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Question: Good piano dvds or books!?
i want to learn how to play piano and i was wondering if anyone knows of any GOOD dvds or books on how to teach yourself!? i'd take formal lessons but i cant find any time!. thanks!Www@QuestionHome@Com


Best Answer - Chosen by Asker:
I took piano lessons in High School, was really, really interested in keeping up with it, bought a piano when I was about 20 years old!. I had some pretty good piano books!.

Then I put it off for the next 20 years!.

It's only when my kids started doing piano lessons with a teacher that I decided I needed to get a teacher myself!. In the last couple of years I've finally made a lot of progress!.

You can do it by yourself, but honestly, it takes a HUGE amount of discipline that you probably won't have if you "can't find any time" to see a teacher for half-an-hour a week!. also, don't underestimate how important it is for an expert to watch what you're doing and how you're doing it!. There are a lot of subtle problems that my teacher saw that I wouldn't have seen!.

The last thing you need to remember is that learning piano is not something that's measured in weeks or months, it's measured in years!. If you want to learn, it takes practicing *every* day and you're going to be playing simple stuff for quite a while!. My teacher says the biggest thing he has to overcome is people walking in and expecting to play Carnegie Hall in a couple of months!. It's extremely rewarding, but it's a long-term investment!. Piano is a marathon, not a sprint!.

All that said, GO FOR IT! It's very, very rewarding!. I pay $28 a week for my half-hour lesson!. It's not a huge investment of money, but it will give you the discipline to practice, because you won't want to have to face the teacher without having practiced at all!. :)

To answer your question, walk into your local music store and poke through the music books!. Find one that seems to have interesting songs!. It doesn't really matter which book, they're all pretty good!. You might look at Accelerated Piano Adventures for the Older Beginner!. You'll find that all the adult-oriented books have "accelerated" in the title, because the adults are so notoriously impatient to be able to play fluently!. :D

Oh, and one last thing!.!.!. I recommend getting a real piano, not an electronic keyboard!. A real piano has a much different feel and will exercise the muscles in your fingers much better!. Piano rentals are surprisingly affordable!. Find your local piano rental place and check it out!. You don't need a perfect piano when starting out!.Www@QuestionHome@Com