Alfred’s Premier Piano Course For Beginners: Would You Switch?

Alfred’s Premier Piano Course came onto the scene years ago with a celebrity list of authors.  Okay, well celebrities in the piano pedagogy realm anyways.  After decades of Alfred’s Basic Piano Library ruling the piano method scene, it was time for something fresh and Alfred’s Premier Piano Course endeavors to keep Alfred Publishing at the top of the piano method market.

In my previous post, I gave my in-depth review of the most popular piano method book series in the U.S., Faber Piano Adventures.  Chances are, if you’re a piano teacher, you’re already using or have at least heard of the Piano Adventures series.  So are the Fabers’ books the end-all-be-all of the piano method world?  Or is there room for another competitor?

As a veteran piano teacher of nearly two decades, I’m going to walk you through my personal 10 criteria for comparing piano method books.  

By the end of this post, you’ll understand the ins and outs of this piano method book series and you’ll know if there is room for Alfred’s Premier Piano Course in your studio.  

Don’t worry!  You don’t have to throw out your current favorite series just yet!  You may find that this method book series is a helpful set of books to have on hand to supplement your lesson plans for just the right student.  I’m endeavoring to help you determine who and if Alfred’s Premier Piano Course is a perfect fit.

My 10 Categories For Comparing Piano Method Books

When I first started teaching, I excitedly drove down to my local music store to peruse the shelves for beginner level piano method books for my new students.  I was overwhelmed by the choices!  As I opened each first level lesson book, I thought, “Well, this looks nice.  And this one looks good.  And I like this one, too.”

In a sea of choices when it comes to beginner level piano method books, having specific categories in place to think about, score, and compare can make all the difference in choosing the best one for you.

Let me share my categories for comparison and then in the next section, we’ll score Alfred’s Premier Piano Course in all 10 of these categories.  

The categories are:

• Pacing
• Postitions
• Notation
• Theory
• Technique
• Levels/Path
• Aesthetics
• Song Selections
• Pricing
• Availability

For a more in-depth explanation of what each of these categories entails, please check out my blog post Best Piano Method Books For Beginners: My Top 3 Picks where I break down each one in detail.

Alfred’s Premier Piano Course: An In-depth Review

Now let’s open up the pages of this treasured piano method book series and use the above categories to give us an overhead view of how well this would work for our beginning piano students.

Quick Disclaimer: This post is entirely based on my opinions and personal experience with these books. I understand that other teachers may have a different experience with the books reviewed in this post.

Pacing: Fast Pace

Quick Advances

Alfred’s Premier Piano Course advances in difficulty faster than the Faber Piano Adventures piano method books.  Although it starts with a similar methodology to most primer-level piano method books, it quickly accelerates the learning process with advancing technique and literature that challenges students.

Who is Alfred’s Premier Piano Course for?

This is not to say that the Premier Piano Course is off-limits for the average student.  But it might be frustrating for some slower-moving students.  If you test out different piano method books, and Alfred’s Premier Piano Course rises to the top as your personal favorite, you could comfortably start any beginner aged 7-12 and switch to a different series only if necessary.  

Alfred.com states that the method is intended for beginners aged 6-12, but personally I think the average six-year-old with no prior music experience may struggle a little bit with this series.  That is just from my personal experience and you may find differently.

When I Switch to Alfred’s Premier Piano Course

My personal routine for a new student between the ages of 6-11 with little to no prior musical experience is to start them in the Faber Piano Adventures Primer Level books.  If I find they need more of a challenge or a faster pace, I switch them into the Alfred Premier Piano Course.

Positions: C Scale and alternate positions introduced in the Second Half of the 1A Level

Black Key Songs

Alfred’s Premier Piano Course starts with black-key songs at the beginning of Level 1A.  Unlike the Faber Piano Adventures Primer Level book, the Premier Piano Course Level 1A keeps students on one set of two- or three-black-keys.  This often works better for students with small keyboards at home.

Beginning White Key Positions

After several black-key-only pages, Level 1A moves to the white keys.  Middle C Position is introduced, as well as Neighbor Note songs (thumbs on neighboring keys).  

The C Pentascale is introduced halfway through Level 1A, just before staff reading is introduced.

