These are the user reviews I've received for each course
so far (as of February 23, 2010). I'd really like to
have more of then, so if you have purchased
any of these courses yourself, please take a moment to submit your review
here. -SG
Name:
Cindy J From: PA Course: Learn & Master Piano Rating: Five Stars Comments:
""Learn & Master Piano contains much more information than other courses by going beyond just learning how to play chords, teaching the student to play the right and left hands independently with reading notes, chords, and rhythms. Also, what elevates this course is the addition of basic music theory and ear training. Learn & Master Piano is exceptional when it comes to learning to play and contains everything a student needs to know to become proficient! Learn & Master Piano is THE course to own" Date: 01/27/2010
Name:
Peter From: Oxon, UK Course: Learn & Master Piano Rating: Five Stars Comments:
""This course is another sure fire winner. Will Barrow seems to answer your questions just as questions pop into your head. I though that Steve was the master of that approach, on Learn & Master Guitar, but Will also has it in his piano lessons. I know that Legacy offers a no quibble money back guarantee, but to be quite frank, such an offer is pretty much a waste of time, since no one could possibly need it!" Date: 8/5/2009
Name:
Jim R From: Ridgefield Park, NJ Course: Learn & Master Piano Rating: Five Stars Comments:
""My wife and I both agreed that beginning Learn & Master Piano was very exciting, (much like I felt when I began your guitar course). As soon as we began working through the sessions, we felt very encouraged. Learn & Master Piano jumps right in and gets you on the keyboard. By the end of the first session, we already felt like we had a handle on how the keyboard is laid out.
We both thought the pace of the sessions was great. They move along enough to keep you engaged, but not so much that you feel lost. The music theory that you need to understand the piano is worked into the course, at the appropriate time and rate, so that you learn it by applying it, and it never seems overwhelming.
The feeling we got was encouraging and empowering. Especially for beginners, a little bit of confidence goes a long way!
" Date: 4/21/2009
Name:
M blaxton From: detroit michigan Course: Learn & Master Piano Rating: Five Stars Comments: Date: 3/26/2009
Name:
Heather From: Nampa, ID Course: Learn & Master Piano Rating: Five Stars Comments:
"The course is outstanding. I have tried and tried, but I cannot come up with a single way you could improve this course, other than to offer a Learn & Master Piano Part II! Will is an awesome teacher—he is easy to understand and he hits on so many important elements of learning to play the piano while also making it a lot of fun! I was thrilled to see Suzy Bogguss singing "Someone to Watch Over Me" as I personally am a huge fan! It is evident how much time and attention to detail went into producing this course, and how much Will's students' needs are considered, and I for one am very impressed! I also love how so many genres of music are incorporated into the course. I personally love all genres, and this makes it especially fun and inspiring for me. Congratulations on a job well done!" Date: 2/12/2009
Name:
M McClintock From: CT Course: Learn & Master Piano Rating: Five Stars Comments:
"I purchased this course last year, Just started to use it, i have learned so much in the short period of time i have been using it, i am not a beginner have had some training in the past by a teacher that came to my home, have learn more with this system. this is an excellent system. Will Barrow is the best teacher. the only regret i have is not ordering it sooner.I love the play along DVD's. highly reccommended." Date: 2/3/2009
Name:
Steve Andrews From: Connecticut, USA Course: Learn & Master Piano Rating: Two Stars Comments:
"While I have seen multiple reviews rating this as the ""top"" self-teaching piano course I would have to disagree. I will agree that the quality of the videos is studio/broadcast quality and there are a lot of them. And now the problem not one reviewer has mentioned...
