I have been learning how to play the piano for a few weeks using the Alfred's Adult all-in-one Course (Level 1). I find that the book is easy to follow, and I feel like I am making some progress. However, I am wondering if I should start taking piano lessons as well. My goal is to be able to play some classical music, and I am not sure how far I can go with self-guided books. Any advice?

it baffles me as to how it would be bad to have them.

sometimes i think my playing is acceptable, and it obviously isn't since my teacher tells me so. criticism helps one improve.

but i suppose you could just be self-critical and spare yourself the excess company of another talented soul.

Absolutely take lessons!

In my youth I studied piano and was classically trained. I returned to piano after many years and I am taking lessons again. Though I now music and can read, taking lessons guides you through those areas of playing which may not be evident to you the player. Technique is an important part of playing well.My instructor has really enlightened me to areas of playing I need to master.

Best Regards,
Nick

The usual advice is that you should get a teacher but...

Some of us here are learning without a regular teacher, and that works out too.

In that case, you need to know what the piece you are playing should sound like and critically compare it with what you are actually playing. Above all, does it sound musical? Recording yourself is a big help in these steps.

If you have problems with that, then you need a teacher, at least to get started. If you get stuck, you can always ask questions in these forums. A lot of talented people hang out here -- but I'm not among them

Go for lessons I was 'playing' something for my teacher last week and had trouble with some double notes going down evenly because two other fingers were already holding some notes down (Prok VF 1) - he said "raise your wrist as you do it" - wow! - magic! - it works every time.

Now, I may have eventually iterated to that solution by myself, but the beauty of an expert watching you is they can take you straight to the solution... You will pick up far fewer or no bad habbits and progress faster in my (admitidly limited) experience.

The goal of my teacher is to teach me to be able to teach myself - if you see what I mean - how to problem solve efficiently and listen/evaluate...

jamister, if you have the time and money, I would definitely recommend trying lessons. But take your time finding a teacher, and try to get somebody who is used to adult students and whom you like.

I think you can teach yourself, but you will make progress much faster with a teacher.

a good teacher will make things easier for you and you might progress quicker as well. but it doesn't mean that you cannot teach yourself. i did it for 5 years and was pretty good at teaching myself then in fact. like you, i went through a method book and then kept on reading all kinds of technique books, seeking advices from online resources or everything and learning pieces along with those. it worked well for me and i did make progress. it was only when i got to a point that i didn't see what i could do to make me get any further on this, and started to find a teacher.

so, you can get a teacher whenever you think it's time. it's not necessary to have a teacher at beginning, but some people have harder time than others at the beginning without a teacher or some guidance.

I would agree that having a teacher makes a big difference. I was working on my own for several months due to scheduling difficulties. I was practicing and working through things, but when I went back to lessons this week my teacher was able to show me things that I was missing and completely unaware of. The other issue is learning bad habits that you have to later unlearn to play more advanced pieces.

If you can afford to have one and can find one that you work well with, I would advise you to go for it.

I have only had two lessons, but I can already tell that, for me at least, having a teacher is the right choice. So far my teacher has pointed out hand and wrist positions (more than just the once, I'm afraid) and has noticed some funky fingering that I was completely oblivious to.

I like the structure that comes from weekly lessons. I appreciate the weekly small goals and the assistance with developing medium and long-term goals (still in progress). Some folks may have the discipline to go it alone, but many of us benefit from having someone with carrots and sticks.

Brent

I just wish i could find a good teacher! That seems to be the hard part. This whole weekend and week I have e-mailed loads of people from various websites I found for local persons. So far not much biting.

I was self teaching with Alfred for a couple of months and then started lessons. I found out I was making a few errors and the teacher taught me some tricks to make things easier. When the songs start getting more complicated, the lessons will come in handy...

Thanks for all your inputs. My fear is that I am picking up some bad techniques/habits, and without a teacher I won't know what it is that I am doing wrong. I have another question. Is it typical to have lesson on a weekly basis? How about once every two weeks?

Weekly is normal, but if your teacher agrees, two-weekly should be fine. If you're traveling some distance, it makes sense to have a longer lesson half as often.

i started with bi-weekly lessons first. later i switched to weekly to make up some times when my teacher was away or got busy to have to cancel lessons.

my lessons are one-hour lessons, but for a beginner, half hour might be enough. you can choose 45-minute lessons as well.

My instructor stated to me after listening to a piece I auditioned for her, that I have been playing the piece incorrectly. I struggled through a Chopin Nocturne and thought I played it well. I didn't realize that my timing was off, pharases were off, and my fingering was not utilized correctly. So much time and effort was put into a piece only to play it incorrectly. A teacher will point out the techniques needed to play well and correctly. I now must un-do the errors, which will take me back to square one with the Chopin piece. I can tell you though, that I now can hear the difference and see the progress I am making thanks to my teacher.

Best Regards,
Nick

Oh and Yes, I am taking lessons every two weeks. My teacher indicates that since I know notation and basic piano methods, I didn't need to attend a weekly lesson. I take one hour lessons every other week. Gives me plenty of time to practice and plenty of time with her. I look forward to her lesson. We make great progress and yes, bad habits can be made and takes time to un-do what you have been doing.