Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Adult Beginners Forum Are 'Easy Piano' books getting easier?

I bought Avatar Easy Piano and compared to my older book, Jurassic Park Easy Piano, Avatar is a whole level easier.
I also noticed one man, Dan Coates, writes a lot of the Easy arrangements. For example his arrangement of the Raider's March from Indiana Jones is super easy.

I think we all know that "Easy piano" is often not that easy. Sheet music Plus says "Easy piano" is often level 4 (intermediate). I looked at the selections for both those books that SMP had online and they looked similar standard to me. Perhaps the Avatar music fits under your fingers better?

Well I don't really think so. A lot of the stuff has been recycled over and over for who knows how many years. I have a dan coates book from the early 90's, and some of it is kinda tricky(bohemian rhasphody) and some of it is too easy to even bother with(doesn't even really sound like it should).

And with regards to what andy said, yeah for a begginer, easy piano is usually still hard, so it would be good if it was easier.

However, Big note easy play seems to be kinda new and that stuff is really easy. I didn't even like it when i was a beginner because the notes were so large I just couldn't stand it.

Well look at what Mendelssohn wrote for kinderstucke!

I think the fact that many compositions meant for children such as Debussy's Children's Corner is considered grade 9 and above says a lot.

Our daily lives have become very fast paced compared to previous generations. People want to get the most out of something by spending as little time, money, and effort as possible. Publishers are making "easy" even easier so that students can play arrangements of their favorite pop songs and tell others "I can play ______ on the piano" sooner.

I find that "Easy Play" or pieces that have been scaled down leave much to be desired.

Most times the arranger omits what makes it music. It takes me what seems to be a long time to learn any given piece my teacher has assigned, so for me it's not worth the effort to play something that dosen't have the right sound. A while ago I went to the library and borrowed easier to play Christmas Carols, and I was dissappointed, give me the real McCoy.

Just wish there were well-written music books that have been made easier but respect the integrity of the music as originally written. "Easy Play" should not translate to "Dumbed Down".

A lot of popular music has extremely intricate rhythms that a beginner wouldn't be able to play except by ear. So then they simplify the rhythm and the result is it doesn't sound like the original any more.

I agree that sometimes it's better to wait until you can play the real deal rather than play an easier arrangement.

Hmm, not that I would treat Wikipedia as an expert on all things but I think it's pretty accurate when it says

The spreadsheet I have (which seems reasonable) puts Seranade of the Doll at grade 8. Here's Horowitz playing it:

I do think that some music publishers have 'dumbed down' the levels they indicate on their music books, where "intermediate" is for about a second-year piano student, and "advanced" for about a third- or fourth-year student.

I'd think that for most people learning piano, years 1-3 are beginner, and years 4-5 are intermediate. From scratch, it takes most people about 5-7 years to reach 'advanced' status unless they are exceptionally talented and/or dedicated.

Agreed that many of the simplified / "easy" piano arrangements are unsatisfying. I'd rather work up to playing the real unadulterated versions of famous pieces. While working up to that level, why not find pieces that are simple and yet musically satisfying?

robot: maybe you're just getting better at playing?

I agree with GYABEAUX, it seems to be an 'instant gratification' issue.

I think it depends on he music, and what TYPE of music it is and what it has been written for. Some songs are written more advanced than others, so even when you simplify them, they might still be a bit harder than some of the others.