My recommended list of piano books for beginning piano students for 2026

My recommended list of piano books for beginning piano students for 2026

My recommended list of piano books for beginning piano students for 2026

Jan 18, 2024

Last update: Jan 12, 2026

5 min read

Written by Meyer Nam

Over my time as a trained classical pianist, I have accumulated many books, from scores of solo works, chamber works, concertos, to exercise books. However, beginners cannot use those books to learn piano, even if they are able to read music. As a piano teacher, I have had to familiarize myself with primers and method books to teach. The market is saturated with books and software promising to give a valuable education to beginning students. So, it can easily be overwhelming to beginning students and new teachers. As a teacher, what materials do I primarily use to start with a beginner?

All Amazon links in this article use my Amazon affiliate links. By using and buying from these links, I receive a small percentage as commission. No extra cost will be incurred to you for using these links.

One of the first books I request a parent or a student to have is not a method book. It is a normal book of manuscript paper. Manuscript paper is the musician’s writing notebook. Musicians use them for general note-taking and or to write compositions. In my lessons, I use manuscript paper for three essential purposes. Those three purposes are: to write new concepts or notes, to write progress and what to improve on in pieces, and to write down homework. All three are important to note and have handy at all times.

This is the cheapest and most readily available full sized manuscript paper notebook. There is no need to have a more expensive option, unless aesthetics is desired. The spiral bind makes it easy to flip through, and the book includes a page for music notation, which is very nice to have. Henle does have a nice manuscript paper book, and it is not too expensive for those who like the Henle aesthetic.

There are many primers and method books that I have familiarized myself with as a teacher. After meeting with the student, I am able to recommend books based on a few variables, the most important being age. There are many primers (beginner’s books) that are in today’s market. To make it more confusing, certain publishers have different books at a given level. For example, the two most popular primer series, Bastien Piano Basics, and Piano Adventures, both have a few books to a level, making parents and students wonder if they need all four books to start playing on the piano. There is a performance book, a lesson book, a technique book, and a theory book. There is no need to purchase all four. A good teacher will not need a theory book to teach music theory or a lesson book to teach piano. However, at the end of the day, it is up to the student and teacher if they need or would like to use different books to cover their education. 

Here are the books I have used for beginning students. This is not a definitive guide, and is certainly not in order of what books to purchase after completing one.

For the very young, from 3 to 5 years old: 

Piano Adventures: My First Piano Adventures Series

These books are very engaging for this age group, and overall they have plenty of fun with visuals and concepts. The pieces are concise and fun for younger students to play. 

Book A is very easy to approach, and does not use standard staff notation. It is perfect for children learning their numbers and letters. Each page goes over where the fingers should lie on the piano, then uses numbers to tell the student what to play. Book A also introduces rhythm, which I think is perfectly ok for even the youngest, as it is important to learn note values and their shapes as soon as possible. 

Book B continues where Book A leaves off, with pictures of where the hands should be placed and with letters in the notes. It then quickly goes onto staff notation, and introduces notes on both bass and treble clef. By the end of the book, the student is able to play both hands on each clef, but not at the same time. 

5 Years Old:

Piano Adventures: Primer Level

The primer level of Piano Adventures is suitable for beginners. Again, I believe that only the performance book is necessary. I find that most 5 year old students take 30 to 45 minute lessons, and there is not enough time to go over material in all four books, and learn new material in a lesson. The collection goes through the basics of reading, and has the beginning student able to play both hands at the same time. The material is very clear and the font size is large for kids to see and hone in on. The book starts like it does in the My First Piano Adventures, off staff notation, and with numbers only to then slowly introduce the staff and notes on the staff.

