Description
Classic Series Volume 1 – Beginning Basics for the Piano is a unique beginner piano method book, offering a holistic approach for the beginning student, ages seven and up.
- Easy-to-read words and music along with pronunciations and definitions.
- Five workshops guide the student from learning the names of the white keys on the keyboard through playing beginner-level arrangements of famous works by Bach, Beethoven, Mozart as well as American classics and original compositions by the authors.
- Posture, ear training and sight-reading projects develop skills needed to play easily and beautifully.
- Checkouts at the end of each chapter ensure understanding.
- Final Exam and Certificate of Award presented at the end of the book.
- The cornerstone of our Beginning Piano Curriculum.
- 8.5 x 11 soft cover, 206 pages including 12 flashcard pages.
- This product qualifies for the 20% Lifetime Teacher Discount.
“…you have done an excellent job of presenting your ideas. Teachers could use your materials to enhance their teaching…. I like all your visual aids and the written and coloring activities. They are clearly presented and easy to use.”
Dr. Jeanine Jacobson – clinician and author of Professional Piano Teaching.
“. . . a comprehensive approach to piano education. Volume 1 starts with the important concept of strength and coordination, which does not get a lot of attention in other method books. The pace is wonderful in a thorough teaching of the student of all the basics of playing an instrument. The book is well organized with large and clear print that helps to visualize and remember the information. I would strongly recommend this Series to young teachers and self-study adults.”
Dr. Anna Krendel – Past President and District IX Coordinator, California Association of Professional Music Teachers.
See what other professionals have to say on the back cover!
Rosie Cohen –
This book was great, my children both loved it and the method was perfect for them to learn from. We really enjoyed learning from this book.
Daniel –
I’m an adult trying to learn piano for the first time, and this book has been tremendously helpful. It gives you the basics of naming the notes on the keyboard and on sheet music in a very straightforward way with exercises and even flashcards to help you memorize them. The book also helped me learn many important musical terms that I think will come in handy as I keep learning more. Lots of beginner songs help you practice what you’ve been learning in the exercises in a way that’s fun and engaging, so it doesn’t really feel like practicing as much as learning a new song. I’m definitely planning to get the next book in the series. Highly recommend!
Elaine Byszewski –
My oldest son just finished the book and this is what he said: “I have been using this book 2 years now to learn to play piano with my instructor. This book helped me learn to play the piano better than I ever thought I would be able to. This book is easy to understand but still full of knowledge. I enjoy learning from it. It is a must have for want-to-be piano players.”
KMStone –
This book completely lays the proper foundation for everything you need to know, especially as a beginner.
I originally started taking piano lessons briefly around 9 years old and felt that the experience was fragmented and didn’t quite guide me step-by-step. Now in my early 30s, the experience here has been completely different in the best way possible. Their expertise and thorough understanding of what is needed to learn as a beginner in a step-by-step, digestible yet thorough way, shines through in this book.
In 6 months, I went from beginner to intermediate status and am able to play more comfortably and enjoyably than I ever have. This book comes equipped with songs tailored and composed to the beginner level, including lessons and flash cards to teach you along the way.
You’re in excellent hands. I’ve recently started their book “Classic Series: Volume 2 Intermediate Basics for the Piano: Edition 3” and am so excited to continue this journey!
Longjing J. –
I’ve just finished learning this book. It’s a perfect piano book for beginners. It explains everything clearly. Worth buying it!
Michael –
A great introduction to the piano.
N M. –
This is a fantastic piano primer covering the basics of theory and practical for beginner students.
It allows the student to progress at their own pace in a methodical manner becoming adept at each skill before moving onto the next challenge.
I would highly recommend this for all aspiring pianists, it has proven to work as well for me at forty-five as it does for my daughter at five.
Brian Parker –
Prior to launching into my piano education, I reviewed many options available to the beginning piano student. I was elated to locate the Wehrli series. The first book in this series, Beginning Basics for the Piano, is simple to understand and provides a clear step by step formula to achieving the piano basics. The lessons are well organized and fun to learn. Barry and Linda have worked very hard in providing basic fundamentals that develop the student’s skills, and interesting theory in piano musical knowledge. The goals of each lesson are clearly stated and build confidence within the student after completing each task. This book is a must for any student young or older who are starting out in their piano education.
Satinderpal S. –
A great book for the beginners. What we like the most is that it tries to teach music v/s teaching piano. It takes you step by step with many details about how to learn piano. The flash cards in the book are a great way to learn notes and memorize. Our kid just finished this book and has now moved to the next book from Barry! Highly recommended.
