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john barnes

I started to "relearn" the piano using both the Alfred series and the John Thompson books. I use the "Modern Course for the Piano" (red covers).

I think that using both books has helped me progress faster. I feel the Thompson songs and the techniques to be learned are somewhat more difficult, and this helps me with the Alfred songs.

On the other hand, the Alfred songs build my confidence, although some of them are hard for me too!

My personal preference is for the songs in the thompson books.

I don't know about learning without a teacher, although many in the Alfred forums are doing just that, so I don't see why you couldn't with the Thompson book.

I don't have a teacher but I took lessons for several months when I was about 10 so I already knew how to read notes, dynamics, etc.

Good luck to you and let us know what you decide!

just4fun Online, I have read your post, here:

I started to "relearn" the piano using both the Alfred series and the John Thompson books. I use the "Modern Course for the Piano" (red covers).

I think that using both books has helped me progress faster. I feel the Thompson songs and the techniques to be learned are somewhat more difficult, and this helps me with the Alfred songs.

On the other hand, the Alfred songs build my confidence, although some of them are hard for me too!

My personal preference is for the songs in the thompson books.

I don't know about learning without a teacher, although many in the Alfred forums are doing just that, so I don't see why you couldn't with the Thompson book.

I don't have a teacher but I took lessons for several months when I was about 10 so I already knew how to read notes, dynamics, etc.

Good luck to you and let us know what you decide!

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just4fun, thank. Good post. The trouble of some posts, is when they ask a question you don't know their background.

I am new to piano but had an excellent teacher when I was 40 learning the sax, so I know what to do and what not to do for the process of learning a musical instrument and I have had not problems up to now and I don't expect any. Some of the pieces slow be down a bit more than others, but that is to be expected.

I haven't had to post a musical problem here, but I expect I will have to when I get in books 3 or 4 or 5 - but maybe not because JT is good at explaining things if you have some musical background, which both you and I have. Of course, the awesome privilege of this forum on the internet, enables us to reach our for help if we are having trouble figuring something out and people are very helpful taking the time to help people all around the world on this forum.

All round development for a classical pianist comes from playing the WTC, the sonatas of Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven and Schubert, the works of the four great Romantics and on up to Brahms, Grieg, Debussy, Rachmaninov et al.

A typical entry to this repertoire comes from the Anna Magdalena Notebook and the Bach Little Preludes and Inventions, Clementi's Sonatinas, and Schumann's and Tchaikovsky's Albums for the Young, etc.

A method book is the means to get from scratch to the entry level for the great classics. Thompson's Book 3 takes us to that point with Chopin Preludes and Burgmuller's Etudes thrown in to boot so Books 4 and 5, therefore, are surplus to requirements.

There's very little instruction in how to play at this point. Most of the information required at this stage is how to practise and method books don't do a very good job at this because they don't use demanding enough material. At this level we need to learn how to overcome the problems that beset us. Practise at tackling technically demanding pieces is more important now than learning how to play. Method books only go up to material that doesn't pose a great problem for a reasonable reader.

What's required is a system rather than a method. Gradually increasing the difficulty of the material doesn't cut it for me - that's done by improving sight reading. Solving problems makes improvement in leaps.

Thank you guys for the replies! Overall it sounds like the Thompson books are a good bet albeit not without its flaws. Sounds like Alfred books would make a nice supplement, I actually have one of them already.

Michael I liked hearing your experience with the Thompson books, and I like your spirit and passion for the piano. On another topic I recommend reading up on Markus Rothkranz for turning around cancer. He has a sort of cheesy image but his knowledge comes from personal experience of helping himself and his father and countless others to regain their health. All my best to you.

I look forward to pi king up the Thompson & Alfred courses and getting better at piano. Any further suggestions always greatly appreciated.

Kind Regards to all, I really appreciate the feedback.

What a strange coincidence... just watching a Billy Joel interview on YouTube, on that show Inside the Actors Studio. Billy just mentioned the JohnThompson course & how he started on those books!

johnbarnesiii, I have read your post, here:

What a strange coincidence... just watching a Billy Joel interview on YouTube, on that show Inside the Actors Studio. Billy just mentioned the JohnThompson course & how he started on those books!


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John, you have made my day in so many, many ways. First, I have not had television since I left home in 1969 so I don't know the names of many famous people but I know of Billy Joel. I have probably mentioned that I have had learning problems my whole life and I am dyslexic.

