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I am going to buy some video game sheet music. There are two versions of the book. They both have identical pieces, but one version is transcribed for easy piano, and the other is the accurate transcription.

I looked through both and I could play the easy piano versions with a bit of practice. There are fingerings noted and sometimes the piece is transposed to an easier key. The regular versions would require a lot more practice and I may still not get them accurate, since there are no fingerings noted. The lack of fingerings is a big detriment for me, since I am not experienced enough to know the best fingerings for a given phrase. I also notice the regular version has chords and phrases which would require distinct voicing. The easy piano versions are not as complicated.

I am leaning toward the easy book, as it will allow me to make decent progress. However, I am concerned that if I learn the easy versions, it will make it more difficult to learn the regular version later (probably within a year at my current rate of learning). Anyone have any experience with this situation or comments in general?

Does reading simple words make it harder to read difficult words? No, and neither will this.

Now, you can argue whether it's better to play other music until you are ready to tackle the harder version and not learn both? That would be a legitimate question. But it won't make it harder if you've learnt the easier one.

The reverse may not be true. I played "easy" versions of a few pieces I've now learned the full version of. The most recent example was Chopin's Nocturne in Eb. Well, it so happened that I picked up the book that had the easy version and was just playing through a few pieces for reading practice - I reached the easy version of the Nocturne and couldn't play it. It just wasn't right!

The concern is for muscle memory. I would be able to play the easy version from memory. Once I started learning the "real" version, my muscle memory may interfere.

>Does reading simple words make it harder to read difficult words? No, and neither will this.

I see that different.

I think reading simple words, no matter how many you read, never prepares you for the difficult words. You simply have to start reading the difficult words (sentences, books..), and the earlier the better. Of course, this only after reading the easy words to start with. Just my 2cents...

I would say that developing fluency with simple words enables one to learn more complicated words by context/extrapolation.

To translate to music, the more fluent I am at reading individual notes and recognizing intervals, the easier it becomes for me to recognize chords and arpeggiation.

If you feel that you are that close to the piano solo version, then why waste the time, energy and expense?

Having said that, there are some very good players here at PW that have been playing for 3-5 years and are still working out of the "Easy Piano" books. From what I understand, "Easy Piano" is considered intermediate.

I started learning to play in April of this year. I bought up a selection of easy books. Now I kind of regret that because I don't want to learn "wrong". I'll give you an example. I wanted to play Fur Elise in the worst way. I got some easy music and got it pretty quick! And then I listened to the "REAL" version and was pretty disappointed. So now I am learning to play it right. I can play the first part quite well. I am getting pretty good at the second part. The 3rd part is very similar to the first part, so that's easy too. And that's as far as I have gotten, but I am very happy with that progress, and this piece will be something I'll play forever. I am only using intermediate books from now on, even though it takes a considerable amount of time to play a selection from them well. It's worth the effort.

Of course, but that wasn't the question ....

I had a situation like this.

The full version of Lost my Pieces vs the easier version.

I found that there were similarities and initially my hands would go for a note which would have been played on the easier version when my eyes were telling me something else.

It took a few tries to work it out, it took a lot longer to figure out the full version

Same with a Chopin piece Prelude op.28 no 7 I could play the Casio version after an hour.

The full version was somewhat more complicated but had similarities took about a week and a half to get it. YMMV of course as I am just a rookie.



My thoughts are if you need to go into your zone of proximal development if you stick in your comfort zone you won't develop so you should go for something just out of reach but not too far out of reach so you're not demotivated.

Maple leaf rag is way above my level and it was depressing to only be able to play a couple bars after a few days. While a entertainer is an easier piece and after a few days I could play the first page.

I think this it the thing, if you learn what your capable of learning now, you get better and better at all aspects of music. Every new song you learn to read will have new challenges in it for you even if it seems just as easy there is always a tricky part of a song you will learn a lot from mastering. Your music reading skills will improve and you will gain better rhythm and timing along the way. Soon you will find you are ready to move on to progressively harder pieces of music. Just make sure you continue to challenge yourself with slightly harder pieces little by little. I am new to piano but have been playing guitar for years and it was the best way for me to improve. Some things just take time but you'll have fun along the way and get there faster if you play play play!!.

If the regular version of this book had fingerings, it would be the obvious choice. The fingerings are the critical difference for me.

I am considering the easy version so I could quickly play the melodies to entertain my daughter and also relax a bit from the intense learning I do with classical. However, I'd like to be able to actually perform these pieces someday, so the easy version almost seems like a waste of time.

I've only played a bit from the online sample pages from each book. I'll take a look at the books in person tomorrow and see just how out of reach the regular versions are. The book is marked "intermediate-advanced".

I learned Scott Joplin's "the entertainer" from an easy version of the sheet music and memorized most of it. Many years later I came across the published version that Joplin played -- it was much tougher -- but my muscle memory did not interfere -- I don't have the new version memorized either though. Anyway, I don't think it will hurt to play the easy version first. The hard version can be really tough depending on your flexibility, speed, skill, ability to read music, etc. But eventually it comes and you'll learn it.

For me, muscle memory doesn't interfere with learning a harder version of a piece. And I find that I can play both just fine.

Can I have the name of the books or a link? I really like videogame music. It'd be great if they have books for other instruments too.

Isn't it always the way though that you start off with simple pieces and gradually move onto more difficult ones. Sometimes it'll be more difficult versions of the songs you were playing earlier.

The books in question are the Alfred Super Mario and The Legend of Zelda series for piano. They provide both easy and advanced versions of each.

I think the best video game piano arrangements are the Final Fantasy Piano Collections series. I have a compilation book and enjoy playing them a lot. http://www.amazon.com/Final-Fantasy-VII-Piano-Collections/dp/4636831837/ They're intermediate - advanced difficulty though.

There's also an easy compilation edition (http://www.amazon.com/Final-Fantasy-Piano-Sheet-Music/dp/4401023285/) but I have no experience with it. Unfortunately the sheet music books are so expensive...

I think it's not a big deal. Sure, if you want to jump right into deep water, get the harder version but you might find it a little too hard to get the gratification of playing even a little bit of it correctly. But starting with the easier version and working your way up will surely do you no harm.

I wouldn't stress.

Yah, if you learn an easy version and then immediately try to learn a hard version, you'll be at cross-currents.

But if you learn an easy version now and then play a bunch of stuff to improve your skills and then later come back to the harder version, you'll run into some stuff, sure, but you can lay down new patterns comparatively easily.

im doing the easy versions.... its fun and the hard ones are easily a year down the road... will be equally fun getting a "spiced up" version to do later of a song you really love...

"Easy Piano" covers such a wide range anymore. Not only is it usually a simplified arrangement, quite often they are put in "easy" keys like C, F or G. So if you play along with a recording, it might be off. I noticed if a student is looking for a theme song and I go on Musicnotes.com to see what's available, quite often there are multiple easy piano versions. Some I wouldn't necessarily classify as easy, some are young child level. It varies greatly.

In the short term I don't think it hurts. It definitely helps you improve your reading skills when there are fewer notes. You just have to use your judgement on whether easy means easier version or if it means kid version.