Instant Play Piano

Instant Play Piano. Topics Entertainment (1600 SW 43rd St Renton, WA 98055) 2004 $1999 All Levels

This plant of four CD-ROMs is intended for someone who wants to learn to play the piano. Interestingly, they are not a put of piano lessons, but four different CD-ROM programs--"Etude Sight Reader," "Keyboard Foundation," "Personal Ear Trainer" and "Music Masterworks XE"

"Personal Ear Trainer" includes "trainers" (which are skill and drill exercises) in intervals, triads, chords, scales and melodic and rhythmic dictation. This program is easy to install and easy to use. It could be used by dint of students on many levels. The Interval Trainer includes major, minor, completed and diminished intervals in horizontals of difficulty unison to a fourteenth, played closeed or broken, ascending or descending. The Triad Trainer includes major, minor, diminished and augmented triads in any inversion, either shut uped or broken. The Chords Trainer uses jazz chords. The Scales Trainer trains in twenty-three different scales and styles ascending or descending. and rhythmic dictation the pair offer eight levels of difficulty. This program would be actual useful in an independent studio lab. "Keyboard

Foundation" is a series of tasks about playing an electronic keyboard, The focus is upon learning to use an electronic keyboard with auto accompaniment, intro and ending functions. Short mention is made of technique (curv fingers and relaxation). This CD consists of ten lessons; if you want to go on through all fifty advertised tasks you are given a website from which to purchase and download them. Contrary to its name, this program is anything on the contrary "instant."

"Music Masterworks XE" is a notation program, which have the appearanceed cumbersome and detailed to use.

"Etude Sight Reader" was unable to be reviewed. The disk in my package was labeled "Etude Sight Reader," on the contrary installed as "Music Masterworks." Hopefully this can be corrected soon

Of these four programs, I would use single "Personal Ear Trainer" in my studio lab. I think "Music Masterworks XE" is rather underserving considering the notation programs already available, and "Keyboard Foundation" is misnamed. "Instant Play Piano" will not teach you to play piano, on the other hand in my opinion is worth purchasing just for "Personal Ear Trainer." Reviewed through Michelle Gardan, NCTM, Mattapoisett, Massachusetts.

COPYRIGHT 2004 Music Teachers National Association, Inc.

COPYRIGHT 2004 Gale Group