Batya Kershberg –
I enjoyed learning the songs in this book. The ones that Barry wrote were very good. The book made it easy to accomplish my goals. I look forward to the next book in the series.
J. Spencer –
This is a brilliant book (and part of a remarkable series). My son has been using this series for over a year with amazing results! He had previous experience with a book that was very one dimensional. This series of piano instruction is truly incredible for a number of reasons chief among them is how well thought the overall curriculum is. We bought the book directly from the author for his lessons. The step by step approach integrates music theory, sight reading and fun to play songs from the beginning. The book goes beyond most piano instruction books by providing fun visual and written exercises. My son had fun with the coloring pages to teach him the keys, as well as the multiple ways music note recognition is taught (matching games, flashcards, and drawing exercises). He liked building his confidence, from playing songs with just the named notes to playing songs he could read from sight after mastering the treble and clef notes. He liked learning more advanced skills such as fingering and dynamics. Each song also has a metronome speed range to practice as well as different finger positions to really teach him to think like a musician from day one. If you are looking for a piano instruction book that is well thought out, will give you a strong foundation for playing the piano from multiple learning methods, and is fun, you have found it!
Marine K. –
Both of my boys started piano with Classic Series Vol. 1 and in less than a year have moved to Vol. 2. The book taught them everything from posture and counting, to note recognition and sight reading. And it’s because of this book (and their wonderful teacher), that my boys are progressing so quickly and absolutely love learning to play the piano.
Liana Lake –
This book is absolutely fantastic for beginners. It provides easy-to-follow lessons that are skillfully put together. The order and pace of this book couldn’t be better for someone learning to play. The book covers everything from learning to read music to dynamics to hand movements to playing music and more! It is written in a way that even someone completely unfamiliar with music would be able to understand. By the end of the book, a person is able to play various pieces of varying tempos with hand movements and dynamics. I definitely recommend this book for anyone looking to learn to play the piano!
donnawk –
Beginning Basics for Piano is a clear, understandable and very enjoyable manual for anyone wishing to learn piano. It is divided into five workshops which build on one another to guide the student step by step through the material, beginning with the basics of correct posture and fingering in Workshop 1 to playing piano with both hands together in Workshop 5. Each time new information is provided or new skills presented there are activities and workshops to further clarify the information and foster learning. This is done so skillfully that I always felt prepared and ready to move forward from lesson to lesson. I find it remarkable that after only six months I am reading music and playing beautiful piano pieces. I highly recommend Beginning Basics for the Piano to all who wish to experience the joy of learning to play the piano.
Dianna O –
Great book for beginners! Very helpful. I feel that this book has helped my 14 year old learn to play piano in the correct order, simple to follow. The book covers a wealth of information for beginners in a simple format that does not seem overwhelming or too difficult to understand.
Tamani Eaton –
This method is excellent for those who want to learn the foundations of music in a thoughtful, well-organized, large-print format. A learner, or a learner with a teacher will cover all the basics needed to begin their journey in music, including sight and rhythm reading, proper posture, proper technique, and expressive, personal playing. The books in this series are divided into workshops, which present the information in step-by-step, nicely paced chunks with activities and tests to gauge the learner’s progress. Highly recommended.
Carlos Gardels –
I was fortunate enough to become aware of these books at the 2012 MTAC convention in San Diego. What initially struck me was the direct, no-nonsense approach of delivering information in a straightforward and concise way. Virtually all method books on the market these days are filled with annoying graphics and clutter – to the extent that it’s hard to even decipher what the material being presented is. Not so with the Wehrli books; they project an attitude of seriousness and integrity that will draw discipline and inspiration out of a student. Highly recommended! The supplemental technique books are also great resources for teachers, as they have all the required technic for CM and ABRSM exams conveniently organized into one manual.
Nancy Brown –
This is an excellent instructional level-one beginner book. You don’t have to buy 3-4 additional books. This is the primary book for beginners. I like the large font and the pictures. Well laid out. Especially for the older child, say 10-12 year old beginner.
Leslee Teichman –
My daughter has recently completed this book and has really blossomed in her piano playing. The progress she has made in a short time is really admirable. I know that she is learning invaluable skills in an enjoyable way. I am very pleased with this method.
venkat –
Great book for new artists. The book presents a structured path for a beginner through progressive skill development. This material is developed by combining acclaimed professional skill with decades of teaching expertise. My 8-year-old has benefited immensely from this book.
