Learn Piano with Software | Why Learning Piano is Easier Than You Think!
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Learning piano is easy with 218 online lessons, 3 piano software programs, 57 videos, and 133 MP3 tracks to play along with!
Why do you want to learn piano with software?
People used to learn piano by reading theory books and, of course, practicing what they learned.
Can you say boring? No wonder so many people give up trying to learn piano!
Now, there are software programs to help with the piano learning process, and some of them are awesome!
I still have a LOT to learn, but I've found that being able to interact with a piano lesson software program on top of the typical reading, listening & practicing has helped me quite a bit...
What about you?
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How Software is Helping Me Learn Piano
I have been playing music for a long time now, and I've found that paying for private lessons is too expensive for my tastes...in both time and money.After taking guitar lessons and alto sax lessons for years, I realized that I was hauling my instruments around just to have someone tell me what to play, then I would go home and learn the songs myself between lessons!
I didn't do it this way because I wanted to, but because that's how music lessons are typically structured...It works, but it seems unfair to the person taking the lessons when there are home study courses that are more convenient (and a LOT cheaper).
So, I looked online for courses that would teach me to play guitar, and I found some awesome courses that I let me access songs, books and even software games...all on my computer!
Since it worked so well with learning guitar, I wanted the same results when learning to play piano, and I knew I'd be able to find something similar.
So, I went on a search and stumbled upon a product called "Rocket Piano".
Rocket Piano is pretty cool, I have to admit. I've been able to go through 148 of the 218 lessons so far from the eBook (PDF book on the computer), I've learned from a bunch of the 57 videos, and practiced with the MP3 audio tracks.
But, the best part of the whole Rocket Piano course has been the piano learning software programs! (More on what they've done for me in a sec...)
With all of these teaching styles combined, and the fact that everything is conveniently online, I have been able to learn piano quickly & easily, without waiting for shipping or paying $25+ per lesson (Rocket Piano only costs $40 TOTAL)!
Learn Piano Software #1 - "Chordinator"
For me, it's always been tough to read music, especially because most of my background has been with guitar, and I'm so used to reading guitar tabs.
But, "Chordinator" is a piano lesson software game that helped me learn to read notes, which has helped a ton when trying to learn songs on piano!
Here are some screenshots of the software in action...
The Home Screen:
You start by picking the piano chord groups you'd like to learn with the game.
The Quiz Game:
This is what it looks like when you play the game.
The Answer Screen:
This is a shot of me getting a chord question wrong. Oops...I'm getting better though! =)
This program has helped tremendously with my ability to recognize chords as I'm trying to learn a new song on piano, and it's free with Rocket Piano!
But, "Chordinator" is a piano lesson software game that helped me learn to read notes, which has helped a ton when trying to learn songs on piano!
Here are some screenshots of the software in action...
The Home Screen:
You start by picking the piano chord groups you'd like to learn with the game.
The Quiz Game:
This is what it looks like when you play the game.
The Answer Screen:
This is a shot of me getting a chord question wrong. Oops...I'm getting better though! =)
This program has helped tremendously with my ability to recognize chords as I'm trying to learn a new song on piano, and it's free with Rocket Piano!
Learn Piano Software #2 - "KeyCelerator"
"KeyCelerator" is a software program that has helped me learn the KEYS of the piano in relation to the notes.
I thought I would be able to pick this up pretty quick with my experience with other instruments, but this game showed me that wasn't the case...
But, since I've been practicing with the software for a while now, I feel comfortable with the keys, and it's helped me cut my learning time for songs down a ton!
Home Screen:
Like with "Chordinator", you can pick the piano chords you want to focus on here.
The Game:
If you're wondering what the difference is between "KeyCelerator" & "Chordinator" like I did, it's the fact that "KeyCelerator" focuses on the keys you have to use to make the notes as you read them from the staff, while "Chordinator" just helps you learn what the notes are.
With the two programs combined (both FREE with Rocket Piano), I have been able to pick up on chords quickly, learn songs with a lot less trouble, and I've even started writing piano parts to the songs I wrote for guitar!
I thought I would be able to pick this up pretty quick with my experience with other instruments, but this game showed me that wasn't the case...
But, since I've been practicing with the software for a while now, I feel comfortable with the keys, and it's helped me cut my learning time for songs down a ton!
Home Screen:
Like with "Chordinator", you can pick the piano chords you want to focus on here.
