Can someone offer me advice, please ?

I am looking at purchasing the Adult Self teaching course (with CD). The suggestion is once finished with this book to go on to 'Alfred's Basic adult Piano Course' book 2. I
have see there is a level 2 and level 3. Are these the same as book 2 and book 3 ?
Is there a book 4 etc. ? I am just looking to learn and play well enough for fun and entertainment. I do want to read music and be able to play popular songs.

Also, I am also looking at the e-media course 'deluxe' vesion that seems very interactive and user friendly. Anyone using or have used this course ?

I nee to make a decision as I want to start playing.

Thank you for your help
Vincent

Please advise

There are actually two versions of the self teaching Alfred's course. The one I have is "Alfred's Self Teaching Adult Piano Course" and the other is "Teach Yourself Piano". The first has a gold tone cover with a grand piano on it. It is the same thing as "Alfred's Adult Basic Piano Course Book 1" with a couple of extra songs and a good measure of explanation for each piece. Books 2 & 3 are continuations of the series. I believe in time the Basic Books 2 & 3 will be out in "Teach Yourself" form, as they are already out in digital format. I cannot comment on the digital form, but the book form is nice, but the CD, as in the entire Alfred's series, is poor. They use all types of real and synthetic instruments for the piano part and it is often overpowered by the accompaniment. No worries though as you can find entire playlists on YouTube that covers the books. If you do want to even get to an intermediate level you're going to need to do all three levels and there will still be work to do.


Just so you know the Alfred's Adult All in 1 book 1 thread here pretty much matches The Book your asking about so you will be able to get plenty of help.
Good Luck,
BTS

EDIT: As of now there is only book 1,2,3.

You could check with the folks contributing to the ALFRED'S BOOK 1 Thread. I think they use THIS BOOK with or without the CD.

Basically the self teaching book is that same book minus some theory, plus a lot of instruction on technique.

It gets complicated, especially if anyone's trying to follow the Alfred's threads on this forum. Do the books contain the same list of pieces?

Whichever book you choose from the Alfred series, make sure you get one with a DVD. At the beginning, seeing someone else play the pieces was quite helpful.

I started with Alfred's Teach Yourself to Play Piano: Everything You Need to Know to Start Playing Now!, but switched to the All-In-One series as it seemed more comprehensive. I am also trying to learn theory as I go.

I'm new too. It's tough on your own. You have to be patient and work at it. But I can't get enough of it!

I am currently learning with Alfred's Basic Adult All-in-One Course and I think it's great. There is a good mix of theory and exercises and I feel I am progressing at a regular pace. I don't have the CDs though but the book alone is very good for beginners and when I want to know how a particular piece is supposed to sound, I just search it on Youtube.

I would recommend these books to anyone who is just starting on the piano.

Exactly the same, plus two or three additional. Of course page numbers will be different.