I taught myself to play piano in high school. As soon as I moved onto a more intermediate repertoire I began to develop pain in my hands/wrists that made playing impossible and I eventually had to stop playing altogether. I still haven’t fixed this. It’s possible to learn an instrument on your own, but developing proper technique on your own is very difficult and will inhibit your ability to play more advanced pieces, if not outright cause injury.
I’m not trying to discourage you, I think learning the basics and practicing easy pieces like Clementi’s Sonatinas is fine, but my advice would be to save up for some lessons, even one or two, at some point before trying more difficult pieces. The main thing I’d say to be careful of is pressing the keys too hard if you’re using an electronic keyboard. If you live near a music college you may be able to get discounted lessons from students there. I would also recommend the book ”What Every Pianist Needs to Know About the Body” by Thomas Mark.
I used my brother’s old books when learning the absolute basics and I don’t remember any titles, sorry. I liked Czerni’s books (School of Velocity and Practical Method for Beginners of the Pianoforte). Satie’s Gymnopédies are also good beginner pieces. If you’re new to music in general, get a good scalebook.
