Description:
Voyetra has created a winner with Teach Me Piano Deluxe. This comprehensive set includes lessons, music reference, music-related games, and even a simple recording console. It should appeal to both beginning and intermediate players. Installation was fast and trouble-free. The application's interface is well-designed and navigation through the program is self-explanatory. From the main menu you can select Piano Lessons, Recording Station/Jammin' Keys, Music Games, Music Reference, and SoundCheck. We moved right into the piano lessons, which cover getting started, right-hand training, rhythm training, and more. You can also zoom in on individual chapters, and select solo exercises from a drop-down list. After choosing right-hand stretches, a video window popped up with our friendly instructor, Hugh Berberich. The camera view is over-the-shoulder, top-down on his hand as he slowly plays a scale up one octave. The video window allows one to pause or repeat the lesson, and move to the next lesson when ready. Throughout this and other lessons, Hugh explains concepts such as intervals, bars, and sharps and flats in a clear and concise manner. Having made it through a lesson with Hugh, we then checked out the recording capabilities of Teach Me Piano. The recording station looks like a simple mixing board, with 12 sliders; Record, Mute, and Solo buttons; LED level meters; and transport functions. The recording station is quite simple and effective for multitracking keyboard parts, transposing MIDI data to different keys, and assigning the recorded MIDI data to the 128 General MIDI-compatible instruments. Although there are no features like editing or effects, it works well for the purposes of simple recording. Additional features like music games and the Jammin' Keys section provide a respite from the lessons. Overall, Teach Me Piano offers a lot for the beginning or intermediate piano student, and would probably appeal to those simply interested in the piano's role in modern music. --John Bosch
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