Alfred's Teach Yourself to Play Piano: Keyboard/Piano Book, DVD & Online Video/Audio/Software

This method combines written instruction with embedded multimedia in a way that honors how adults and older students actually learn best. The parallel track of book, DVD, and online resources means learners can choose their entry point without feeling lost, and the breadth of musical styles keeps motivation high across the weeks of foundational study.

Encouraging and accessible. You move quickly from theory to playable music, so the satisfaction of making real sound builds early and often. The range of styles means you're never locked into one aesthetic; you might play a blues progression one day and a hymn arrangement the next.

Self-directed adult beginners and teenagers who learn best with visual and audio support alongside written instruction. Anyone returning to piano after years away will find the systematic progression respectful of their time and musical maturity.

• Work through the online video demonstrations before tackling each new concept in the book. Seeing hand position and finger placement modeled removes guesswork and builds confidence faster than reading about it.
• Use the play-along audio tracks to maintain steady tempo as you practice passages. This prevents the common beginner habit of rushing through familiar sections and dragging on harder ones.
• Return to earlier songs once you've progressed further. Revisiting pieces with new skills applied (better voicing, varied dynamics, different tempos) deepens understanding and keeps the repertoire alive.
• Practice the fingering patterns without sound first. Silent drilling trains muscle memory and finger independence before adding the cognitive load of listening and correcting.

This works well as a standalone curriculum for private piano students who need independent structure and multimedia support. It also serves as a reference text for adult community education classes where learners come with varying schedules and need to work at their own pace.

• Reading treble clef and understanding the keyboard layout
• Proper hand position, posture, and fingering technique
• Playing major and minor scales and basic chord progressions
• Sight-reading single-line melodies and simple multi-part arrangements
• Understanding rhythm notation including rests, time signatures, and note values
• Interpreting musical expression marks and dynamics
• Playing across multiple musical styles and genres