Piano Software

A short discussion of piano software with guidance on how to choose a program

If you are thinking about ading piano software to your personal computer, you should know that most PCs have a music instrument interface built right into their sound cards, as well as the basic software to drive the interface. That means that you can probably simply add a MIDI compatible keyboard for as little as $150 and be ready to learn to play the piano. Of course, you can always invest in a program and MIDI -compatible keyboard that is extremely powerful and versatile and spend a lot more money, but for the beginner, it makes sense to scale your investment to your experience.

I you don't have much money to spend omn piano software or you'd just like the opportunity to try software before you buy, you might consider "shareware." Shareware is not free, but can be downloaded for free off the net. You try it and, if you like and use it, you send the author of the program a registration fee specified in the package; otherwise, you pay nothing.

When you choose piano software, there are a number of issues you should keep in mind.

Computer compatibility

There's nothing worse than discovering that the piano software program you just bought is not compatible with your computer. Check carefully to be sure that the piano software program is designed to work with the operating system, memory and processing speed available on your computer.

Evaluating Approach

Think about who will use the piano software and what type of approach will make the most sense for that person. For example, if you would like your child to use the piano software, you should be looking for software that turns repetition into games and learning into problem solving. Although the graphics and content should not be so action-packed and far from piano playing that your child doesn't really learn, it's always useful for software to carry a storyline or allows children to move through levels with awards to keep them interested and motivated. On the other hand, if the student is an adult, they will probably want to get to the meat of the subject and are not interested in the software's entertainment value.

Evaluating Content

Look for a piano software program that explains how the piano works, provides sufficient music theory so that the student learns both how to read notation and how to translate that musical notation into fingers on the keyboard. If you want hardcore music theory, you may be better off buying a separate program that focuses solely in that area.

Finally, it is often useful to read piano software reviews before you buy. The sites listed below provide reviews that you can use to help make your decision.

http://pianoeducation.org/pnousoft.html

http://www.superkids.com/aweb/pages/reviews/music/1/sw_sum1.shtml

http://www.rainmusic.com/pianomusic/references.htm