Best way for a 40-year old to learn piano at home

I had lessons as a kid, so not quite the same but I'm working through http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0882846167/metafilter-20/ref=nosim/ which is widely recommended for learning on your own, and it has simple but satisfying songs that increase steadily in complexity with theory discussion as you go along on chords etc. You would benefit from getting a couple of proper lessons from a piano teacher or at least a friend who plays piano to show you how to sit at the piano and how to hold your hands properly and practice scales. To avoid boredom while I try to get the simple basics done really well, I got the Frozen sheet music and am grimly working through the arrangements on that which are way out of my league but after a month are starting to make my toddler stop in her tracks and go "Elsa!" which has been satisfying.

When I learned to play the piano (as a kid), I took lessons, but the most effective and fun work for me was making my way through http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mikrokosmos_(Bart%C3%B3k). The books aren't expensive ($7-8 each new, less used, and you can start with just the first one or two) and they cover pretty much all the technical fundamentals, so it might be worth a try even if you're not interested in learning classical pieces.

About a year of basic piano instruction and then pick up one of those little books (or heck, they have free apps for it) that have chords and keys in them. If you can learn to read chords (in other words, play piano like a guitar player plays guitar) and you can play each chord in its three positions, you are well on your way. Then, what you do is play along with/try to pick out notes from songs you like. Be warned, Coldplay is a little tougher than they sound. I can do what you want to do and frankly most of it is just sitting at the piano and noodling around. But when I learned to read chords I had already had the basic piano behind me. Also what you need is a music theory book but a simple one. The one I have I think is out of print, otherwise I would recommend it. Oh, and another thing. Youtube is your friend. One other thing. A lot of us nondenominational keyboardists do exactly this, only with contemporary Christian praise songs, many of which are not that far off stylewise from popular music. If you know anyone in that realm, talk to their worship leader-they might find you someone who can help you in the process.

The best way is the way that works best for you. I recommend trying different resources to see what clicks for you. In particular:Go to your library and see what they have. Look for both teach-yourself books AND videos. They might have the 30-lesson Beginning Piano telecourse or the PBS perennial Play Piano in a Flash. If your library's catalog lets you find books by subject, try "Piano -- Methods -- Self-instruction", or call numbers around 786.3 (if your library uses the same cataloging system as my library). IN ADDITION, see if your library has http://books.google.com/books/about/How_to_Play_the_Piano_Despite_Years_of_L.html?id=ClbQndZn4tgC. I don't think I'd recommend it on its own, but it might be a good adjunct to whatever other formal books you check out. It has some helpful information on figuring out, as a not-very-sophisticated player, how to build a basic left hand/right hand structure if you've got the chords and melody for a song.Check out iTunes U. I haven't tried these courses myself, but I found https://itunes.apple.com/us/itunes-u/music-30a-b-beginning-piano/id380860116?mt=10, as well as a series of podcasts on iTunes called https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/piano-lessons-online-full/id250648768?mt=2, which has 47 lessons covering the foundations of music theory, basic ear training, blues (an important foundation for pop and jazzy stuff), and lots moretry Youtube videos, as suggested above; since you're interested in some structure and logical progression, look for people who have posted collections of lessons with a structure. The "Play piano in a flash" guy has posted a bunch of http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCacTCNco8pdGXwBBue4vtCg.Finally, if you need structure and progression, and you're studying on your own, you will need to provide those things for yourself. So, keep a learning log, and make an entry every time you practice, noting at least what you did (practiced the C scale, played along with a video), how long you practiced, what you got out of it, and what you'd like to work on next. At least once a month, review what you've done, and write down what you hope to cover in the next month. Good luck!

I'd try to build a good technique with http://www.hanon-online.com/ exercises. Scales and finger exercises. It's not fun, but it makes a huge difference in the quality of your music. I would also recommend practicing for at least half an hour a day, five days a week (or more). You say you don't want to become a concert pianist, and I know your work schedule is chaotic... so 30 minutes a day might sound like a lot-- but concert pianists practice for 12 hours a day. And focused repetition is the only way to build that muscle memory!

If you have an iPad, check out this http://gigaom.com/2014/06/14/how-to-learn-to-play-piano-with-a-little-help-from-your-ipad/

I learned how to play guitar first with online tutorials. I believe I used one by about.com to start. Then I just looked for YouTube videos once I got the basics down and needed to learn about technique. I joined a popular guitar forum to interact with other guitarists and ask questions. I'm sure you can find all the materials you need online for free to at least get started. Piano is a pretty straightforward instrument so I think learning it on your own is feasible. It looks like about.com does have http://piano.about.com/od/PianoLessonBook/. I don't know if it's the best way to do it. I just know that's how I did guitar several years ago.

Mac? Do you have garageband installed? I'm pretty sure there were some included video tutorials in there that _may_ have some for piano. Alfreds mentioned above is not bad, but would still suggest a teacher, if only for guidance on poster and how your bend your fingers.