The Game:
If you're wondering what the difference is between "KeyCelerator" & "Chordinator" like I did, it's the fact that "KeyCelerator" focuses on the keys you have to use to make the notes as you read them from the staff, while "Chordinator" just helps you learn what the notes are.
With the two programs combined (both FREE with Rocket Piano), I have been able to pick up on chords quickly, learn songs with a lot less trouble, and I've even started writing piano parts to the songs I wrote for guitar!
Learn Piano Software #3 - "Perfect Your Pitch Pro"
"Perfect Your Pitch Pro" is another software program that comes with Rocket Piano. It's designed to help learn to play piano by ear.My sax instructor once told me that being able to transcribe a song (know the notes & chords just by listening) opens up doors for any musician, no matter what instrument they play.
After playing in quite a few bands, I can tell you that's definitely true!
If you're able to hear a song and just start jamming, it's a LOT more fun than having to be taught everything. It makes you a better soloist, too.
This game is a fun way to train your ear with simple quizzes, so why not play it?
"What comes with Rocket Piano?"
I know I've been talking about the piano lesson course I bought for under $40 (Rocket Piano) quite a bit, so I figured I'd sum up everything I got out of it, with the pros & cons:
- 218 Piano Lessons - This is the book section. While I wouldn't recommend just reading this for fun, you can get this PDF collection on your computer in less than a minute and have access to anything you need at any time, which is cool.
- 133 Songs - Reading about piano helps, but nothing helps more than just playing. That's all well and good, but it's really nice to have something to play along with, right? That's what these 133 MP3 tracks are for! I will admit that while this sounds like a lot of songs, they could definitely add some more to mix it up for us.
- 57 Video Lessons - Worried that you won't be able to learn piano without an instructor to show you how to do certain things? These 57 videos will cover the majority of what a piano teacher would, but you can watch them from home whenever you want...
- Quizzes - These quizzes are spread throughout the book so you can keep up with the material, and get through it at your own, comfortable pace, which is really important.
- KeyCelerator Piano Software - This piano learning software will teach you the keys on your piano/keyboard so you can skip the learning curve and start learning songs! One of my favorite parts of the product...
- Rocket Piano Jazz & Gospel Books - If you like Jazz or Gospel, these guides are for you. Since I love Jazz, I was able to pick up on some sweet tips for soloing on piano, and don't tell anyone, but I sent the Gospel guide to my Aunt so she could learn gospel piano for church...;)
- Chordinator & Jayde Musica Pro Software - These software games will also help you learn notes and chords in general, which will make learning songs on the piano a breeze. Plus, you'll be able to use the skills on any other instrument, and it'll make you a better songwriter, too. I found myself working some crazy chords into my songs, which keeps them from all sounding the same.
- Rocket Piano Metronome - This is a simple software program that you can use to keep time. I already had a metronome, so I don't use this program, but you might like it.
- Advanced Learning Techniques for Piano - This guide is all about "mental visualization" and other methods for memorizing and learning new songs. To be honest, this is more theory than I like, but it has some useful content.
- Piano Progress Tracker - One thing I wish they had when I first bought Rocket Piano was a way to keep track of my progress. I guess a few people asked for it, because they just added it a few months ago. This is nice for looking back to see how far you've come with learning piano.
Best Piano Lesson Software Package
In my opinion, Rocket Piano has the best books and software to learn piano overall.There are other software programs that apply the lessons in game form, but I couldn't seem to find any that I liked after searching for a few hours, so Rocket Piano was my choice.
That said, I also believe that there is a reason private piano teachers are still using book lessons, songs to play along with, and learning games: it works!
The software included with Rocket Piano allowed me to get a lot better with piano quickly, and it didn't cost me $199.95 like one of the piano lesson software products I found that didn't have any separate lessons or songs!
The only thing that I didn't like about Rocket Piano was that it doesn't let you hook your keyboard up to your computer and play along with the software, which is a feature I saw in some other programs.
The more expensive piano lesson software I found that did this ($199.95) allowed you to get a score on your performance, which is pretty cool. But, that program didn't come with any of its own lessons, and it had a limited selection of songs, so I didn't like it...especially considering it was 5x the cost of Rocket Piano!
If you want to get a nice set of books and software to learn piano from the comfort of your own home, all for less than $50 total, Rocket Piano is the way to go:
Good luck learning piano, and I hope the software games help you out too!
-Kyle
Learn Piano with Software Games
Check out the best piano lesson software I've found here:
RocketPiano.com
by InfinityTimes82
I made this page to tell you about an awesome software and book package I found to help you learn to play piano. Enjoy!
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