Introduction
This page collects resources for beginner piano for all ages. Browse the next box to check out selected materials for beginning piano broken up by audience (children and adult resources) - this is just a sampling of the resources available to you at MPAL! To browse the shelves and do some searching on your own, be sure to consult the call number recommendations and suggested search terms provided in the Tips for Exploring the Collection box at the bottom of the page.
For more information on how to locate materials in the library and how to narrow your search for specific types of materials, please see our guide dedicated to Finding Music Materials (linked below).
- Finding Music MaterialsA guide to searching for and distinguishing between different musical formats using the library catalog.
Suggested Beginner Resources
My First Piano Adventure by Call Number: MT746 .F33M9 2006Written for ages 5 and 6, My First Piano Adventure captures the child's playful spirit. Fun-filled songs, rhythm games and technique activities develop beginning keyboard skills.
Bastien Piano Basics Primer by Call Number: MT746 .B27P4 1985As part of a comprehensive series for piano study, this work is designed to be used with the other two core books Theory, and Performance. "All three are coordinated page-by-page to provide thorough reinforcement of basic concepts at each level."
Piano Lessons by Call Number: MT755 K74P5v.1From the very first lessons in Book 1, students are making music as they explore the piano keyboard through fun improvisation pieces called My Own Song . The beginning of the book introduces finger numbers, the black-key and white-key groups, and basic rhythm patterns. Directional reading is taught first by finger number, then by note name, and then by interval (stop, skip, and repeat). Once the students are introduced to the staff, they learn reading guides Bass F and Treble G and read by interval in several different hand positions.
Piano Student by Call Number: MT746G56 P5A concise, step-by-step approach to the study of the piano in either private or class lessons. The materials are fresh and new and presented to insure steady progress toward a musical goal. Supplementary materials should be used to balance the study material. Additional piano studies will promote good music reading.
Adult Piano Adventures by Call Number: MT222 .F22 2001(Faber Piano Adventures ). Adult Piano Adventures enables the adult beginner to play music for pleasure while developing musical understanding. This comprehensive "All-In-One" book includes lessons, technique, and theory in a single volume for ease of use. Book 1 presents the fundamentals of music notation, chord playing, and musical form. The redesigned layout improves information hierarchy, putting focus on key concepts and step-by-step learning. Online support is now included, with over two hours of instructional videos and audio accompaniment tracks that inspire rhythmic vitality and artistic expression. Songs include: Amazing Grace * The Can-Can * Catch a Falling Star * Danny Boy * Eine Kleine Nachtmusik * The Entertainer * Greensleeves * The Lion Sleeps Tonight * and more! View Helpful Introductory Videos Here
Keyboard Musicianship: Piano for Adults by Call Number: MT222 L95K4v.1 1998Keyboard Musicianship Book One emphasizes skills in sight reading, harmonization of folk and popular tunes, simple score reading, playing simple accompaniments, understanding keyboard harmony, and realizing chord symbols in lead sheets. Playing solos and ensemble music with the proper technique rounds out piano study.- Piano for Adults: A Complete Course for the Older Beginner, Chord and Interval Approach by Call Number: MT225N48 P53This book is designed for the older beginner at the piano, without reference to age limits. It is intended to fill the need of the student who has never had lessons or the student who had lessons in childhood and now needs a 'refresher' course. This method is equally suitable for individual or class instruction. The following important fundamentals are covered in this book: Directional note reading, intervals, chords and triads, scales (major and minor), keys and key signatures, finger technique and more. Teaching points are presented through appropriately graded piano compositions by the author, as well as through suitable arrangements from the works of the great masters (Beethoven, Brahms, Mozart, Chopin, Tchaikovsky).
Keyboard Musicianship: Piano for Adults, Book One by Call Number: MT222 .L95K4v.1 2019Keyboard Musicianship Book One emphasizes skills in sight reading, harmonization of folk and popular tunes, simple score reading, playing simple accompaniments, understanding keyboard harmony, and realizing chord symbols in lead sheets. Playing solos and ensemble music with the proper technique rounds out piano study.- Beginning Piano for Adults by Call Number: MT222B37 B4Material is divided into four sections: Pre-Reading; Reading; Functional Piano; and Piano Literature, Technique and Style. Carefully slected exercises ensure gradual, thorough reading progress in all keys.
Tips for Exploring the Collection
Browsing the shelves for materials related to your topic can be a great way to identify items that may be useful to you! If you find one or two items in the catalog that seem promising, look on the shelves at the items surrounding them.
If you want to read more about call numbers and how to decipher them, check our guide to Classification Systems. If you're not sure where to go in the Library to browse one of these call number ranges, please ask us at the service desk and we'll be happy to point you in the right direction or walk you to the shelves!
For search suggestions to browse the catalog, check out the next tab of this box!
Suggested Call Numbers
- Piano – Instruction and Study: MT220 - MT255
- Piano – Instruction and Study – Juvenile: MT745 - MT758
- Piano – Methods: MT222
- Piano – Methods – Juvenile: MT746
- Piano – Fingering: MT232
- Piano – Pedaling: MT227
- Piano – Studies and Exercises: MT225 - MT240
- Piano – Studies and Exercises – Juvenile: MT755
- Piano Music (One Hand): MT226
Search by Subject
Each item in the library catalog is assigned one or more subject headings to tell you what it is about. By using a subject search, you can use a prescribed set of terms for library materials known as a controlled vocabulary in the form of subject headings in order to increase the precision of your search. By doing so, you can reduce the number of results that are potentially irrelevant to your search and find more materials that fit your needs.
To search by subject in the catalog:
- Open the library catalog and click on "Advanced Search" to the right of the search bar
- Underneath "Search filters", you'll see that the default is set to "Any Field"
- Click on the arrow next to "Any Field" and select "Subject" from the drop-down menu
- Try a search with one of the subject headings recommended below
- Once you've found a relevant book in the catalog, you can also use the subjects listed in the record to find additional related materials