John Thompson's Modern Course for the Piano: First Grade Book

This book is great to teach very important concepts in music like recognizing patterns, introducing pedal technique, great songs, key signatures, scale technique and more. I really like how it teaches more than just 'notes' which develops 'mechanical' players ... but ... instead emphasizes the musicality aspect of music becoming a more well-rounded musician. I highly recommend.

Great book for beginners. My child has recently started playing piano and we purchased this book at the suggestion of our teacher to help with the learning process. The book is easy to follow and provides great guidance to keep kids motivated.

"John Thompson's Modern Course for the Piano: Fifth Grade, Book Only | Piano Sheet Music Instruction Book with Standard Notation and Fingerings | Learn to Play Piano Method Course by John Thompson" When I was fairly new to Amazon, I just happened to be wandering around the site looking at old books, when I stumbled upon this 5th Grade Level Book which I immediately recognized as part of the John Thompson's Modern Course for the Piano. I had searched for this series everywhere, because I remembered as a child taking piano lessons, and as an adult, I was yearning to revisit my early music training. How excited I was to see these very familiar books. I don't even recall a moment of hesitation in ordering the various levels of this music course, which I had longed for for years. As a child, it was commonly accepted that the John Thompson's Modern Course for the Piano was "the best" instructional course for young piano students. Since getting ahold of the entire set, they have helped me work with my granddaughter, who wants to learn piano; and they have become a valuable part of my library. Through these piano course books, I am able to revisit my childhood music training any time I want to. Here it is years later, and I finally decided to write a review of these amazing books, which are organized from grade 1 through 5. The purpose of this review is to share with other customers how much joy I received from re-discovering them, and again having them in my home.

This book is perfect for anyone starting to play the piano. The lessons are clear, progressive, and very easy to follow. I like that each exercise introduces something new in a simple and motivating way. Great for learning on your own or with a teacher. Highly recommend!!

This is a fun little book. I used it during lessons as a kid over 30 years ago. Bought a new copy recently along with some beginning piano/voice books and it's fun to go back in time. Haven't touched a piano in over 30 years so this was a great refresher for me. Pieces aren't so hard that a beginner would get discouraged. I only give 4 stars because I bought the newer edition that comes with a companion CD, and the CD really wasn't relevent to the pieces in the book in any way that'd be helpful in learning the songs themselves -- more like a music history lesson than a piano lesson.

I use this book as a child learning how to play piano. There are so many things I did not recognize this book contains when I was young, and just noticing now as I revisit improving my piano skills as an adult. Is surprising how many symbols I have forgotten the names and definitions, key signatures as well had to transpose keys simply by finger placement. All of this contained in the Thompson first grade piano course. I highly recommend for the new player as well as brushing up for a long time, casual piano player. Glad to have this book back in my piano bench treasury.

The music in the John Thompson Modern Course is absolutely beautiful and has a classical sound to it. If you are self learning, I highly recommend as a supplemental book, especially if you are interested in learning classical. There is a little bit of theory information with each new song; however, if you are self learning you will find this book overwhelming if you are not using another method book along with it. Yes, there are a lot of finger numbers in John Thompson Grade 1, however, I feel this allows you to learn the JT songs faster and build technique while you are concurrently working on your reading skills using another traditional method book. (example the all in one adult method books by Alfred, Bastien, or Piano Adventures, just to name a few). It may be considered old fashion by those more interested in more modern music, but the John Thompson books have a timeless and classic appeal. I agree that it is not the best method book for learning by itself, but definitely a great supplement.

I'm already at intermediate level on the piano, but I wanted to purchase this book to use the exercises as sight reading and transposition practice. So far, this book has not disappointed. The exercises are progressive, meaning that the next one is a little harder than the one that came before it. This makes for great sight reading practice. I was initially worried that this book series would be geared towards kids and filled with obnoxious cartoon characters that would distract from the text. This is not the case. I actually like the pencil drawings, and feel that they give the book a little class. The pedagogical material is also extremely useful. This first book alone will take the student to a solid intermediate level. There are five books in this series, so I'm excited to see how advanced I can become through using this. Overall I would definitely recommend this series. A word of caution. This book is NOT for the extreme beginner. This book does NOT teach you the notes. It is assumed that you have completed a primer level prior to purchase.

Excellent book for beginners. The lessons are designed to develop skilled piano players out of a person who knows nothing about piano playing.

Mit diesem Heft bin ich sehr zufrieden und wünsche mir, ich hätte diese Schule *damals*. Thompson lässt dich nicht faulenzen; die Stücke sind Lieder, nicht Etüden, und machen generell auch Spaß. Darüber hinaus wird die allgemeine musikalische Empfindung sehr früh gefordert. Fingersätze sind für mich als "returning adult" teilweise überflüssig, aber nicht zu viel und gar nicht ablenkend. Meiner Einschätzung nach ist dieses Heft für eher ernsthafte Kinder/Jugendliche (ü8), sowie für Erwachsene, geeignet. Dieses Produkt scheint die letzte US-Fassung zu sein, mit reduzierten Fingersätzen. Die schwarz-weiss Grafik ist hübsch, gibt Stimmung und ist weniger ablenkend als die grelle Grafik anderer Schulen. Durchaus empfehlenswert.

This book is a fantastic resource for teaching young or beginner piano students. I’ve used it with students over many years, and it always delivers great results. It is reliable and well structured, and it simply works every time. Definitely worth the investment if you want a proven and effective approach to the basics.

As an adult learning the piano for the first time, this book is absolutely a must - it is easy to follow and teaches you the basics on scales and how to position your fingers. The lessons are easy to follow and progress is noticeable.

かなり初期から様々な調で簡単な曲を音楽的に弾くことが目標となる。 臨時記号も本当にすぐ出てくるし、C-Majorが難しくなってからG-MajorやF-Majorに行くような無謀もない。音が少ないからどうしても移動ドで全ての音を読めないならば全て書き込める。その程度の音数からじっくりと全ての音を移動ドで与えるようにすると、各調における自分の音の出し方について自分で考えることができるようになる。 逆にいうと、移動ドで読まないとなんでこんなのをやるんだろう？という感じになってしまうだろう。移動ドで読むと必然的に旋律から機能和声を予測する癖がつく。機能和声を予測する癖がつくと、自分が音楽的にどのあたりを語っているかが意識できるようになり、コンテクストをつなげて自分の趣味で音を出せるようになり、教師と戦えるようになる。生徒が教師と戦えるようになるとお互いに高めあうこともできるようになる。つまり、これは教師にとっても非常に良い教材だ。 裏を返すと、生徒が自主的に自分の音を見つけることを教える方は要求される。その中で、どの音がどうあるべきであると自分のなかの言葉を伝える必要は当然あり、それは言葉というよりは後で表現されるものではあるが、音だけで伝わるなら教師は苦労しないw これは、いかなる凡百も秀才に仕立て上げるための教科書だ。教師のほとんどは秀才でしかない。いや、凡百だろう。いずれにせよ、教師も生徒も自分が天才だと思ってないのならば、使っても良いだろう。凡百の音楽は、断言するが、天才のそれよりはるかに奥深い。知るのは、ほんのわずかな音だけでも結構満足いくレベルで完結する、そんな世界だ。そしてこの教え方は、残念ながら日本のクラシック、日本の教科書からは、完全に抹消されている。そして、日本で音楽やっている人間は、天才の偽物が多すぎる。天才は、100年に一度も出てこない。たがら天才というのだ。 全ての凡百と秀才に勧める。