6 Years Old to Adult:

Pageants for Piano Introductory Book 1, and Book 1A

Pageants for Piano is a method book series composed by Donald Waxman. This series was introduced to me before I became a teacher, as my younger sister who was in middle school at the time, used this book with my former teacher. I came to enjoy teaching with these books. They do not have the visuals most young students would enjoy, and they do not have any explanations for concepts that are introduced in each piece, although they do note what concepts are new in the corner of each page or piece. This requires the teacher to explain the concept to each student, which should occur instead of the teacher otherwise reading a book’s explanation word for word. This may leave the concern that the student doesn’t have anywhere to refer to the learned material, but this concern is dissipated if the teacher uses manuscript paper properly to jot down notes for the student or on the page itself. 

The pageants for piano series is a wonderful series to start with. The second link, which is Book 1A, is a companion to the first book, or can be used by itself as well. The book quickly goes through each concept, only having one-two exercises before moving to a new concept to learn. The music is also not heavily reliant on traditional harmony, meaning that each student cannot rely on “predictable” music. This results in the student thinking that the music played sounds “weird.” I primarily teach classical music, but for learning purposes, I don’t want my students to get too comfortable when learning to read music; they should always be focused on changes and should be on the edge of their seat (not literally). In the future, I plan to write an exclusive article on these two introductory books.

6 Years Old to Adult:

Pageants for Piano Introductory Book 1, and Book 1A

Pageants for Piano is a method book series composed by Donald Waxman. This series was introduced to me before I became a teacher, as my younger sister who was in middle school at the time, used this book with my former teacher. I came to enjoy teaching with these books. They do not have the visuals most young students would enjoy, and they do not have any explanations for concepts that are introduced in each piece, although they do note what concepts are new in the corner of each page or piece. This requires the teacher to explain the concept to each student, which should occur instead of the teacher otherwise reading a book’s explanation word for word. This may leave the concern that the student doesn’t have anywhere to refer to the learned material, but this concern is dissipated if the teacher uses manuscript paper properly to jot down notes for the student or on the page itself. 

The pageants for piano series is a wonderful series to start with. The second link, which is Book 1A, is a companion to the first book, or can be used by itself as well. The book quickly goes through each concept, only having one-two exercises before moving to a new concept to learn. The music is also not heavily reliant on traditional harmony, meaning that each student cannot rely on “predictable” music. This results in the student thinking that the music played sounds “weird.” I primarily teach classical music, but for learning purposes, I don’t want my students to get too comfortable when learning to read music; they should always be focused on changes and should be on the edge of their seat (not literally). In the future, I plan to write an exclusive article on these two introductory books.

6 Years Old to Adult:

Pageants for Piano Introductory Book 1, and Book 1A

Pageants for Piano is a method book series composed by Donald Waxman. This series was introduced to me before I became a teacher, as my younger sister who was in middle school at the time, used this book with my former teacher. I came to enjoy teaching with these books. They do not have the visuals most young students would enjoy, and they do not have any explanations for concepts that are introduced in each piece, although they do note what concepts are new in the corner of each page or piece. This requires the teacher to explain the concept to each student, which should occur instead of the teacher otherwise reading a book’s explanation word for word. This may leave the concern that the student doesn’t have anywhere to refer to the learned material, but this concern is dissipated if the teacher uses manuscript paper properly to jot down notes for the student or on the page itself. 

The pageants for piano series is a wonderful series to start with. The second link, which is Book 1A, is a companion to the first book, or can be used by itself as well. The book quickly goes through each concept, only having one-two exercises before moving to a new concept to learn. The music is also not heavily reliant on traditional harmony, meaning that each student cannot rely on “predictable” music. This results in the student thinking that the music played sounds “weird.” I primarily teach classical music, but for learning purposes, I don’t want my students to get too comfortable when learning to read music; they should always be focused on changes and should be on the edge of their seat (not literally). In the future, I plan to write an exclusive article on these two introductory books.

Teens to Adult Students:

Alfred’s Basic Adult All-In-One Piano Course, Level 1

Alfred’s Basic Adult Piano Course is a very popular book for older beginners. It explains concepts well, and covers a lot of material. Aside from piano, the book also goes over elementary music theory, which I find quite important for students. The book has a lot of written text which is certainly very helpful, and those who are looking to self learn piano can somewhat rely on this book. However, as a side note, I don’t recommend self learning piano. 

