Do you have a child who just started learning the piano? Do you teach beginner pianists? One of the very best ways to get a young student excited about learning a musical instrument is to get them playing songs that they like, know, or can at least recognize. Even adults enjoy playing along to piano songs that they know. That’s why we’ve put together the following list of best piano books for beginners so that whoever is learning piano will find a beginner piano book for them.
If you haven’t done so already, make sure to get a great beginner piano keyboard as well.
Table of Contents
What kind of beginner piano book should you get?
A growing number of beginner piano books include simple, recognizable songs that teach the child how to play. These books are especially great and tend to be the ones that the school or private teacher will recommend to their beginning students. Beyond that, there are a ton of books of sheet music available at music stores with the music of Harry Potter, Disney, Lord of the Rings, and more. While many of these books are on the easier side, some of them will require the beginner piano player to have a year or two of playing under their belt before being able to play them.
If you are a parent of a child just starting out on the piano, you already know what music they like! You can ask their music teacher if they have any suggestions for books and what level of book is appropriate.
If you are a private teacher or schoolteacher, take an interest in your students and talk to their parents. Figure out what music they like to listen to and see if you can recommend one of these books for them to purchase. Make sure you take into account how advanced they are so that you aren’t getting them a book that will be too hard – nothing is more frustrating than seeing a song that you really like and not being able to play it!
Overall Best Piano Book for Beginners
Faber Piano Adventures Primer Level Learning Library Pack
The Faber Piano Adventures pack is a collection of four books that teach the fundamentals of the piano through engaging lessons. Students learn everything from basic piano technique to theory and even performance-level music. This is a great starter pack for any beginner piano player looking to learn on their own or supplement private lessons.
Introductory Piano Books for Beginners
Faber Piano Adventures – Primer Level
The Primer Level of the Faber Piano Adventures series of books introduces the piano keyboard, the note values, and the grand staff so students can begin learning the fundamentals of how to make music on a piano. Students learn the 5-finger scale patterns in C, steps and skips, and the names of notes instead of just the finger number.
Alfred’s Basic Piano Library Notespeller
The Notespeller book is one of the best beginner piano books because it teachers note-naming and interval-naming right from the get-go. This is the fastest way for students to learn piano notes and correlates page-by-page with the Alfred’s lesson books.
Alfred’s Basic Adult Piano Course
If you’re an adult just starting to learn piano and you prefer to learn via the chord approach, then this is the best beginner piano book for you. Originally published in 1983, this book is a classic for learning piano and walks you through popular songs such as Amazing Grace, Beautiful Brown Eyes, Jingle Bells, Ode to Joy, On Top of Old Smoky, and many more! A great book to learn the piano by yourself or with a teacher.
Best Piano Beginner Technique Books
Faber Piano Adventures – Theory
The theory edition of the Faber Piano Adventures provides reinforcement and application of basic theory concepts so beginner piano players can start learning music theory that will benefit them in the long run. Students learn note-naming with StoreyRhymes, improvisation, and eye/ear-training. A great supplement to the introductory book.
Easy Piano for Songwriters and Producers
Billed as the “fastest path from beginner to expert in scales and chord progressions,” this book will help you learn all of the basic chords and scales so you can improvise or accompany on-the-fly. While written with the songwriter or producer in mind, this is a great book for anyone who wants to quickly build core technique on piano.
Alfred’s Basic Piano Library Lesson Book
Another great Alfred’s book, their Basic Piano Library Lesson Book teachers basic playing habits and note reading through interval recognition. The first book in the series teachers basic keyboard understanding so that students have fluent recognition of white key names in relation to black keys. The core lessons focus on “same,” “stepping up” and “stepping down.” A simple and fun book to learn piano technique.
Best Play-Along Piano Books for Beginners
Play-along songbooks are books that have fun and recognizable songs. When you want to take a break from standard beginner piano lesson books, play-along books are a great way. Sometimes playing along to recognizable melodies actually makes learning piano easier.
Piano Adventures – Performance Book
Another book in the Faber series, the Performance Book features many recognizable tunes for kids and adults alike. Play songs such as “In the Jungle” and “Hot Cross Buns.”
PreTime Piano Classics
Another installment by Faber, this beginner piano book centers around orchestral classics such as “Ode to Joy,” “Bridal Chorus,” “Eine Kleine Nachtmusik,” and Beethoven’s “Symphony No. 6.”
Big Book of Beginner’s Piano Classics
This book has plenty of beloved piano classics that have been simplified enough for beginners. It even comes with MP3 downloads of each piece to make it easier to play along. Famous pieces include nine Bach works, Ode to Joy, Für Elise, and Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy.
PlayTime Piano Disney
Who doesn’t love a good Disney song? If you or your beginner piano player enjoy Disney movies and songs, then this book is for you. It includes hits from Frozen, Lion King, Beauty and the Beast, The Little Mermaid, and more.
A First Book of Beethoven
This beginner piano book of Beethoven’s works includes 24 arrangements of some of Beethoven’s compositions including famous piano ones like Moonlight Sonata and Für Elise. It includes many other piano pieces as well as some of Beethoven’s symphonies.
The Lord of the Rings Trilogy: Arranged for Solo Piano
If you loved the Lord of the Rings movies, then this book is for you. It features 17 songs from across all three movies. It includes both the piano and vocal sheet music so you can sing along if you want.
Piano Pop Songs for Kids
A great collection of pop songs for beginner piano players for kids and adults alike (regardless of what the title says). Includes songs by pop stars such as Taylor Swift, One Direction, and Katy Perry.
Alfred’s Easy Piano Songs – Rock & Pop: 50 Hits from Across the Decades
From our favorite beginner piano book company, this collection of rock and pop piano songs is sure to make any beginner piano player of any generation happy. The songs are easy to play, but sound like the original recordings. Artists include The Rolling Stones, Frank Sinatra, Journey, Bruno Mars, and many more.
Conclusion
Hope this list of the best piano books for beginners helped you find some great options to both learn piano and have some fun playing basic melodies. If you haven’t gotten a piano yet, check out some of our favorite beginner keyboards.