Once the student is introduced to notes on the staff, songs vary in position between the aforementioned placements (Middle C Positions, Neighbor Notes Positions, and the C Pentascale).

Pacing in Positions

Part of my “fast” pacing label is the constantly changing positions of the songs in the pages of all Alfred’s Premier Piano Course books. Even in the beginner levels, every song has a unique hand position.

This is great for students who are ready for the challenge of solving the “starting hand position mystery.” But for students who benefit from sticking with one hand position for a while before expanding would find this method series difficult to keep up with.

Moves Indicated With Red Number

Unlike the Piano Adventures books, Alfred’s Premier Piano Courses uses a red finger number to indicate a move mid-song.

Notation: Staff Reading Introduced Halfway Through Level 1A

Again, notation in the Alfred Premier Piano Course Level 1A books is similar to Faber Piano Adventures.  Off-staff notation leads the student through the first half of the book, before staff reading is introduced.  

How Are New Notes Introduced in Alfred’s Premier Piano Course?

Notes on the staff are introduced one-by-one in Level 1A. 

Middle C for both treble and bass clefs is introduced first. 

Next, Bass F and Treble G are introduced as guide notes, with this series refers to as Landmark Notes.  Bass G and Bass E are added immediately after (taught as a step above and below the landmark note, Bass F). 

Then, Bass C is taught next, also as a landmark note.  Bass D is added as well. 

After that, Treble D, E, and F are added to complete the notes learned in Level 1A.

The “Guide Note” Approach

The note reading approach in Alfred’s Premier Piano Course is similar to that in the Faber Piano Adventures series: note recognition through guide notes.  Personally, this is not my favorite approach to introducing notes on the staff, but many teachers swear by it.  

I prefer an intervallic approach to introducing notes because I believe that is how beginners naturally see and interpret notes on the staff.  I’ve tried drilling my beginning piano students on guide notes with little success.  Again, this is just my personal experience and you may find differently and that is totally okay!  If you are interested in exploring a different approach to note reading for beginners, check out my review of the Wunderkeys piano method books.

Just to reiterate, this is my personal opinion and I completely respect that many teachers may use and love this approach!

Order of New Notes in Level 1A

Between Piano Adventures and the Premier Piano Course, I like the order of notes introduced better in the Piano Adventures books.  In my experience, the order of new notes in Alfred’s Premier Piano Course is a little too all-over-the-place for students to really grasp and develop a system of recognizing notes on the staff in the beginning stages of learning the piano.  However, if you have an exceptionally quick student or a student who has some music-reading experience, they could definitely thrive in the Premier Piano Course.

The songs in the second half of the Level 1A books of Alfred’s Premier Piano Course are more challenging in comparison to Faber Piano Adventures in that they require students to try all sorts of different hand positions before settling back into the C Pentascale, Middle C Position, and variations on the Middle C Position.

Overview of New Notes in Other Levels

In subsequent levels of Alfred’s Premier Piano Course, notes are introduced by moving students into different scales.  Here’s a quick summary of when new positions/notes/scales are introduced (click any level to shop on Amazon):

• Level 1A – Notes of the Middle C Position and C Pentascale
• Level 1B – Notes of the G Pentascale and Low G Pentascale
• Level 2A – Notes of the Treble C Pentascale, All Major Pentascales
• Level 2B – Inner ledger line notes, G Major, All Minor Pentascales
• Level 3 – Notes to three ledger lines, F Major, D Major
• Level 4 – A Minor, E Minor
• Level 5 – B-flat Major, D Minor, G Minor
• Level 6 – E-flat Major, C Minor, B Minor

Theory: Separate theory workbook for each level + notespeller books

Alfred’s Premier Piano Course offers a separate theory book for each level.  The theory books offer a variety of assignments.  Some are writing assignments, while some are ear training activities.  

The Premier Piano Course endeavors to make theory interesting by offering different types of assignments on every page, but my students are sometimes confused by what they are supposed to do on certain pages.  Additionally, there are often four or five different sets of instructions on one page.  But overall I have found Alfred’s Premier Piano Course Theory Books to be adequate to cover the mandatory theory topics piano students need to know.

Also worth mentioning is the pacing of the theory book.  The Theory Book in the Premier Piano Course includes a theory assignment to correlate with every Lesson Book page.  In other words, students will have to complete a theory assignment each week to keep up.  Alternatively, the Faber Piano Adventures’ Theory Book correlates to many of the Lesson Book pages, but give students a break now and then to catch up. 

