Customer Reviews

John Thompson's Modern Course for the Piano: First Grade Book

5 star:		(23)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I used this book as a student and still use it for teaching. Pieces are nice and students are challenged to think musically. It moves quicker than some other method books; it covers materials from elementary to early intermediate. Upon completion of the first grade book students can play standard repertoire in the early intermediate level. Students must have completed early elementary level before using this book because this book starts with playing two hands in C position. Emphasize phrasing from the first piece. Highly recommended.

I'm 13 years old and I finshed this book about 1 year ago. I thought it was a great start for people that are just learning to play the piano with both hands. I didn't start off with this book when I started lessons, instead I started with a book that taught you note values and note names and other basics.(Which are very important for learning piano.) Before you buy this book, try learning about piano fundementals.

This book doesn't make piano easy, but it makes it easier to understand and fun.

I'm now going onto the third grade book soon and I think that these books are great.

The John Thompson series is wonderful! It has been around for decades and it is easy to use either for self study or with a piano teacher. A lot of details are covered. Highly recommended!

As a piano instructor and music educator of over 40 years, I have actively used both this specific book as well as the "Teaching Little Fingers To Play" (primer level), both originally written by Canadian born John Thompson. The entire series of the "John Thompson Modern Course for the Piano" consists of one 'pre-level' book, "Teaching Little Fingers to Play" (which is also great for adults), as well as the First through Fifth grade books. The entire series was one of the first "how to" books for learning piano and is still published by Willis in Florence, KY. The John Thompson series is valuable, and I continue to enthusiastically use the series with my students. I do believe it should always be coupled with ancillary material in the form of chord learning (if you wish to study popular or Gospel music). If you wish to study serious or "classical" music, this book can be made more valuable when taught by a qualified instructor. I would certainly recommend this series over ANY of the Bastien materials. [...]

I purchased this book as well as "The Piano Handbook". I don't feel this book is technically "bad" (It's actually pretty decent on what is played), the book - and CD seem to try a little too hard to sell itself as being "fun" at the expense of information and accuracy.

To highlight the main problem I had with this book - the CD. I listened to the CD and the piano parts were not alone but also included bells, a metronome, and a few other sounds as well - outside just the piano. I purchased the book to learn the piano, by hearing the piano piece only being played so I could study it. What did I get? Sounded more like a small band playing the music to keep kids interested. Maybe the book is just aimed for kids more than adults.

Outside the lousy CD, the songs seem to drop the person into the middle-end of the pool right off the bat. How so? Playing with two hands at the same time. I'm pretty sure this is the beginning of the series, and if I'm wrong then I apologize, but I don't think I am.

The songs felt a little too difficult at first, with almost no instruction about how to properly play. This diminishes how well it'd work for learning on one's own.

Do I feel it's an OK buy? Quite honestly, yes I do under a few circumstances:
1. Buy another book too. Personally I got "The Piano Handbook" ([...]) which I find much more helpful for the beginning stuff.
2. Try to find a teacher - especially if #1 isn't met.
3. Be prepared to work through with little use of the CD to gauge your progress. I wish I could say more positive on the CD.

I'm a beginning piano player, only playing for a very short time. If you have some knowledge already, this book may be OK for you then.

My aunt used the Thompson books, I used the Thompson books, my grandmother [a piano teacher] used the Thompson books. I, a piano teacher, use Thompson books. WHY? They advance appropriately, one doesn't have to buy a zillion other books to go with them [and constantly be running to the music store to buy supplemental books---see Faber and Faber, for example; and Faber is a very good, modern series. But Costly Costly Costly to get all the parts.] Thompson has it all in one place. It doesn't have a ton of theory, though, and a wise teacher will supplement Thompson for that. Not only are the pieces interesting and challenging, they can be colored! Yes! We all know how many music students tend to be artistic, so you've got even happier students! I have to say, though, that if you're looking for something with a slower and [sorry to say] "dumbed down" approach, Thompson is NOT for you. It does work well for adults, but the Faber adult books are more specific to adult learners, and I prefer them for that student population. Long Live John Thompson Books!

When I was six, I wanted to play the piano just like my mom. I tried to take lessons but hated the weekly "recital" and slow slow pace of my teacher so my mother, being the saint she is, bought me John Thompson's Modern Course. I learned not only to play with confidence, but 23 years later I accompany choirs and am teaching my own son to play out of the same books I used as a child. These courses are the perfect first books for any self-motivated student, are easy to read and comprehend, and most importantly actually teach the hows and whys of playing. The songs are interesting and are progressively more challenging, not to mention that the arrangements are some of the best I've ever seen for beginners. I highly recommend the whole series to anyone who is trying to learn to play the piano. It has given me years of enjoyment and I now have a skill that no one can take away.

This book has gained its reputation through the years (since 1937). The method has been proven and the pages of the book have a genuine and attractive old fashion look.
The songs are progressively more interesting and pleasant, but the companion CD has unappealing arrangements with electronic sound which are in contrast with the book, instead of simply sticking to the piano score and the acoustic piano sound. For beginners, I think that a simple demo of how the tunes should be played is most valuable. Such are the CDs in the very well written, bound and printed The Piano Handbook (A Complete Guide for Mastering Piano, Book With CD) and also in an excellent edition of Czerny op. 599 (published by Nakas in Greece).

Also, in this book, beware of the cover; its printing is of bad quality and the red ink may leave marks to adjacent books, sheets or furniture.

So, three stars [***..] for the book with the CD, but I would give five [*****] for the contents of book, in the version without the CD (currently available from amazon for $ 6.95 but not appearing as a link to include here).

I knew a bit about notes, like where middle C is, and what an octave is.

Armed with this information, I started learning the piano with one weekly 1 hour personal class, and this book as the only study material.

This book is really nice because it "makes haste slowly" as the author says. The songs are all very interesting and teach something or the other. The progression is simple, and yet, I have learnt a lot already.

I have finished half the book in three months, practicing about an hour a day over several sessions.

I strongly recommend it for people who know a little bit, but can't play with both hands. It's great for self-study. The finger numberings make it really easy to play the songs.

I went to various piano teachers through the years and gave up on the piano each time. Just because a pianist can play does not mean that he or she can teach effectively.

Purly by chance, my final piano teacher taught me by the John Thompson books and now, I am a pianist myself.

This book is serious business. Parents should make sure that their kids are taught by the John Thompson book series.