Simple Steps to Playing the Piano [Spiral-bound]

Reid Nibley (Author), Richard P. Anderson (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 4, 1999 | ISBN-10: 1577660528 | ISBN-13: 978-1577660521 0

Versatile. Easy-to-use. Comprehensive. This highly successful, classroom-tested program for beginning piano students is designed for the college music major and the general adult beginner. It develops reading, harmonizing and coordination abilities at a rapid pace. The text contains sufficient theory, but this is not the focus. Rather, the amount of information has been refined to include only the essentials for the development of critical reading and playing skills in a short amount of time. There is an abundance of attractive pieces in a variety of musical styles giving students ample room for exploration. Early sections provide a semi-rote experience to develop quickly facility and familiarity with the keyboard. A later section teaches the Five Finger Position to help gain transposition skills and help the hands become familiar with the various patterns of the keyboard. The note-reading instruction utilizes an interval approach that helps students with spatial relationships and patterns formed by the notes. Harmonization skills are presented later in the text and include learning to use triads, triad inversions and seventh chords with varying accompaniment styles.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

Also by Richard Anderson and available from Waveland Press: Ensemble: Keyboard Proficiency for the Music Major (ISBN 1577662156).

Product Details

• Spiral-bound: 242 pages
• Publisher: Waveland Pr Inc (March 4, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1577660528
• ISBN-13: 978-1577660521
• Product Dimensions: 10.9 x 9 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,317,947 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

38 of 41 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Highly Recommended, October 2, 2000

By 

Linda L Pereira (Atlanta, GA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Simple Steps to Playing the Piano (Spiral-bound)

I have used this program for over a year and it is wonderful! Students have instant success and enjoy playing. Note reading is much easier for students to comprehend, and technique is achieved with ease. Everyone who uses this program will be able to play the piano. There is also a children's program available directly from the author that is perfect for young beginners.

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars It's hard to begin without a live teacher, August 7, 2002

By 

Michael J. Cashen (Glen Burnie, MD USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Simple Steps to Playing the Piano (Spiral-bound)

Here's a review from the point of view of someone who wants to learn to play.

I'm a teacher but, unlike the other two reviews before me, NOT a music teacher. I'm 51, teach physics, and want to learn to play piano. I know how to read notes and their pitches on sheet music but that's about it.

I just got this book today and browsed thru it. Like one of the previous reviewers said, it's possible to master the piano with the book alone (no live teacher), but it would require a lot of guesswork.

The head of the music department in the high school in which I teach (who's accomplished enough to be earning royalties from Hollywood for writing some of the background music in the movie "Diner") strongly feels that a live teacher - even if just 1 hr/week for a couple months before trying self-teaching books/software - is very important for learning correct finger positions. Private one on one instruction around central Maryland costs [$$$]/hr. I've decided to hire a live teacher then reevaluate what I want to do after a couple of months.

This book has no photos and the only hand drawings are tracings of open hands to show finger number and later a playing order. Here's an example of hand position instruction from Section 1 of this book:
"When playing the piano, the hands should be in a cupping shape. Press the thumb and forefinger of the right together so they form the shape of the letter "O". Rest the remaining fingers against each other.

Keeping your hand in this position, place it on the keyboard with the tip of each finger resting on an adjacent key. Do not let the first joint of the fingers cave in when depressing the keys. All of the knuckles and joints should be flexed or pointing out and you should maintain the position as you play."

I assume the "O" above is done with the fingers alongside each other (since later you're expected to play 5 adjacent keys) but there's no way to touch the keys with the tip of the thumb. I went through the exercise wondering if I had the position right.

The book itself looks like a very good resource for extra study or review (which is what I intend for it) if your teacher doesn't use it. From a professional educator's point of view, it appears to be arranged very well.

My only other complaint - remember I just got this today - is that I'm NOT familiar with many of the melodies the book uses in it's sheet music. Typical titles include: Lament, By the Brooklet By, Nervous, Darker, Lighter, No Nonsense March, Opus 33z, and other famous(?) tunes that have managed to escape my background. Having never heard them will make them very hard to play.

Although I own an 88 key acoustic piano, if I were going to try to learn without a teacher I would cough up a couple hundred dollars and buy a MIDI keyboard and some good learning software: I've seen Voyetra's "Teach Me Piano" highly recommended on a few sites including the "Piano Education Page" put up by, I think, one of the universities in Arizona. (Disclosure: I have NO affiliation with Voyetra nor do I know anyone who does.)

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Perfect for teaching adults, March 29, 2002

By 

Emily Jorgensen (Utah) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Simple Steps to Playing the Piano (Spiral-bound)

I have used this book for two years to teach adults in groups. I am a Nationally Certified Teacher of Music in Piano, and have tried many different methods with adults. This has been the best to work with. It uses the landmark/intervallic reading method of teaching music reading.
I do not think one needs a teacher to use this book. It starts at the bare basics--it does not expect you to know anything at all. It follows a carefully studied step-by-step program to learning how to play the piano. By the end of the book, you can play music from all the major periods of music history, as well as from Fake books, and you are ready to start creating your own music. If taken with a teacher, who can add personalized feedback, it takes about a year to get through. If you are on your own, however, it can take longer. It has a wide variety of music, so usually everyone can find pieces in it that appeal to them. Understand also, that it was originally written as a college textbook, based on years of research. I must confess that I know the authors, and they are both amazing teachers. I highly recommend this book.