I'm thinking of subscribing to a magazine as the only stockist near me is in a town i rarely travel to now (since we have little kids we no longer have social lives ).

So, I was thinking of either Pianist magazine or International Piano.

I just cant decide which would be better for me as a beginner.

Opinions please.

I would go for the pianist magazine. I started collecting them at the beginning of this year.

My reasons are: they have 40 plus pages of music in each copy. A section dedicated to beginners (along with online video!) They have been featuring a teacher on learning beginning jazz (last three or four magazines I believe.) They have great articles every month on techniques, different scores etc...

I haven't seen the other magazine so I won't comment on that one.

I agree with BeccaBb that Pianist is great. In addition to the points she mentions, each issue also comes with a very well-made CD demonstrating a solid performance of each of the pieces featured in the sheet music, plus a few additional recordings by a world-class pianist featured or interviewed in that issue.

Along with Piano World, Pianist Magazine is my go-to resource!

They are very different magazines. For me, a magazine where the main contents is piano music has very minimal interest because everything is available for free on the internet, and I already have over 75,000 pages of music which is more music than I could learn in 100 lifetimes. I used to subscribe to a magazine with some music in it(Piano and Keybaord?...it's no longer published)but that was more because I wanted to subscribe to every piano mag on the planet.

International Piano IMO is the best magazine about classical piano but it also expensive and some of its articles might not appeal to anyone but pianophiles. For example, their comparative reviews of every recording available of some major work. It also has virtually nothing specifically intended for a beginning piano student. I think you can get a good idea of the contents of International Piano by looking at their website.

I, too, agree with BeccaBb and ClsscLib. I've read both and much prefer Pianist. It's a lot more positive in it's reviews, and I find the articles to be a lot more informative and helpful. It took me forever to get through one issue of International because the style of the writing and such was really dry and just didn't captivate me. Pianist is like candy. I chew through an issue in an hour! The tremendous amount of sheet music included as well as the Cd make Pianist an incredible value. Back issues are also really cheap, they just don't have every one still available. I'm currently going through 10 back issues I ordered so I have something new to read while I wait for the next issue to come out. Two months is a long time!!

Also, Erica Worth (the editor)is awesome to deal with if you have questions.

** The above is strictly my personal opinion. It in no way reflects the views or opinions of Pianist magazine, nor am I affiliated with Pianist magazine in any way. I'm not hoping they see this and send me a free copy, nor do I wish to influence the contest results in the current or any future issue of Pianist with my glowing and love-laden review of Pianist magazine. I have not received any monetary gains from this review, but I wouldn't turn down any donation Pianist magazine would care to throw my way to improve my piano learning, like, perhaps, a new Kawai GE-20 . **

Thanks for the input everyone.

I went to the only stockist in my area this weekend, I wanted to know what to expect before subscribing (think it's the Scrooge in me), but they had non in.

I'll just have to subscribe and hope for the best.

I think the key thing is that the OP mentioned that they are a beginner. Pianist magazine covers broader skill levels with articles that will improve technique, provide some insight into jazz forms and also offers some detailed info on learning new repertoire that's reprinted in the magazine. The scores in the magazine aren't the greatest - but as you get more advanced it's fun to read thru the variety of pieces in the magazine. They will also expose you to lots of different pieces and composers that you might like to explore in more detail (and likely invest in better scores to learn from). I like (and subscribe to) both publications, but IP tends to focus on more advanced players.

I've taken them both at one time. Pianist would definitely be a better choice for you. It's much more oriented toward playing, particularly at the beginning and intermediate levels. International Pianist is much more oriented toward reporting piano related news, concerts past and upcoming, new recording, rising artists etc. It has some good interviews with artists though.