How to Play the Piano

An accessible and inspiring guide by the pianist and international bestselling writer James Rhodes, who promises that this book gives anyone with two hands, a piano or an electric keyboard and just 45 minutes a day the tools they need to learn to play Bach’s Prelude No. 1 in C Major in 6 weeks, even if they know nothing about music and have never even touched a piano before.

How often do we convince ourselves that it’s just too late - too late to learn how to ride a bike, too late to know how to meditate, too late to travel the world… As we get older and time slips through our fingers like water, we become resigned, almost defeatist, about abandoning our dreams.

For James Rhodes, after the inevitable How many hours a day do you practice? and Show me your hands , the most common thing people say to him when they hear he’s a pianist is I used to play the piano as a kid. I really regret giving it up .

Where does this mourned and misplaced creativity go? For Rhodes, it’s still there to be tapped into by all of us, at any point. This inspirational book gives us the means to do this, by breaking up Bach’s seminal Prelude No. 1 from the Well-Tempered Clavier into manageable segments, teaching us the basics of piano playing - how to read music, the difference between the treble and the bass clef, sharp and flat notes, how to practice etc.. - and encouraging personal interpretation in a way that is guaranteed to soothe the mind, feed the soul and unleash creative powers we didn’t know we still had. All of this will culminate in an ability to perform one of Bach’s masterpieces.

If listening to music is soothing for the soul, then playing music is achieving enlightenment. It’s going from kicking a ball around with a few pals to playing alongside Ronaldo.