Personally, I usually end up skipping some pages in the Theory Book when using Alfred’s Premier Piano Course with a student because we simply run out of time in the lesson (and I find the Theory Book instructions often need a bit of teacher explanation).

A dedicated Notespeller Book is also available for each level. Shop for Alfred’s Premier Notespeller Books on Amazon.

Technique: Big on Technique, a steady stream of technical challenges

Alfred’s Premier Piano Course offers a separate technique book for each level.  The technique books are mostly very short (usually one-line) etudes focusing on a specific skill.  (In the advanced levels, technique assignments are longer.)

Artistic Etudes are also included giving students a chance to learn a performance-worthy piece while focusing on a specific artistic skill, such as dynamic changes, articulation, or hand movements.

Comparing the Alfred Premier Piano Course to the Faber Piano Adventures series, I consider Premier Piano Course’s focus on technique to be a bit more intense.  Three factors contribute to this opinion:

1. Alfred has a higher technique assignment-to-lesson assignment ratio (meaning Faber writes in some “breaks” to catch up in the Technique & Artistry Book)
2. Alfred asks more of students from a technical standpoint sooner than Faber
3. Alfred’s technique patterns and songs involve more advanced note reading skills and flexibility of hand positions and moves.  Faber’s technique patterns and songs are easier to read and pick up on.

Levels/Path: 8 Levels / Focus on Jazz at first; Heavy focus on Classical later

Levels Offered

Alfred’s Premier Piano Course offers the following levels:

• Level 1A (Red)
• Level 1B (Yellow)
• Level 2A (Light Blue)
• Level 2B (Lime Green)
• Level 3 (Purple)
• Level 4 (Orange)
• Level 5 (Dark Blue)
• Level 6 (Silver)

Students end the series at a late intermediate level.

Path Throughout the Course

Throughout Alfred’s Premier Piano Course, students are exposed to a variety of styles and genres.  Students will exit the series with an exceptional handle on classical and jazz techniques.  

Early Levels – Focus on Jazz

I find that the early levels are heavy on the jazz tunes (which makes sense when you look at the author list).  Both the Lesson Books and Performances Books in the early levels feature many original jazz- and ragtime-style tunes.  

Later Levels – Focus on Classical

Later levels focus heavily on classical literature.  If you have a bright student who is interested in pursuing a career as a classical musician, Alfred’s Premier Piano Course will take them where they need to go from a technical and literary standpoint.

Conclusion

That’s not to say that there isn’t any classical representation in the early levels, and no jazz pieces in the later levels.  I have just noticed a general leaning.  I’ve noticed that my students who don’t care for jazz in general don’t love the early levels of this series.  And my students who aren’t big into classical music lose interest when they reach the later levels.

Aesthetics: Softer watercolor pencil drawings, more technical (less lyrics)

Much like the Faber Piano Adventures series, Alfred’s Premier Piano Course boasts bold, colored covers that excite students to graduate to the next “color.”  

But flip any book open and you’ll find that Alfred’s Premier Piano Course has a different aesthetic to it.  Flipping through the pages, you might not be wow-ed by the colors or characters, but the illustrations are well-done and pleasant to look at if you like the soft, hand drawn style.

Once again, this is just my personal opinion and aesthetics are definitely a subjective aspect!

Song Selections: Once into the 1B Level and beyond, songs have captivating lyrics and performance-worthy songs

Superbly-written Literature

The songs in Level 1A are fairly basic, and that is to be expected in a first level book.  There are a couple of familiar tunes, but for the most part the songs are typical, functional teaching songs.

Starting in Level 1B and beyond, the songs in all of Alfred’s Premier Piano Course’s books really shine!  These are exceptionally performance-worthy songs written by a team of very talented composers.  I think part of what makes the Premier Piano Course more challenging than other piano method book series is the original compositions.  It’s clear they were carefully crafted to sound great and dazzle friends and family.

The higher the level, the more original classical selections are included as well. Simplified arrangements of classical literature are included at every level, including Level 1A.

