Teach Me Piano Deluxe

Rating:
Summary: Non-Turtle Beach Sound Card Owners beware
Review: AFTER READING THIS REVIEW, PLEASE READ THE UPDATE LOCATED TOWARDS THE BOTTOM.

After reading the reviews of Teach Me Piano Deluxe elsewhere, I must admit that I was geeked.

However, after reading the reviews of the same software here at Amazon.com, I was somewhat apprehensive due to the bad reviews it received, especially for Windows 2000 users and especially the boxed retail version sold in stores.

Therefore, I called Voyetra customer support, told them that I was running Win 2K and there were bad reports on the boxed software and Win 2k. He assured me that there was no difference between the download version and the retail version.

I took him at his work and purchased the retail version. WRONG MOVE! It would really be a nice package IF IT WORKED! As another reviewer stated, the sound is terrible. The MIDI settings keep changing. Sound is intermittent and may leave you at any time.

Using the headphones with this software is a nightmare. Sometimes the sound comes out through the speakers when it should come out through the headphones. Then it might come to its senses and do the right thing.

This software is also a CPU hog. Most of the time, CPU usage is 100%. It hangs constantly, especially during the video episodes and during the verbal instructions. Not only will this software not work properly, but after I kill it in Task Manager, it has the nerve to foul up any other apps that I may want run, even Internet Explorer!

I have rebooted my system tonight 8 times in the course of 1.5 hours. This is totally unacceptable. I will be calling Voyetra on Monday for an upgrade or a refund.

I write software for a living and I am extremely familiar with how to install and use vast numbers of software packages.

However setting up and using software should be a no brainer for even the most novice of users. I feel sorry for a novice trying to wrestle control of their computer back from this software.

UPDATE:

I was FINALLY able to get this program to behave. I was able to, by hunting and pecking, to figure out that for my Sound Blaster Audigy 2 Platinum sound card that I had to set specific MIDI Synth before the MIDI Input would work and I had to do it in a specific order. It seems that Voyetra not only wants to sell you their software, but they only support the Turtle Beach sound card which they also want to sell you. With Sound Blaster soundcards being the most popular sound cards, not to mention the fact that many PCs motherboards now come with integrated sound cards, this is unrealistic. I know that every sound card may not be tested, but at least the most popular ones should and there should be a non-Turtle Beach compatibility list on their website. At the very least, the software should warn the consumer that they purchase this software at their own risk if they have a non-Turtle Beach sound card because Voyetra will not provide technical support BEFORE THEY PURCHASE THE SOFTWARE.

Since I eventually got it to work after much PAIN, I upgraded my rating to 2 stars.

Rating:
Summary: Not bad - But numerous bugs and missing features
Review: Again! There are a few bugs in this 'un-finished' product.

Lessons are a little too fast, and there are not that many exercises (to my taste).
And, a few items missing:
- Why not show what note exactly was not/missed/erroneously played. This would be a very useful feature rather than having to blindly and stubornly play & re-play the same piece until the score comes satisfactory.
- Why not show as well where in the piece a time-counting mistake occured when the student plays an exercise.

In short, the programme does not provide much ground to build-on.
I preferred the Musicware Inc. Piano teaching software, but looks like the company closed a while ago.

Although incomplete to my opinion the product is still a good choice for the current market.

Rating:
Summary: Amazing Program
Review: Despite all the negative reviews, I gave it a try, and I am glad I did. I would like to give it a fair review here.

I use it on my P4 1.6M Laptop with USB Midi 1x1 connector (so it works) and my Casio Keyboard. I ran it for couple days and did not see any bugs or crashes reported by other users.

This program allows everyone to learn at their own pace. You can spend more time on any song if you want to or otherwise.

One of the most amazing features of this software is letting you to import any midi song, which is all over the internet, into the program for you to practice.

This is the best $50 you can spend if you'd like to learn piano.


Rating:
Summary: What makes you think
Review: I always thought it would be cool to learn how to play the piano. So I got this software and it really helped me out. It's nice cause it takes you from the I don't know anything stage to being able to play songs. It's a really good teacher. I would highly recomend to anyone who is looking into starting to play the piano. It was cool

Big Truck

Rating:
Summary: Learn Piano!
Review: I find it "entertaining" to hear my CD-ROM whirling along as the program is running! What an annoying way to run a program. If you buy this, make sure and buy it off of EBAY because it is not worth the 45 dollars I paid for it. The games are not interesting and they guy presenting the lessons is boring! It is like watching paint dry. What a joke. I try to go back to it, once in a while, and learn something, but so far, nothing substantial. Contribute $45 to lessons.

