Béla Bartók Mikrokosmos Volume 1 (Pink): Piano Solo | Beginner Sheet Music Collection | Pink Piano Songbook with Music Theory and Exercises | 20th Century Piano Exercises for Early Learners Paperback – June 1, 2004

For beginner material that doesn't have that tiresome Vinnese sound, mikrokosmos is a breath of fresh air. Modern and clear Hungarian sounds give the ears a nice change of flavor from the overly sweet classical beginner Fair.It's progressive nature makes revisiting easier examples excellent sight reading practice, and has interesting modal melodic ideas, contrasting from the typical Cmajor fatigue of typical beginner sight reading examples.Quality of print and paper is good, including short instruction for using the book, and short biographical description from Bela Bartoks son, for whom these pieces were originally written.6 part series, this is book 1, so for absolute beginners, or for anyone looking for simple sight reading examples

This is not a regular method book. I learned out of this book and now teach out of it occasionally.I never stick to the same books and materials for all my students. For younger children, I would not use this book. I’m sure the right teacher can use this book to teach anyone but I’m definitely not that teacher. For younger children, Leila Fletcher Vol. 1 is my go to. For teenagers and adults, this book is probably better. More common method books like Leila Fletcher, Piano Adventures, and Alfred explain things like time signatures, tempo, phrasing, note names, etc. This does none of that. Those common methods are like reading Shakespeare with modern English translations and interpretations next to it. This book is like reading Shakespeare by itself.It wont be everyones cup of tea but I love this book/series. It may not fit in everyones teaching style but give it a try if you’re unsure. And this is definitely not a self teaching method.

Extremely useful for sight reading practice and working towards hand independence. You can't expect both hands to go out on their own without first having one follow the other. :) The best part about this book is that it specifies what skill you're working on, and it also shows you the notes without any rhythm in the top right corner, so that the pattern is easy to identify. It's incredibly intuitive! It gradually introduces changes to the left hand so that you can ease into playing different notes on each hand.

I've only had it for a week, but with the help of this book and the instruction from my piano instructor, I've been able to take my skills past my previous ability in one week quicker than it took me to self-teach in six months even with certain apps that "teach" you. Perhaps learning through apps and YouTube videos isn't my learning style, but I highly recommend finding an instructor that uses this book!

The Mikrokosmos are an excellent learning tool for the serious young piano student. It helps to alleviate some of the technical problems that students have by addressing the issues before bad habits develop. It also helps the student think about the music from a theoretical perspective and not to become too dependent upon patterns. My students that diligently use this series are better music readers. I love the songs in book 6 as well. The actual scores have nice musical fonts and are visually pleasant to the eye.

Not being a music teacher, I don't feel particularly qualified to review this book. However, my 11-year-old daughter's new piano teacher recommended it for her after she took a year-long break from piano. Though most of the melodies aren't (to me) particularly beautiful, she enjoys working all the exercises and doesn't get bored. She has been progressing quickly through the book, and benefited from the first half which worked the two hands in unison -- excellent bass clef review for her, because her primary instrument is violin. The latter half is more complicated, with each hand working independently, both on notes and rhythm. There are some weird things in the book -- for example, one exercise with only an A flat in the key signature and another with only C sharps! -- but the purpose of the volume is clearly not to teach music theory. I think it's a good book for my student, who can play by ear very well. There is nothing predictable about these melodies, so it forces her to rely on her reading skills instead.

This a very good book for those that want to follow Bartok's way of teaching. His lessons definitely differ from the regular piano adult piano beginner books. Bartok makes you learn piano in a very unique way and I think that this book does a very good job of doing that.

Is a very excellent book. I am learinig from this book with joy. My mind is opening up to reading efficiently the notes and intervals.