For whatever reason, I first fell in love with learning to play the piano and secondly I fell in love with the John Thompson method books. While a portion of the current world piano says they are irrelevant and inappropriate to be used to learn to play the piano. Since 1900s up until the 1970s or 80s they were okay to be used - but not now. But all those brilliant musicians that learned to play the piano using the John Thompson method books for all those years did so including Billy Joel, so he says.

All I did was open the books and follow the instructions of John Thompson and magically, I learned to play those awesome pieces in book 1. I have had no problems. When I sit down at the piano at anytime any day, I can play all the pieces in book 1 smoothly, musically, and without mistakes all 75 pages/50 pieces. What else could I ask of the late Mr. John Thompson, other than to be able to succeed at playing the music in is his books.

Thank you very much for posting that information.

johnbarnesiii, I have read your post, here:


Thank you guys for the replies! Overall it sounds like the Thompson books are a good bet albeit not without its flaws. Sounds like Alfred books would make a nice supplement, I actually have one of them already.

Michael I liked hearing your experience with the Thompson books, and I like your spirit and passion for the piano. On another topic I recommend reading up on Markus Rothkranz for turning around cancer. He has a sort of cheesy image but his knowledge comes from personal experience of helping himself and his father and countless others to regain their health. All my best to you.

I look forward to pi king up the Thompson & Alfred courses and getting better at piano. Any further suggestions always greatly appreciated.

Kind Regards to all, I really appreciate the feedback.

_______________________________________________

About cancer. I was diagnosed in 2008 with fatal cancer CLL in the 4th stage. I was playing basket ball 4 to 5 days a week and practicing in my spare time. after and before work. I was going to church several times a week. You see, I never played basketball as a kid, two guys at works said they played every summer half court. I asked if they could teach me and they did. I had to quit church because I had a calling from God, if you will, to play basketball. When I was diagnosed with fatal cancer in the 4th stage, I didn't drop a tear because I had had a awesome life and things happen. But when the doctors told me I couldn't play basketball because if I had an accident, my immune system wouldn't be strong enough if I had to have surgery. So I dropped a tear because I couldn't play baskbetball, but no tears for the cancer. In Canada our medical system helps being treated and my fellow Canadian taxpayers dug deep, deep into their pockets, because cancer drugs cost thousands of dollars both a day, and a week. The doctors told me they couldn't find the cancer after the treatment. I said, politely, (politely spoken) How hard did you look? So far everything is fine. The doctors said to live your life fully everyday because they just don't know.

Because, this has to be a piano story, I have to mention the word piano or I will get into trouble.
I was in the hospital for a month. and I brought a keyboard to the hospital (with spring loaded keys because digitals in 2008 were still very expensive)
The hospital said that lots of people/patients bought laptops, but I was the only person to ever bring a keyboard/piano.

I am glad to read that after my heavy duty sales pitch that you are going break open a John Thompson piano book to learn the piano!

Remember, play slowly, saying the names of the notes, as you play them. Look only at the music and never look at your hands. If you make a mistake, you are playing too fast, so you will have to slow down to a zero error level. Cheers, and work hard, the rewards are awesome.

Thank you so much, you have a great spirit and outlook.
I'll be sure to post my progress with J. Thompson books.

All my best.

zrtf90, I have read you post, here;

Originally Posted By: Michael_99
Why wouldn't/didn't you do book 4 and 5?

All round development for a classical pianist comes from playing the WTC, the sonatas of Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven and Schubert, the works of the four great Romantics and on up to Brahms, Grieg, Debussy, Rachmaninov et al.

A typical entry to this repertoire comes from the Anna Magdalena Notebook and the Bach Little Preludes and Inventions, Clementi's Sonatinas, and Schumann's and Tchaikovsky's Albums for the Young, etc.

A method book is the means to get from scratch to the entry level for the great classics. Thompson's Book 3 takes us to that point with Chopin Preludes and Burgmuller's Etudes thrown in to boot so Books 4 and 5, therefore, are surplus to requirements.

There's very little instruction in how to play at this point. Most of the information required at this stage is how to practise and method books don't do a very good job at this because they don't use demanding enough material. At this level we need to learn how to overcome the problems that beset us. Practise at tackling technically demanding pieces is more important now than learning how to play. Method books only go up to material that doesn't pose a great problem for a reasonable reader.

