What is a good piano book to use for a beginner?

[k589]

I'm not a total beginner; I have been playing trombone for several years and am in several orchestras. I know where my notes are on the piano, etc... But I don't know what to practice. I just want a book out there that has a prescribed amount of exercises that will insure that I end up with a proficient playing level to play harder works like chopin and beethoven after a period of time. I have no life, and am willing to practice an hour every night.

Thanks for any help you guys can give me!

k589

[lojay]

I have no life, and am willing to practice an hour every night.

Now that's some dedication!

[k589]

Do I need to practice more than that do you think?

[lojay]

I was just being smug.  I mean if you claim to have no life, 1 hour a day is like nothing!

How much you should practice depends on many things:
-How determined are you?
-Can you tolerate more practice (I mean physically)?
-How much you want to improve?
-How many pieces you want to learn?

I mean I just listed a few things you can think about.  There are probably way more!

[gregh]

You could do worse than Alfred's Basic Adult Piano Course.

But you say you know where the notes are and want a book with a prescribed amount of exercises. So maybe that's not what you're looking for. What can you do with a piano now?

If you only mean that you know where middle C is and what the black keys are for, I'd say start on page one in volume one of a course like Alfred's and go through it at your own pace. You don't go from "Twinkle Twinkle" to Chopin in a day or two. But if you're already playing stuff, I'm too new to know if the piano world has something like Gordon's Systematic Approach to Daily Practice, or Purtle's guide to Arban ('cause you don't just go through Arban from beginning to end and call it career...).

[lojay]

You don't go from "Twinkle Twinkle" to Chopin in a day or two.

You absolutely do if you can play this version of twinkle twinkle.

[classicalnhiphop]

You should try Liszt paganini and transcendental etudes.  they're pretty good for beginners

[justanamateur]

Hi, I'm new here; this is my first post.

You should try Liszt paganini and transcendental etudes.  they're pretty good for beginners

Wow, either your definition of 'beginner' is really, really wide, or you're confusing the words 'beginner' and 'advanced'... 

@OP: Try Alfred, John Thompson (the fun one with lots of monsters is... fun!) and Bastien (I remember loving that when I was little!) Also, practise Czerny Op. 599 (either download from IMSLP or buy Schirmer's edition - those books with colourful covers and high-quality paper aren't worth it for the price...)