Rating:
Summary: Hmm...
Review: I initially thought the product would be great. I got it and practiced right out of the box dilligently; it became addicting. I could do five finger exercises with ease...after days my hand eye coordination improved and I could sight read with no effort (though only with my right hand and five fingers!). The second chapter starts and presents you with four new notes, videos that are somewhat irrelevant to the lessons you'll be learning in the proceeding chapter, and it takes you into exercises that don't really seem tangible for you to do at the time. I'm going to keep at it, but I was psyched for the program and have been pretty disappointed.

the videos thus far have been mostly useless - the program's real asset is simply the capability to let you play along with songs while it corrects your mistakes. Unfortunately, the program emits blood curdling applause, mooing, and horn noises depending on how well you play that are impossible to turn off. It seems kind of cheap, concept and design wise.

I'm going to keep at it and post another review in the future, but this is not, obviously, a program for the easily discouraged, and/or you might need someone who knows piano to kind of help you along the way sometimes when you and the computer can't communicate with each other.

Rating:
Summary: Just ok
Review: I know nothing about pianos but was able to go through the first few lessons fine.

However, my daughter who is taking piano classes with a private instructor could not benefit too much from this program.

Here are my complains:
-In the trainer screen, there are pedal icons to start the training session. We have to constantly leave the keyboard to move the mouse. How hard would it be to have users step on the piano pedals or use the keyboard to control the computer?
-No midi editor. All of the piano homework we would like to practice using the program have to be entered through other programs. The import function does not always work properly. Too bad if one wants to edit just one note, the whole process has to be redone.
-The sheets on the screen are way too small. It is hard to see them.
-No way to know which keys are supposed to be the ones to press when doing a song. One has to guess until the computer says it is ok to move on. Try guessing at a piece that requires more than three fingers on each hand on the small vga monitor with all the notes close together.
-Old program. We run it on Win98 and it still doesn't properly recognize midi filenames longer than 8.3 characters. Maybe newer version running on WinXP don't have this problem. However, the program hasn't seemed to have changed much over the years.

We are going to order Adventus as it seems to address many, if not all, of these issues.



Rating:
Summary: Hmm...
Review: I really wanted to make use of Teach Me Piano Deluxe (TMPD), and tried working with it for six weeks. I've been working with computers for twenty years so I figured I could handle any unexpected problems I encountered. Wrong...

The first problem I encountered was a noticeable lag between when I pressed a note and when the program recognized it. Voyetra's technical support web site indicates that "if your PC makes use of a Wavetable GS Synth, then this is a problem... that makes it not very useful for this type of application." Well, guess what? If you have a Pentium 4, the motherboard comes with SoundMax audio built in--which uses a Wavetable GS Synth! So if you have a Pentium 4 motherboard, give up right now.

But being stubborn, and after much trial and error, I found a way to bypass this by making the MIDI return directly to my Roland keyboard, and wearing the keyboard's headphones. Very inconvenient, since the program's audio/video comes out through your PC's speakers, but a fix I could live with.

Then, I noticed that the program's "Grading" feature worked inconsistently... the program could not seem to tell what keys I pressed. I thought OK, I can also live with that bug, because I'll have a good idea whether or not I aced the lesson and could move on to the next one.

Then I encountered TMPD's infamous "tied notes" problem. And trust me, there is no solution.

When I came to the first lesson that used "tied notes" (notes held down between measures), TMPD skipped ahead as I played, losing my place during the lesson. Voyetra's support web site listed three things to try to fix the "Tied Notes Issue," so this had clearly been a problem for many people. I tried all three of their suggestions without success. Then, I went out and bought a $50 USB-MIDI cable, thinking that might help. No difference. I borrowed a friend's MIDI keyboard and tried it instead of my Roland. No difference. I e-mailed Voyetra's customer service (no phone calls, just e-mail and fax) and they sent me back a form response to an unrelated problem. I e-mailed them a second time and was ignored. But interestingly enough, the next day I saw that they had removed the "Tied Notes Issue" page from their support web site. It seems that Voyetra's approach to a technical problem is to remove all references to it, ignore all related questions, and hope that it quietly disappears.