Ivana Maslerova –
This book is really easy to understand and master even if you have no experience and is definitely a great buy for a beginner learner of any age. Barry Wehrli is a great author, experienced musician and teacher.
Sonya –
As a piano teacher, finding the right method books to use with my students are always something I have struggled with. Although I have found success with many of the well known methods like Alfred, Schaum and Bastien, note recognition, counting, proper hand and body position have always been a challenge.
I have found these challenges addressed in Beginning Basics for the Piano as its unique approach to beginner theory, ear training, hand position and technique and note reading help students build a solid foundation in essential skills without the need to juggle between several method books. The book’s design is very organized and sequential making it easy for student’s to feel accomplished as they move along.
One of the strengths of this methodology is that students do not start in a fixed hand position which often becomes a hindrance in later repertoire. Students learn to read music and become comfortable finding the correct hand placement over 4 octaves in the first book. In addition, students use the metronome to learn proper counting and tempo consistency right away which develops a consistent practice regime and good counting habits early on.
My son has just completed Volume 1 and demonstrates an excellent hand position, the ability to read music, count properly and use his knowledge of musical terms to play with proper dynamics and articulation. I couldn’t be more impressed with this method. It is very well thought out and students will definitely be on their way to becoming budding musicians if they start with this book!
Amazon Customer –
This book is a great tool to learn the basics of piano playing. The best part is the fact, that this book combines different exercises and techniques to help the beginner learn faster and more efficiently. My son Alex is 9 and he loves his piano lessons. He started using Volume 1 several months ago, and now I can see a major progress in his piano playing: he developed great listening and playing techniques, learned a lot of important musical terminology, developed patience and attention through practice. If you are a parent looking for a great piano book for your child to start with, then this is the best choice. Highly recommend!
Sharon Samples –
During my life, I have taken organ and piano lessons off and on, never staying with it, never really understanding some very basic concepts. After years without lessons, I started over using Linda and Barry Wehrli’s BEGINNING BASICS for the PIANO. I love their system which is presented in a very organized, logical, and varied way in their book. Easy to understand, the material includes fun activities, challenging and rewarding exercises, and selections that include classical and non-classical music. It was like little light bulbs came on in my head, as I began to understand important concepts for the first time. I found the flashcard work and the workshop checklists to be very helpful, as well as the metronome activities, the physical strengthening exercises, the posture exercises, and the ear training work.
Danny W. –
Classic Series Beginning Basics for the piano is a great book for the beginning piano player. It doesn’t just only teach you how to play music on the piano, but also teaches you the theory about music and how you can relate that theory to the piano to make you a better player. The authors explain different musical concepts in the book in an orderly fashion that’s not overwhelming to the beginner (they are provided in bit size chunks). After the author explains the musical concept for that section, a workshop follows that the student practices to really get the concept and technique down. From there, normally a one or two page song follows allowing the student to learn and see how the musical concepts are actually used in a musical piece. The approach taken in the book is one that would produce a well-rounded musician (ear training exercises, rhythm exercises, note and rest value exercises, note names of all the white keys on the piano exercises, note names on the treble and bass clef exercises, time signature exercises, dynamic marking exercises, tempo exercises, and hands played separately and hands played together exercises). The concepts in the book are explained from a textual, visual, and of course hands-on approach so that the student can utilize their own strength of learning. All in all, I enjoyed this book in that it provided me a well-rounded foundation and was presented in such a way that it built in me confidence as I progressed. I think the foundation that I acquired in this book will serve me well as I progress in my musical aspirations to being a good piano player-musician.
Amit Gupta –
My children have completed this book and we’ve found it very easy to learn Piano using this book. The basic piano concepts and fundamentals are easy to grasp. Practicing piano based on the techniques taught in this book has helped my kids with proper posture and coordination. The ear-training and notes-reading activities are easy and fun and help kids grasp the music concepts well. I highly recommend this book to beginners trying to learn piano.
Sageous –
Barry and Linda Wehrli have released a wonderful book that makes it easy for a novice of piano to quickly understand and gain the fundamental skills required for playing on a keyboard. The book gives an introduction that visually outlines the keyboard with key groupings and key names. There are also different projects/activities later in the book that help develop proper posture and fingering for playing. Some essential and basic ear training is covered, as well as activities to help learn how to read and write notes before playing them. There are also short and basic renditions of songs that the book includes to help apply new material in each section. Overall, this book is really easy to pick up if you have no experience and is a great buy for visual, auditory, and/or tactile learners.