Alfred's Teach Your Child to Play Piano, Book 1: Piano Book & CD

This book trusts parents as capable instructors while removing the guesswork about what to teach and when. The Instructional Guides preceding each page answer the exact questions a non-musician parent asks: How do I introduce this? What should practice look like? The recordings let students hear success immediately, which matters enormously when motivation is fragile in those early weeks.

Approachable and patient. The method builds confidence by letting children produce real melodies within the first few lessons rather than drilling technique in isolation. Each page feels purposeful; nothing is busywork.

Parents and homeschooling families without formal music training who want to teach piano fundamentals without hiring a private instructor. The book works equally well for families who do have musical background and want a structured, proven curriculum to follow.

• Start by listening to the CD recording together before your child opens the book. Hearing the target sound removes anxiety about whether they're doing it right.
• Break each Instructional Guide page into multiple short sessions rather than one long practice block. Three five-minute sessions teach more than one fifteen-minute sit-down.
• Use the follow-up practice suggestions as a checklist, not a script. If your child masters a concept in two repetitions, move ahead.
• Sit beside your child at the piano during early lessons so you can monitor hand position and finger placement, even if you don't play yourself.

Homeschool music curricula benefit from this book's integration into a full piano year. The 96 pages can unfold across two school years at a comfortable pace, allowing time for consolidation and review between units. For independent learners, this works as a standalone self-teaching text with parental support.

• Reading treble clef notation in the middle C position
• Playing white keys with correct finger numbering and hand position
• Understanding whole notes, half notes, quarter notes, and rests
• Simple rhythm reading in 4/4 time
• Recognizing and playing basic interval patterns
• Transferring written notes to the keyboard without visual searching
• Sustaining focus and building practice independence