9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Good selection; not hard, September 25, 2008
This review is from: Alfred's Basic Adult Course, Christmas Piano Book 1 (Alfred's Basic Adult Piano Course) (Paperback)
Great selection of music, and not hard! I bought it particularly for "Oh Come All Ye Faithful", which is my favorite tune ever. I've also learned "We Wish You a Merry Christmas", and now am trying "Silent Night".
It is really motivating me to practice piano more now that I have music I like. I stopped on page 57 of "Alfred's Basic Adult Piano Course, Level One", because I listened to the songs ahead of me and didn't like any... Now I'll probably keep going with this book of Christmas songs.
Note that it does not have a CD, but I think the tunes are familiar enough that you'll be able to tell if you play something wrong.
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Supplemental book to Alfred's Piano Course Level One, June 13, 2010
This review is from: Alfred's Basic Adult Course, Christmas Piano Book 1 (Alfred's Basic Adult Piano Course) (Paperback)
This Christmas song book is an "add on" to the Alfred's Adult Piano Courses.
General info on the Alfred's courses:
Although this series of books won't replace a talented teacher, if you have a hankering to finally be able to play that piano (or keyboard) that's been hanging around your house forever, this series will do the trick. You won't wind up playing something that threatens the position of the great piano maestros of our day, but you'll be able to pick up chords and a melody and make a song sound like you wish it to.
This series relies on baby steps to teach you a key, or a technique, or a set of chords. You play some simple exercises, then a song or two that emphasizes what you've just learned in the exercises. From time to time you reach a level where you are ready to take on a small song book. This is one of those books.
I recommend that you get this song book along with the others and play thru them each time you reach one of those levels.
If you really want to learn to play the piano, make sure you can allot at least a half hour a day to practice, and an hour is better. At that rate in a very few weeks time you'll be able to impress family and friends, and maybe play the music for singing carols at a Christmas get together. :-)
This book:
The supplemental book is recommended by the Alfred's course just after you have learned the C, G7, and F chords, on page 29 of the Adult Course, Level One. It contains 16 songs for additional practice at that level of play:
Angels We Have Heard on High, The First Noel, God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen, Go Tell it on the Mountain, Here We Come A-Caroling, It Came Upon the Midnight Clear, Jingle Bells, Jolly Old Saint Nicholas, O Christmas Tree, O Come All Ye Faithful, Pat-a-Pan, Silent Night, Still Still Still, Up on the Housetop, We Three Kings, and We Wish You a Merry Christmas.
You can see that there is a solid offering of well know classics. Some may not sound exactly right to your ear, because they are arranged for the key of C, to keep things simple. That's OK at this level of play. You get some variety in your practice, and get to play some songs you are familiar with.
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Very easy, maybe too easy but still worth buying, December 14, 2009
This review is from: Alfred's Basic Adult Course, Christmas Piano Book 1 (Alfred's Basic Adult Piano Course) (Paperback)
I was about 1/3 of the way through Alfred's Basic Adult Piano Course Level One book when I purchased this book to have some Christmas songs I could play for this current season. I was somewhat disappointed in the book because I found a lot of the songs to be too easy, using the Middle C position and only one note at a time. I admit I wanted to impress my friends and family at a Christmas party by playing songs with some chords and using both hands at the same time. There are songs in the book that are a little more challenging so I think the book is definitely still worth buying.
I really like the fact that if the Alfred Course book says you are ready to play it, you are. I have looked at the other courses and I think Alfreds is the best and easiest to follow. Also, if you are an adult, you need to buy the adult books because Alfreds knows what songs you will want to play and they put them in there. This is something as a beginning adult student I didn't know, so I foolishly bought some regular piano course books not knowing they were structured for children. Make sure it says adult on it. Take it from me, you don't want to be playing the songs that are in the kid's books.
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