John W. Schaum Piano Course Pre-A: The Green Book

I am teaching my daughter to play the piano and bought three different piano courses - the cats and dogs kodaly method, the Pauline hall ten little fingers book, and this John W. Schaum course. I found this to be the best - I have dipped into the Pauline hall book, but for me this has the most structured approach. It is very clear for children, with a diagram of the piano above the staff on each page to show where to play, and lively colourful illustrations that are appealing but not too childish. The tunes are interesting, with words to sing along with which helps the child to keep the rhythm. The best thing about the book is the methodical progression that it uses. Each lesson my daughter learned two or three new songs, with a small progression in skills each time that was manageable and enjoyable. By the end of the book she is reading music across two octaves; moving her hand position as she plays; playing and recognising crotchets, quavers, minims, semibreves and their related rests; playing tied notes; playing sharps and flats; using legato and staccato; playing the scale of g with separate hands; and beginning to play with hands together. I hope to teach my other children as they get older, and will definitely use this course. The only drawback that I have found is that it uses american terms, such as quarter note instead of crotchet. I didn't find this to be a problem, I just pointed out the British terminology as we went along.

Best book for those people who want to learn how to play piano. My little girl learning fast

Great for learning the piano.

I teach piano and use this book with quite a lot of my beginners unless they are very young (say 7 or under). It introduces notes and music for both hands from the start and the pieces, although very easy, are quite nice. The book progresses at good speed and is never boring. The layout is very clear and the only reason I have given 4 stars not 5 is because John Schaum is American so the notation is American. For example a crotchet is called a quarter note, a minim a half note etc. Otherwise it is my favourite beginner's book.

Good

Perfect for beginners. My daughter has been playing these pieces for a few months and she's really enjoying them. A refreshing change from the boring old beginners books that can put new players off for life! Piano teacher recommended it.

This is Book A of the John Schaum piano course, for beginners learning at grade 1 level, although it is worth noting that it is actually the second book in the series. The Green book, which precedes this one, is the "Pre-A" book for learners with no experience in piano playing. My nine-year old son has worked his way through these first two books and has found them to be a great introduction to piano. Unlike some courses that tend to progress too quickly, or never progress at all, these books seem to move along at a steady pace with subtle developments with each piece of music. We've been impressed at the overall progress in our son's ability throughout these books and will hopefully continue with the course.

Easy songs with gradually increasing level of difficulty. I like the way it allows to build up the knowledge and confidence, great for home practice.

Very nice book describes each function and methods with brief techniques to be performed.

Excellent cahier pour cours de piano. Partitions de qualité. Merci.

Libro genial para niños o profes en colegios para enseñar canciones en ingles y acompañar a los niños con piano. Se lo pasan miy bien. Schaum es excelente!

Kaliteli ve kullanışlı bir ürün

A mi me gusta este método y este libro para empezar a estudiar piano es muy bonito y entretenido. Las melodias son muy simples pero bonitas. Trabaja aspectos técnicos básicos... Están en inglés las letras de las canciones.