Are you or your child video game aficionados? Do you spend your time and money enjoying this hobby? Would you be surprised to know you could actually learn the piano while enjoying your favorite pastime? If you can answer yes to any of these questions, then our TopTenREVIEWS Gold Award winner Piano Wizard Academy is the product for you! Allegro Multimedia Inc. has created a product that is truly unique in their approach to piano teaching. This method is based on interactive video games where the student will start out playing songs and finish playing sheet music pieces at the piano, including classics by Beethoven and Bach. The piano lesson software emphasizes methods specifically designed for children, but many adults have found this method entertaining and very productive in their own keyboard study. Piano Wizard Academy is the best piano lesson software because it is all-inclusive, engaging, and very effective.
Each lesson features a song introduced in game form using a 4-step program to introduce students to the piano
- Step One – choose a fantasy world graphic with musical notes represented by a corresponding symbol. The symbol glides through the screen landing on the colored keyboard at the top of the screen corresponding with the color on the keyboard. Students press the piano key during the time intervals allowed to match the rhythm bar on the video keyboard. Background music accompanies the student’s pitch levels creating an orchestrated piece with the student’s very first song.
- Step Two – the video keyboard rotates sideways showing you how notes are really a grid of pitch in time, how notation orients pitch vertically and how reading music relates.
- Step Three – the symbols in the game change to become color-coded notes matching the keys and are shown on a musical staff representing the song you just learned.
- Step Four – the colored notes now change to black and display the correct stems and rhythm symbols, making notation in the song complete. Students now see sheet music as the equation to mastering songs, not frustrating grids and dots.
- Step Five – This step takes you from the game to real life. The company focuses on giving parents the needed tools to allow their children’s minds to grow and expand with the music.
The husband and wife team of Don and Delayna Beattie are your personal guides, via video, to this program and have created a 50-lesson series, complete with video, accompanied by a detailed lesson book with sheet music. The system was designed as a series for parents, non-music educators and music teachers alike. Tutorials teach the art of music, phrasing, posture, and technique. The lesson books contain detailed instructions for both students and parent/teachers on how to practice each lesson, master specific concepts and learn the sheet music that corresponds with the games. An additional section includes lessons on the history of music and famous classical composers.
While the main product is comprised of DVDs and CDs, Piano Wizard Academy has excellent online features. This fact has also garnered thema top spot in our Learn Piano Online Review. They have forums, tutorials, more games and a support section on their website. One of their best online features is Wizard Tunes. With Wizard Tunes, you can download thousands of songs covering classical, pop, contemporary, children’s and jazz. If you are not sure whether to learn the Beatles or Bach, you can listen to samples before you purchase the digital downloads. You may either pay a small fee for individual songs or buy a membership.
A major bonus found with the Piano Wizard Academy system is that it is comprehensive and all-inclusive. The software package includes a 49-key MIDI controller with the necessary hardware. The Academy version,also offers the lesson books at no extra charge. The Piano Wizard Academy Package also includes the option to progress from Easy Mode to Premier Mode where you can learn pieces from classical composers, like Bach and Beethoven.
Don’t let the price of the complete Academy package deter you. A year of private piano instruction will cost you much more and won’t include a keyboard, games, or the lesson books. The lesson books provide detailed instructions for both students and parent/teachers on how to use each lesson for the maximum benefit of the budding pianist. In addition to the lessons offered with the Premier package, the Academy package gives you many more songs and 50 video lessons from the Beatties. If you want the best of both worlds, you could use this product as a complement to lessons with a ‘live’ teacher.
Each game gives the option for students to play hands separately or together and adjust the tempo to a speed compatible with their level. Multi track settings are available in the advanced mode allowing the student to add or delete tracks, change audio and video controls, show fingering or add additional challenges that test their ability. This piano lesson software is designed to transition students easily from the computer/MIDI setting to a real 88-key piano where they will play sheet music.
Easy to understand video and written instructions are included in the package to aid you in setting up your keyboard and hardware with your computer. All the hardware needed to connect your system is included, with diagrams for use, in the all-inclusive package.
Piano Wizard Academy has one of the best online support pages in our review. Links for a FAQs section, drivers page if you experience technical issues, video tutorials addressing questions, and a manual are found on the website. Online live support is available during business hours. You have several other contact options via hard mail, email, fax or their toll free phone number.
Chris Salter, the CEO of Allegro Multimedia along with the Beatties, created this unique and innovative approach to teaching piano. They state “…like training wheels for a bike, they don’t do the work for you, they just make it easier and give your child a chance to build up their skills without a lot of pain and humiliation, allowing them to have fun and be successful right away.” This is the philosophy Piano Wizard Academy is founded on which is why it’s not just one of the most enjoyable ways to learn to play the piano but one of the most victorious methods, too!