This course is clearly aimed at the beginner (it says so on the site). Its purpose is to take you from beginner to pro. While there are a million techniques clearly demonstrated and beautifully filmed there is one area that this course does not cover which is essential to playing piano...a thorough knowledge of how to read MUSIC! I purchased the course as READING MUSIC AND CHORD CHARTS is stated under the topics covered, went through the vast collection of DVDs and CDs and the minuscule manual that comes with the course. They do have a half dozen pages showing the grand staff and name the notes but there are no exercises at all to teach ""finger memory"" or proper fingering techniques (how to commit the note positions on the staff to memory so you can play any piece of sheet music without having to stare at the sheet music and, note by note, go to a chart to figure out which finger plays which notes and the name of the note you are looking at).
I contacted customer support (and did receive a quick response), asking them that very question, ""where does this beginner course teach a student how to read music so that we can apply these wonderful playing techniques?"". The response was plain and simple, and I quote from their e-mail response (copy and paste actually), ""while we do consider our course to be comprehensive, you are correct in that it does not go in depth in to teaching how to read music or provide fingering exercises. However, there are many courses available both in book and online form that can teach you this. At that point you can come back to our course and will find it much more enjoyable."" Are they kidding? (That was a rhetorical question.)
I don't know about anyone else but it would seem to me if you are teaching someone to play ANY musical instrument it might be useful to include the teaching of how to read music! And at the price that they charge (which usually drops around just about every holidy, no matter how pretty the DVDs are to look at, if you can't read music after the course is done than you still don't know how to play the instrument. For all intents and purposes, you've just spent days/weeks exercising your fingers.
And to suggest, after purchasing all those lovely DVDs and CDs that I go elsewhere first and pay someone else to learn to read music and them come back to their course I thought was, at the very least, misleading.
I was a concert level classical guitarist for just over 30 years, taught the instrument for many of those years and would never conceive of teaching someone techniques without teaching the basics first. And if you are wondering why reading music and proper finger placement would be of concern to me with my musical background, guitar music is all written on the treble staff. In guitar music there is no bass staff and there is no similarity at all as far as where fingers are placed and how to move from one position to another correctly. I have a feeling all these reviewers who rave about this course already have at least a basic knowledge of the piano and the ones who claim to have given it to a co-worker who doesn't play didn't do a very thorough followup.
So if you want to purchase this course you should probably purchase the course they all are rating as number 2, Rocket Piano at rocketpiano.com as they teach everything. It is an online course which seems to be most reviewers problems but they also fail to mention that, although you won't get flashy DVDs, the course is available in print form if you prefer.
So while L&M Piano might be great eye candy, if yo want to learn to play real music, Rocket Piano is still number one in my book.
One final thought about L&M Piano: I will say that while customer support gave me a ridiculous answer to my question (to go elsewhere to learn to read music first), they do respond to e-mails quickly and when I requested my money back per their guarantee it was refunded quickly and without question." Date: 12/5/2008
Name:
Alex From: Florida Course: Learn & Master Piano Rating: Zero Stars Comments:
"Dear SmartGuyReview, after reading and taking your advice that Learn & Master Piano was the best piano training course in the market, I have concluded that you are a lier. This course is NOT for beginners. It is a complex, and fast paced course that lacks basic information for the beginner. You are shameless, and a scammer! I dare you to post my comments, but I doubt you will." Date: 9/12/2008
Name:
Richard From: Albuquerque, New Mexico Course: Learn & Master Piano Rating: Five Stars Comments:
"This is
the best pedagogical piano product of five I've tried to
date. The quality of all the material in this
course,including the instructional approach, places this
product in a league unreachable by others. Produced in a
professional recording studio with outstanding
musicians, the sound and video quality of this course is
top notch. There is an abundance of learning material,
from lessons, to workshops, to play-along CDs; months of
instruction. However, the lessons are so clear to
understand I was able to go to lesson 27 and play a
Latin Montuno in 30 minutes - I am a complete neophyte,
having played the piano now for less than 30 days (I do
have a percussion background however).
