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What I actually recommend to my own students — the course book, the right first instrument, and the technique books that work. One rule above all: 88 fully weighted keys, so your hands learn real technique from day one.
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The best piano book for an adult beginner is one written for adults, with large clear print, that teaches you to read rather than only to find hand positions, and that explains every symbol before it appears. When I open a method book I run through a ten-point checklist, and I wrote all of it down in Best Piano Book for Adult Beginners: How to Choose. The book below is the one I teach from, and the free course follows it page by page.
The best keyboard for an adult beginner has weighted keys that respond to how you play them. On a real piano, a key pressed gently gives a quiet sound and a key played with the weight of the arm gives a full one, and everything I teach about tone and touch depends on that. An unweighted keyboard cannot teach it, and it trains the hand to poke. Look for the words weighted or hammer action, and choose 88 keys if you can. For most adults a digital piano is the better choice: it never goes out of tune, and it takes headphones. The full reasoning is in Digital or Acoustic: What Actually Matters When You Are Starting.
If there is a keyboard in your house already, begin on it today. The instrument matters much less than the fact that you began. What follows is what I recommend to my own students, and the Amazon disclosure at the top of this page applies to the links below.
The book the free course follows page by page — lessons, theory and technique in one volume. This is the only book you need to start.
View on Amazon →When you're ready for scales — the complete reference my students ask for.
View on Amazon →Unweighted 61-key synthesizers teach your hands the wrong habits. These three give you real, weighted piano action at a beginner-friendly price:
88 weighted keys, includes a sustain pedal. The best all-around first piano.
View on Amazon →The best key feel for the money — the same PHA-4 action used in far more expensive pianos. Bluetooth included.
View on Amazon →Ultra-slim and beautiful — fits narrow desks and small rooms, with a lovely German grand sound.
View on Amazon →Hanon, Czerny and Schmitt in one volume — a conservatory staple for building finger strength and independence.
View on Amazon →Start with the Alfred All-in-One only — its technique is built in. Add scales and exercises when the course reaches them; I'll tell you when in the lessons.
Follow the free course →As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
Send a message or attach a recording. Email, phone and how you found us help me answer you properly.
Reading is the skill adults most often skip, and the one that makes every new piece faster. My free note-reading app drills notes, rhythm, scales and chords in short rounds. No account and no email; your progress stays on your device.
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“A very professional teacher with a doctoral degree in piano — she is patient and detail-oriented… Definitely recommend if you're looking for a talented piano teacher.”
— Eva X.Yelp
The Adult Beginner's Piano Starter Guide covers the right instrument, the right book, and the right first steps.
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