Wow...I see that most of the people here are no beginners. I don't know if I can survive here. I'm an Indonesian and currently staying in Denpasar, Bali. I really need a book (or books) that can teach me the basic things about piano playing and sheet music reading for the instrument. I have searched the internet and I'm helplessly clueless!! My father is a piano tuner and I have played the instruments since I was...well, I forgot. I just played the instrument. I have learned to play by seeing the people around me playing (mostly pop, some classical [my dad's customers]). I began "seriously" playing classical pieces when I was in college (about seven years a go). This is what I have been doing: I buy CDs and cassettes of some pieces I like and download the sheet music from the SMA site. I play awfully, though it sounds OK to me. The thing is that I can't read a sheet music without listening to the recording. I have to hear it played first. I have to know the song. I got to have the melody in my head first before I can read and play a single bar correctly. My knowledge is so fragmentary, mostly comes from the internet. I'm 25 and working as a journalist. So late and has so little time for practicing! But I really wanna explore the minds of the classical composers (tired of playing the same pieces all the time). Can anybody here help me? What should I do?

Hi gentole,
this sounds like you need a teacher, this could sometimes be more helpful, because he/she could see your playing more objective than you do yourselve. But anyway I would recommend highly one short book, which is about how to read a score and then use the ears in the right way. This is Leimer/Gieseking Modernes Klavierspiel in german, I think in english its called "piano technique". (you could check this link: http://www.amazon.com/Piano-Technique-Walter-Gieseking/dp/0486228673 ). This is some concentration work to do, but I think the only way, if you want to go without teacher. The good thing is, it doesn´t need much time.

Best regards, Julia