Product Description
1. The Bastien method for adults comprises only two books, whereas the Alfred’s method comprises 3. Thus the Alfred’s gives you more practice in difficult subjects and generally makes the pace less packed and stressful.
2. The Bastien method has got some good songs, but unfortunately, this is not supposed to be a book of popular favorites. The songs here, one would think, are included solely to yield practice in the tricky concept du jour. Instead, the book will introduce the concept of playing in, say, G flat major, and only offer one song in this key! The next two or three songs following will be back in the key of G or F, reviewing stuff you don’t need to review. No, no, no. I’m not here to listen to or play pretty songs: I’m here to get better. Why not more practice in the key of G flat major so you can really get the feel of the key into your blood? Nope. Instead, it’s on to something easier. The entire book is like that.
3. The Alfred’s course goes far deeper with the student before pronouncing him finished.
4. It seems like there’s always something just a little off about the Bastien arrangements: “Greensleeves” has an unsatisfying bass, “O Susanna” has some weird rests, etc. The songs are not very gratifying when played strictly by what’s there on the page. The ones in Alfred’s, on the other hand, are always crowd-pleasers.
5. Alfred’s has WAY more supplementary books (a dizzying amount, really) that you can transition to seamlessly once you’ve worked your way through the third book. The Bastien series does not.
