Piano Grade 1 books

ABRSM and LCM are the main boards, by that I mean the ones with most candidates.

In my experience I find LCM more accessible, especially for beginner students, though it is a matter of personal opinion and some would argue that ABRSM is more 'respected'.

There is an additional Grade 1 book that you would need as well as those that has the pieces in it, those books are only for sight reading & tests and the other for scales.

However, if you have no intention of getting a teacher, there is no way you could begin with those books alone and hope to teach yourself without other resources. Grade 1 is the first of the grades but it is by no means the very beginning of piano education. You would need to get a beginners book to teach you the basics before you move on to that. Many people would recommend the John Thompson books and they are probably the most widely used but again it's a matter of personal opinion. Some people think they are useless.

Grades go from 1 to 8 and then there are further diplomas after that, though I'm mainly familiar with LCM diplomas. In addition to this, there are preparatory exams that LCM and ABRSM offer that come before the grades to give you an idea of what the exams are like. They both have slightly different systems.

I have had several years experience teaching piano at all levels and ages so let me know if you have any specific questions and I would be happy to help.