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Hi everyone,

I have to buy a present for a family member who wants to start learning the piano. I was thinking sheet music would be good, and since I got many valuable suggestions here for myself when I asked about what to do after Burgmüller 100, I figured I should tap your collective expertise again.

The person I am talking about is a complete beginner at the piano, but has been an amateur musician pretty much all his life. He played oboe, bagpipes and various recorders as a child and throughout early adulthood. He has also been taking formal lessons in oboe, oboe d'amore and cor anglais for the past 10+ years, beginning at the age of 40 or so. He has played, and still plays, in various ensembles whose repertoire varies from folk to hard-core classical to jazz and pop and band music.

Now that his oboe lessons are coming to an end (you can't stretch it much past ten years in our system), he's looking for something else to learn. He's planning to start composition lessons in September. The school will require him to learn a polyphonic instrument concurrently, so he's thinking piano.

For a variety of reasons, I'm not about to get him a method book (although technically, I already gave him one, see below). Most importantly: if his future teacher *wants* him to use method books, he or she will tell him what to get. It's not for me to make that decision. Also, his primary goal is not to learn to play, say, Chopin. It's to learn to play music that he'll write himself, and to use the piano as a tool that will help him understand the principles behind the writing process better.

I already gave him the first two volumes of Bartok's Mikrokosmos, which I had lying around from my own early piano adventures. He specifically asked for them and, well, he sort of wants to "figure out whether he can do this" before presenting himself to a teacher for lessons. In any case, he'll have to wait until September, because the school system won't allow him to jump in right now.

Any suggestions for what to get?

Mikrokosmos is the best thing I know for polyphony at the beginner level.

After book 1 of Mikrokosmos he could add the easiest Bach and contemporaries (Notebook for Anna Magdalena Bach).

+1. I think there will be universal agreement.

This sounds like quite a talented -- and dedicated -- student. I wish him well.

. Charles

So it seems . Predictable ... but useful. Thanks!

And I'll transmit your well-wishes to the receiver of this gift .

But, do all of those who agree know there are two Notebooks? which one are they agreeing on?

Given that hreichgott explicitly mentioned Bach and contemporaries, I'll assume she's referring to the 1725 one. It's also my understanding that this is commonly the one people mean when they talk about Anna Magdalena's Notebook.

I suspect you're right. But I also suspect many if not most people think that is the only one.