you want to hear the pieces, most of them are on YouTube now.
• 
  Brandi

  If your wanting to teach yourself piano/keyboard at home this book is excellent, I bought a piano as I wanted to start a new hobbie and also wanted a productive distraction from my bad anxiety, I bought this book as I was struggling with leaving the house at the time so wasn’t keen on going for lessons, it’s so easy to use and learn, easy to read and understand and you really do learn so much! I’m only halfway through the book and can already read most sheet music , understand all the different symbols and their meanings and can play with two hands easily , definitely recommend
• 
  Joe Snow

  This is a review of the version ISBN 0 88284 816 6. I've made that clear because there are different versions about, with or without a CD and with different numbers of pages.This version does not have a CD (not needed in my opinion) and is 159 pages long.Before starting this book, I'd played guitar using tab, but could not play piano or read sheet music. I'm now up to page 117, so feel that I can review this through my own experience.With some determination, I have learned entirely from reading this book and have not taken any piano lessons. This book has given me all I needed in terms of knowledge and confidence.The plastic comb spine is great as the pages spread easily. The lessons are designed for adults to learn without a tutor. It's worked for me so far.The only downside is that a lot of the songs are cheesy (eg: Kum Ba Yah, Michael Row The Boat Ashore). However, they are OK because each song has something in it a new challenge that made me forget the cheesiness and focus on trying to play it properly.Helpful Hints:1. Make sure you fully understand every bit before moving on to the next page. Take your time.2. Learning takes effort. It's about the journey, rather than getting to any finish line. It's not a race!3. Make the effort to figure out how to play pieces where you don't know the tune, without help from external sources, because this really embeds the knowledge. It has done with me anyway! Then hear how it should be done by going to YouTube (see point 4), and you'll be so proud that you figured it out for yourself.4. There is a man who has made a lesson on YouTube for every tune in this version of the book. Although he seems rather weary at times, I've grown to love what he has done. If you really get stuck, seek him out.5. You don't need a CD because of point 4 above :)In conclusion:I definitely recommend this book. Hope my review helps your buying decision!
• 
  Loz

  I bought a few beginners books to try when I started to learn to play and this book by far is the best iv used. It's really easy to understand and the little exercises you get in it are brilliant for getting things to stick in your head especially when learning to read music, it also advances quickly enough so that you don't get bored. In a week iv gone from playing oh when the saints with 1 finger to playing with both hands using 3 finger chords. Definitely recommend.
• 
  Anealed

  This is a very good tutorial for teenage or adult students the writing style is engaging and there is an effort to teach some theory and familiarise the students with the various intervals, as well as just getting them playing a few simple songs.Of course it is better to get an actual teacher, but if you don't have the financial resources to pay for one or cannot fit lessons into your schedule then this book makes a reasonable substitute in my opinion.