Do you have a favorite book for teaching beginning piano?

Question

I learned piano by ear and know my chords and notes. I would like to teach my boys age 5 and 7 a little piano. If they stick with it a while I'll get them a real teacher. Is there a beginners piano instruction book that would be a good aid to me in my teaching effort? Thanks.

Answer 1

The John Brimhall method is good

Answer 2

Since you began at age 4, can you remember any of the ways you learned?That would help you. My piano was old, so I put a black dot on middle C, but, there are sticky stars or some such that would be able to be removed easily. Ask the grandmother. After awhile, he will figure out middle c and remember it. Probably at that age, his attention span would be short and you may have to do short lessons-like 15 or 20 minutes tops! You could try half an hour, but, that is long for a 5 year old. You could have a special sticker poster to put a smiley face every time he paid attention and after a few practices, he would earn a treat. If he has spent a year in Kindergarten already, he should know his alphabet. This way, he would be able to know FACE/EGCDF---I remember when I began, although I was 7 or 8, the books had really big notes and we only did two or three a lesson, you know? Like : C F E, C F E....C F E....and then it would have words with it like, See the dog? See the dog? Hope this helps. Then, he could practice that at home and sing with it.