What is a good sheet music book to start with? (beginner)?

Question:I have been a guitarist for years now, but i own a keyboard for composing purposes. I can read sheet music, but slowly. And i happen to have some free time.

So i want to use this time to become able to read sheet music quickly and play it on the piano. What's a good book containing SIMPLE sheet music? I would just print things out but i don't have a printer. By the way i'm a HUGE fan of Nobuo Uematsu but i'm afraid his music will be a bit tough for a beginner.

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker: I have been a guitarist for years now, but i own a keyboard for composing purposes. I can read sheet music, but slowly. And i happen to have some free time.

So i want to use this time to become able to read sheet music quickly and play it on the piano. What's a good book containing SIMPLE sheet music? I would just print things out but i don't have a printer. By the way i'm a HUGE fan of Nobuo Uematsu but i'm afraid his music will be a bit tough for a beginner.

Based on your desire to learn to read music quickly, there's only one book to use. Forget the fancy music books that promises to teach you all sorts of improvements through untested methodology. Grab a copy of "Dannhauser Solfege de Solfeges" at amazon.com for seven bucks.

Before you start snoring, let me explain. This book does not have any lessons in it, in the traditional sense of the word. It's just filled with measures of scale and chord variations, and its designed to literally burn into your head every concievable combination of pitch transitions. Hard core classical music majors have relied on the "Solfeggio" (as it is fondly called), to practice their sightreading skills as well sightsinging skills. A very handy book to have, it takes you from really simple scales to the most complex.

It's admittedly a little boring (You won't find any Springsteen in it), but if you're serious in improving, there's simply no substitute for practice and this book.

Aside from Ryan's suggestion, consult your nearest and reputable music store about sheet music for the beginner on piano.