Supplemental Books

Alfred’s Premier Piano Course also publishes some supplementary books at each level.  Here are the books currently available from Alfred Publishing to accompany this series:

• Jazz, Rags, and Blues 
• Pop and Movie Hits
• Duets (Level 1B+)
• Masterworks (classical) (Level 3+)
• Christmas

Pricing

Publisher Prices

At retail price, the set of four core books in Alfred’s Premier Piano Course are priced at about $10 per book.

Note that the Lesson books in the Premier Piano Course are also available with a CD for an additional $2.00, but who has a CD player these days?

Ways to Save

Amazon

Amazon often has a deal on one or all of these books when purchased separately.  Check out their current prices here:

• Lesson Book – Check Amazon Price
• Theory Book – Check Amazon Price
• Technique Book – Check Amazon Price
• Performance Book – Check Amazon Price

Often there are sellers offering a discount when purchasing the set of four core books at once.

• Set of 4 Core Level 1A Books – Check Amazon Price

SheetMusicPlus

SheetMusicPlus.com offers occasional sales on piano method books (sometimes up to 40% off) as well as 8% cash back rebates for music teachers.  

On top of the 8% rebate, you can also earn 4% back on all SheetMusicPlus purchases through Rakuten, my favorite no-fuss cashback browser extension that pays you to shop online.  (Check out Rakuten here.)

You will pay shipping on SheetMusicPlus purchases, but it is reasonable.

Here’s a link to check out the prices at SheetMusicPlus (and see if they are currently having a sale!):

• Alfred’s Premier Piano Course Level 1A Books – Check Price

EveryMusicBook

A “best kept secret” in the piano teacher world–EveryMusicBook.com!  Here you can get 35% off Alfred’s Premier Piano Course books!  Free shipping when you spend $25 on their site.  With the 35% discount, you can get Alfred’s Premier Piano Course books for:

• Lesson Book 35% off
• Theory Book 35% off
• Technique & Artistry Book 35% off
• Performance Book – check for availability

Local Music Store

And your local music store may offer a discount for piano teachers as well.  It’s great to connect with your local music store anyways!  Often they will offer workshops for piano teachers and other promotional events.

Here is a list of stores that stock music published by Alfred Publishing, the publisher of the Premier Piano Course.

Availability: 10/10

Alfred’s Premier Piano Course is a very popular piano method book series and is readily available wherever music books are sold!  You can purchase Premier Piano Course books at:

• Your local music store
• Amazon.com
• SheetMusicPlus.com
• EveryMusicBook.com
• Alfred.com

Do I Recommend Alfred’s Premier Piano Course?

In my own studio,  I keep Alfred’s Premier Piano Course on the shelf for just the right student.  I don’t use this series for every student, or even the majority of my students.  But I’m glad it exists for specific situations. 

Here are some scenarios where I personally use Alfred’s Premier Piano Course in my studio:

Prior Music Experience

If I have a new piano student with some prior music experience.  Because these books move quicker and challenge more than other series, I like to use these for a student who has a head start.

Up For a Challenge

With a go-getter student who catches on fast and loves a challenge.  Some students are just up for the challenge, and this series can deliver.

Classical Focus

For a student that has their heart set on playing serious classical literature or a future in the professional piano world.  If a student loves classical music, wants to study piano in college, or is dedicated to big-time piano skills, this series will take them where they want to go.

Siblings

In a situation where two similarly-aged siblings need different books.  As a teacher, sometimes you’ll start two siblings at the same time.  They’re both beginners; so, do they get the same books? 

Often they’ll need different books and having a secondary series you like to teach out of is priceless.  In this scenario, I might consider using Alfred’s Premier Piano Course with the older or more experienced sibling, while starting the younger sibling in the Faber Piano Adventure series.

Bored With Another Method

And finally, I might switch a student to Alfred’s Premier Piano Course from a different series if they are getting bored with the songs or aren’t being challenged enough.

Conclusion

I definitely think Alfred’s Premier Piano Course is worth checking out.  While I would not switch over to this series exclusively, I love having this option on hand for just the right student.

If you decide to give Alfred’s Premier Piano Course a try, let me know in the comments what you think.

What Other Piano Method Books Would You Recommend?

Still want to browse for other options?  I get it!  I like to shop around before making a decision too.

Check out my blog post: Best Piano Method Books For Beginners: My Top 3 Picks.