Beginner Piano Books for Kids

Parents have started teaching their young children how to play the piano using beginner piano books for kids.

The piano is a stringed musical instrument that was invented in the year 1700. Since then, it has become a favorite among musicians and music enthusiasts. The music that this instrument produces is calming and relaxing. It also tends to evoke emotions.

Learning from beginner piano books for children has proven to be effective. In fact, some of the greatest musicians who ever lived have learned from a book known as “Essay on the True Art of Playing Keyboard Instruments” by Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach, a German composer and musician. The musicians who used his book were Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Joseph Haydn, and Ludwig van Beethoven.

So, you see, learning from beginner piano books kids is neither overrated nor ridiculous. It is actually a highly recommended practice, especially because the authors of these books are typically amazing pianists themselves. You can rest assured that the lessons they included in these books are correct and easy to comprehend.

When checking out beginners piano book for kids, it is important to consider their elements or characteristics. You have to know what makes a book great in order to get the best value for your money. For instance, some of the characteristics of a good piano book include music theory, techniques, play-along, and familiar songs.

Beginners piano books for kids that contain familiar or popular songs are ideal because users tend to become more excited to play the piano if they already know the songs that they will play. They will also become more entertained as they continue to learn and practice using the music theories and techniques written in the book.

Children become more excited to learn how to play the piano if they are already familiar with the songs included in their piano books.

Related: Is your kid past the beginner stage? Maybe check out my guide on piano books for kids.

Recommended Piano Books for Child Beginners

If you still do not have any idea on which beginning piano books for kids you should get, here are some recommendations that may be able to help you out:

1. A Dozen A Day

   It is a series of books that aims to push children’s knowledge a bit further in order to help them reach their full potential.

   The first book is an introduction that teaches the child all the fundamentals they need to know about playing the piano. It is written in a way that beginners will easily understand. Through this book, your child would know how to hold his hands comfortably as he plays short pieces and scales.

   Once your child masters the first book, you can go on and buy the next one in the series. Every book is especially designed to warm up beginners each time they play the piano. The series, however, is not only ideal for beginners. It is actually great for pianists of all levels.

2. Alfred’s Basic Piano Library: Lesson Book Level 1A

   It is geared towards the thought process of a child. Hence, it is recommended to children who have just started playing the piano. It is written in a way that absolute beginners can understand.

   It starts with simple rhythms. After all, the small hands of young children tend to have difficulty reaching complicated fingerings. Nonetheless, the more your child practices, the more comfortable he becomes when stretching over the piano keys with one hand. He then progresses towards intervallic reading.

   The whole book consists of steps that aim to help users understand the basic concepts of playing the piano. Through this book, your child will learn about the keyboard layout as well as how the white and black keys are related to one another.

   Everything is easy to understand. So, your child will not experience any difficulty in transitioning to the next steps. By the time your child reaches the end of the book, he should be able to play the piano using multiple fingers on each of his hands.

3. Pauline Hall’s Piano Time Classics

   Pauline Hall is known for the books she writes for children. Some of these include Piano Time Christmas Carols and Piano Time Classics.

   Piano Time Classics is great for any time of the year. It is bright and colorful, making it the perfect book for children. It even includes quiz pages that would surely test your child’s comprehension skills. Your child will be interested, engaged, and excited about learning to play the piano.

   What’s more, this piano book is not only for young children. It is also ideal for teenagers who want to learn how to play the piano or enhance their piano skills. It is pretty much straightforward. So, you do not have to worry about fluff.

   With such a short book, your child will already benefit from great music theories and teaching methods. Then again, because it is short and only contains the fundamentals, you might want to use it alongside another piano book so that your child can gain more than a one-dimensional understanding of playing the piano. It also does not always contain full songs. So, if you want your child to learn how to play full songs, using another piano book would be ideal.

4. Philip Johnston Scales Bootcamp

   When it comes to learning how to play musical instruments, scales are a vital foundation. So, when your child starts to learn playing the piano, you should introduce him to scales. Even though a lot of children do not like to play scales because they tend to feel like more work than play, you should keep encouraging your child. After all, the best musicians in the world did not start out great. They learned to play the scales first.

   This book breaks down scales into smaller parts that are easy to understand. So, you do not have to worry about your child getting overwhelmed. He will learn how to play several notes at a time as well as remember the flats and the sharps while having a fun time.

5. James Bastien Piano Basics Primer Level

   It is a piano book that contains vocabulary and graphics to help users learn the fundamentals with ease. It is actually perfect for young children because the graphics are fun and specifically made for their age group.

   Through this book, your child will benefit from piano notations as well as graphics of which keys are being learned on his piano, alongside large prints. It has four levels. Every level has three keys. By the time your child reaches the end of this book, he should be able to fully understand the fundamentals as well as play the different keys on his piano.

6. Fanny Waterman’s Me and My Piano

   This book is highly popular in the United Kingdom. It is written with beginner pianists in mind. It is actually ideal for young children who have never touched a piano before.

   Through this book, your child will learn about the fundamentals of playing the piano as well as what the white and black notes are about. He will surely love the bright colors on every page of the book.

   Aside from the beautiful illustrations, this book also contains word games, duets, and puzzles that will help your child learn about music concepts and teaching notes in a fun way.

   By the time your child reaches the end of this book, he should be able to go from a beginner player to an intermediate player. You might also want to use another piano book to help your child learn more since there isn’t any series progression after the beginner stage of this book.

7. John Thompson’s Teaching Little Fingers to Play

   It is basically a sheet music that is specifically made for children. As a parent who wishes her child to learn how to play the piano, you have to keep in mind that developing sheet music skills is critical for every beginner pianist.

   Through this book, your child will learn sheet music and notes. It is a comprehensive learning material for sheet music and pieces. You can use it alongside another technique or theory book to help your child reach his full potential.

   While it is a useful book, however, it is not very artistic and colorful. It does not contain a lot of interesting graphics that typically keep young children engaged. Nevertheless, even though it is not that appealing, it will still help your child learn how to play the piano correctly.

   These are the most recommended beginners piano books for children that are available today. They are easy to find and are actually tried and tested. You can ask any great pianist you know, and you will be pleasantly surprised that they know of these books.

While you can go online and check out websites such as PixieDustMusic, you should still not forget about the good old fashioned piano books that have effectively taught children how to play the piano for generations. If your child uses these books and practice on a regular basis, he will surely become good at playing the piano.

Sharing is Caring