For those still unconvinced, I end with a disclaimer that I copied and pasted directly from Voyetra's TMPD "Troubleshooting" web page:

"All our Software products are sold on an *AS IS* basis. Voyetra-Turtle Beach does NOT warrant that the functions of the Software will be uninterrupted or error free."

Translation: go with another product, and save yourself a headache! : (

Rating:
Summary: Ruined by Severe Bugs
Review: I really wanted to make use of Teach Me Piano Deluxe (TMPD), and tried working with it for six weeks. I've been working with computers for twenty years so I figured I could handle any unexpected problems I encountered. Wrong...

The first problem I encountered was a noticeable lag between when I pressed a note and when the program recognized it. Voyetra's technical support web site indicates that "if your PC makes use of a Wavetable GS Synth, then this is a problem... that makes it not very useful for this type of application." Well, guess what? If you have a Pentium 4, the motherboard comes with SoundMax audio built in--which uses a Wavetable GS Synth! So if you have a Pentium 4 motherboard, give up right now.

But being stubborn, and after much trial and error, I found a way to bypass this by making the MIDI return directly to my Roland keyboard, and wearing the keyboard's headphones. Very inconvenient, since the program's audio/video comes out through your PC's speakers, but a fix I could live with.

Then, I noticed that the program's "Grading" feature worked inconsistently... the program could not seem to tell what keys I pressed. I thought OK, I can also live with that bug, because I'll have a good idea whether or not I aced the lesson and could move on to the next one.

Then I encountered TMPD's infamous "tied notes" problem. And trust me, there is no solution.

When I came to the first lesson that used "tied notes" (notes held down between measures), TMPD skipped ahead as I played, losing my place during the lesson. Voyetra's support web site listed three things to try to fix the "Tied Notes Issue," so this had clearly been a problem for many people. I tried all three of their suggestions without success. Then, I went out and bought a $50 USB-MIDI cable, thinking that might help. No difference. I borrowed a friend's MIDI keyboard and tried it instead of my Roland. No difference. I e-mailed Voyetra's customer service (no phone calls, just e-mail and fax) and they sent me back a form response to an unrelated problem. I e-mailed them a second time and was ignored. But interestingly enough, the next day I saw that they had removed the "Tied Notes Issue" page from their support web site. It seems that Voyetra's approach to a technical problem is to remove all references to it, ignore all related questions, and hope that it quietly disappears.

For those still unconvinced, I end with a disclaimer that I copied and pasted directly from Voyetra's TMPD "Troubleshooting" web page:

"All our Software products are sold on an *AS IS* basis. Voyetra-Turtle Beach does NOT warrant that the functions of the Software will be uninterrupted or error free."

Translation: go with another product, and save yourself a headache! : (

Rating:
Summary: Just Can't Believe how wonderful it is.
Review: I was always fond of classical music, orchestra but could never learn any musical instrument because of lack of good and affordable instructor. But when I bought this software, I realized, Oh! My God, what else do you need to learn piano?
So wonderful, so easy, so thorough. You are getting a full time, dedicated piano instructor at throw away price. I am software engineer by profession and I must admit that software engineers who designed this software have done a wonderful job. The teaching mode is excellent and assumes that you know nothing.
They use video files to demonstrate the key strokes/songs and yes, as some other reviewer mentioned, the camera is very well placed and one can very easily see the keys/song being played.
It takes you from A to Z in as painlessly way as possible and you will build terrific confidence by the end of the first chapter itself. The instructor in this course is "very very" impressive. The software communicates very well with Keyboard and does accurate evaluation of your progress/performance for every exercise. For some exercises, it will not let you play the next note unless you have played the previous note correctly and so it tells your fault in real time which a human instructor may/maynot catch. While playing a song/exercise, if you find any sequence difficult, you can put that sequence/portion of music in a region/block and practice it again and again.
It also teaches how to read/Write musical notations.
I am yet to explore the advance features of the software which includes recording your own music and other things.
I would say a must buy for every piano learner and no doubt it will make a wonderful Birthday gift.