Piano Forum

You might want to check out bernhard's advice for beginner students. I don't really think method books have much value except for providing a "checklist" of things to learn. The actual teaching is accomplished by a teacher, or additional self-study. The actual technical advice given in method books is basically nonexistent in most cases (except for platitudes such as to sit straight, have your arm parallel to the keys, etc.). If you are using method books, get a teacher to teach you. If you are studying on your own, read about hand physiology, watch tutorials by Josh Wright, Graham Fitch etc. on youtube, read about proper hand positioning and watch how concert pianists play to try and get an accurate mental model of how to play. Brute force repetition will hurt more than it will help, so you need to constantly search for better methods to learn, and be aware of what you are doing at the keyboard. While this is necessary to an extent even with a teacher, it is doubly important to be honest with yourself in the absence of one if you want to get anywhere.