What's required is a system rather than a method. Gradually increasing the difficulty of the material doesn't cut it for me - that's done by improving sight reading. Solving problems makes improvement in leaps.


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Thanks for your helpful post, Richard.

YOU SAY: All round development for a classical pianist comes from playing the WTC, the sonatas of Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven and Schubert, the works of the four great Romantics and on up to Brahms, Grieg, Debussy, Rachmaninov et al.

I SAY: I agree with your statement above. I have learned to play the JT book 1, 75 pages/50 pieces. The music stores have thousands or many thousands of pages of music. But I only know how to play 50 pages of the JT beginner music. I don't have a teacher because I can't afford one on my disability pension. My only connection to the piano world, is John Thompson and this beginner piano forum. I know people who have played the piano but I don't know anyone on the planet to call and say I learned mary had a little lamb. What is the next piece to become a piano player that I should learn. Hearing that, I would with a shortness of breath on any day except Sunday because the music store is close, and I would go and buy that piece of music, learn to play it slowly, smoothly, musically and without mistakes and then I would ask you or anyone what the next piece is I should learn. And I would do that for the rest of my life until I die.

But politely, I think I should not bother the nice busy kind knowledgeable piano players in the newsgroup to ask such questions until I have learned or worked through the John Thompson books at least until the end of Book 3.

But having said that, I am humble and all ears to anyone here who reads this post, who says, hey, guy, if you can play musically all the pieces in the John Thompson book 2 without mistakes, you are good to go and buy Chopin' xyz piece that will be easy to play at your level, and I will run breathlessly to the music store and buy it with my hard saved coins of my pension and have great joy of learning any classical music anyone suggests. I have modestly travelled the world, hiked the mountains sleeping at the top in the snow in a tent over seeing the world below. I have skied, sailed, motorcycled, rode my bicycle from Canada to the USA over 6 days sleeping in the bush on the roadside. But now, all I want to do is eat, sleep, take short walks so I don't get fat and have a heartattack and die too early before I can play some good classical music.

YOU SAY: A typical entry to this repertoire comes from the Anna Magdalena Notebook and the Bach Little Preludes and Inventions, Clementi's Sonatinas, and Schumann's and Tchaikovsky's Albums for the Young, etc.

I SAY: I have Anna Magdalena etc book and I can probably play it except I haven't learned in the 75 page of JT how to play the Turn, grace note or embellishments, Appoggiatura, trill, etc.

YOU SAY: A method book is the means to get from scratch to the entry level for the great classics. Thompson's Book 3 takes us to that point with Chopin Preludes and Burgmuller's Etudes thrown in to boot so Books 4 and 5, therefore, are surplus to requirements.

There's very little instruction in how to play at this point. Most of the information required at this stage is how to practise and method books don't do a very good job at this because they don't use demanding enough material. At this level we need to learn how to overcome the problems that beset us. Practise at tackling technically demanding pieces is more important now than learning how to play. Method books only go up to material that doesn't pose a great problem for a reasonable reader.

What's required is a system rather than a method. Gradually increasing the difficulty of the material doesn't cut it for me - that's done by improving sight reading. Solving problems makes improvement in leaps.

I SAY: You are absolutely correct. I am not sure how long it will take me to get through books 2 and 3, but when I do, in a a year or 2 I will be stuck because I won't know what to learn in the journey, but I will have to wait until then.

Thank you for your helpful insight and suggestions.

Many of us in our 40s and 50s grew up with the Thompson books. It's very centric around C major and the C major scales. I called and spoke to the editor himself today about outdated, racist thropes and tunes in the Second Grade book. He was very receptive and kind, assuring me that it has been updated. It's a good supplement to sight reading and even when I was teaching music as a graduate student in the 1990s, I was using the Music Pathway methods. It's only recently that, having bought a lot of music, on ebay from a retired piano teacher that I reacquainted myself with the JT method books. It brought back memories of childhood piano lessons when JT and Leila Fletcher were the only piano methods around. At the end of the day, it's dependent on the student and teacher. No one method is perfect but certainly, if I was teaching again, I'd not use the JT method solely. I'd use it as a supplement to other methods.

Why do people keep reviving ancient threads like this as though the question was asked yesterday? Don't you look at the date of the last post before replying?

Evidently not. Or else they don't care.

I dont see a problem with thread necropsy when it a topic that is still relevant— and a discussion of John Thompson is still relevant. Am i missing something?