I purchased the course during one of their sales -
definitely worth it." Date: 12/27/2007
Name:
Joy Jane From: California, USA Course: Rocket Piano Rating: Zero Stars Comments:
"I went to
Rocket Piano's website. There are cons & pros:
the pros:
(1) I am trying their free lessons. Lesson one is great,
especially the games.
(2) They offer bonus program.
the cons:
Because I liked their sightreading game very much, and
it did give me a lot of confidence about the program so
I was planning to go ahead and order the program. Since
the downloanded version is much less expensive ($39.00),
I was thinking of downloading the lessons. After my
horrible experience with quiescencemusic.com, (I paid
and I was not able to log in their site and no one is
ever there to answer your question of help you log in.)
I think, this time I better to talk to someone first
before purchasing. Unfortunately, I looked through the
whole site, I can't even find a telephone number to call
or email address to contact. It makes me worry now. If a
site does not offer you a contact method, it gives me a
feeling that they have received too many complaints or
they are not supportive at all. Could any one share with
me your experience with Rocket Paino. I am very serious
about learning paino and have been hoping to find a
program from internet I can learn piano at my own pace
and without breaking my bank. Thank you in advance for
kind assistance or information." Date:
3/16/2008
Name: ? From: ? Course: Rocket Piano Rating: One Star Comments:
"The
Rocket piano is a set of xeroxed copies (cheap) on a
plastic spiral. On the DVDs the player shows a numbered
list of what you are playing but it leaves out what unit
it refers to the learning book so and is very
inconsistent in the use of terms for referring to the
lessons. I think I could have a better use of it if the
material outline was a bit better. I e-mailed regarding
my inability to pinpoint what chapter the DVD video
lesson belonged to and got no response. Do Not
recommend for a beginner." Date:
7/24/2008
Name: Jean Curry From: College Park, MD Course: Rocket Piano Rating: Four Stars Comments:
"I
have downloaded most of their info to me. I have learned
a lot through them." Date:
3/16/2008
Name: Richard From: Albuquerque, New Mexico Course: Rocket Piano Rating: Two Stars Comments:
"I
purchased the ebook version (without the DVD or CDs),
which makes this course average at best. The material is
not well coordinated and it is difficult to follow. Very
low pedagogical value and not designed for visual
learners. Some would say that for under $50 it's a good
deal, but it does not qualify as a teaching course in my
opinion." Date:
12/27/2007
Name:
Richard From: Albuquerque, New Mexico Course: Play Piano Like a Pro Rating: Two Stars Comments:
"I
purchased this course two months ago but did not get to
view it until about 30 days past. The DVD is of poor
quality and the instructional plan is poorly structured
- Ron jumps around often and it is unclear where one
lessons starts and another begins. other than when he
decides to take a break after about 25 minutes or so.
The ebook is ordinary and does not in any way match the
content of the DVD - this is a big negative for me. Ron
sends emails to those who've purchased the course and
schedules meetings via teleconference; the problem is
that he, or his telephone provider, often have to
reschedule - this is frustrating.
To say that this course is overpriced is an
understatement; it's not even worth half the charged
amount. To exacerbate matters, getting a refund might be
like pulling hen's teeth." Date: 12/27/2007
Name:
LaKesha Yvette Brown-Holiday From: NJ Course: Piano is Fun Rating: Four Stars Comments:
"My desire is to use music as a means to focus on opportunities that helps them best cope with life issues." Date: 9/20/2009
Name:
jamisoni From: nc Course: Piano is Fun Rating: Three Stars Comments:
" Date: 8/6/2009
Name:
Niti From: india Course: Piano is Fun Rating: Four Stars Comments:
"piano is good and easy instrument to learn" Date: 4/25/2009
Name:
Treberg From: NJ Course: Piano is Fun Rating: Three Stars Comments:
"it is really fun and i hoped for it t be better but its alright it needs to go in depth though" Date: 4/7/2009
Name:
Cindy J
Name:
Joy Jane
Name:
Richard
Name:
LaKesha Yvette Brown-Holiday