Beyer’s Elementary Method for Piano, Op. 101

Ferdinand Beyer’s method book was published in the 1860s, and was a leading method book for beginners, regardless of age. When I asked my piano professor which books she used to teach her beginning students, she told me that this book should be used, especially for serious students. However, I can see that because of the lack of visuals and easy explanations, this method book is too intimidating for the youngest students, although Beyer wrote that it was intended for children, “even of the tenderest age.” They will not feel engaged with the plain text and music notation in this book. It is also quite monotonous. However, I do recommend it for older students who are looking to start seriously. I would highly suggest pairing this book with another book, perhaps with the Waxman books.

Czerny’s Practical Method for Beginners, Op. 599.

Carl Czerny was one of the most prominent composers for piano technique and is recognized today for his virtuosic studies and exercises. This method book, like the one before it, is intense and only recommended for the most serious beginners. The lack of explanations and visuals will not be appealing to casual or younger beginners. The book also immediately throws beginners into playing with both hands simultaneously, and does not introduce any notes. The screenshot I provided shows the first two exercises in the book. I do not know of any student who can easily understand this kind of material without some background in reading two staves at once. This book does however go well once you are accustomed to reading. I would recommend this book for those who have had three to five months of piano lessons to have as a book for technical study in addition to another method book.

Bartok’s Mikrokosmos Book 1

Bela Bartok wrote 153 exercises, split into six volumes. This first book covers the first 36 exercises. It is not a method book strictly as written in the preface, and is used to give more material to practice. There is no instruction, although each exercise is written with a purpose in mind, and is indicated by Bartok himself. It is a good book to have for teachers to assign students if they are having any particular problems on the piano. Personally I do not ask students to purchase the Mikrokosmos, and just provide copies of whatever exercise I suggest working on.

Extra Materials Used:

This popular set of music flash cards has worked wonderfully for my students who at first struggled to read music. I try to make a game out of it for younger students, incentivizing them to answer correctly as quickly as they can. 

I don’t recommend any apps or other software when it comes to learning piano. However, one site that I can recommend to learn to read music notation is musictheory.net. Students can learn basic reading and theory, step by step. The free website also has exercises, ranging from note identification, to chord and key signature identification, to ear training. It is very useful, and teachers can use it to customize exercises for their students. 

This is my personal list of recommended books and materials for beginner piano students. This list will be updated as I incorporate more books into my teaching repertoire. I will also eventually write reviews on each series and book. Please keep in mind that not every book is for everyone. I have excluded the Bastion series from this list. For me, Piano Adventures is already quite friendly for the youngest beginners, and I want to stay consistent in my teaching material. However, if a student came to me already using Bastion, I would continue teaching Bastion to that student. 

I hope this small list was helpful for any students or teachers. If you’d like to recommend a beginner’s method book to me that I should know about, feel free to reach out. If you are interested in my piano lessons, I offer both in person and online lessons. See the rest of my page to learn more.

Written by

Written by

Meyer Nam

Meyer Nam

Meyer Nam is pianist graduate from Mannes School of Music, currently based in New York. I have a rich history in performing solo works, chamber works, and accompanying choirs and soloists. I have played in regional choirs, school chamber groups and honors choirs, musicals, and soloists for NYSSMA, competitions, and auditions.

Meyer Nam is pianist graduate from Mannes School of Music, currently based in New York. I have a rich history in performing solo works, chamber works, and accompanying choirs and soloists. I have played in regional choirs, school chamber groups and honors choirs, musicals, and soloists for NYSSMA, competitions, and auditions.

Meyer Nam is pianist graduate from Mannes School of Music, currently based in New York. I have a rich history in performing solo works, chamber works, and accompanying choirs and soloists. I have played in regional choirs, school chamber groups and honors choirs, musicals, and soloists for NYSSMA, competitions, and auditions.

Discover the joy of music with piano lessons tailored just for you!

Explore my lessons

Explore my lessons

Explore my lessons