Piano for Life - review

Did you know that the piano is the most popular musical instrument ever invented? It's always been my favorite-- both to listen to and to play. I love playing the piano, but I'm not very good because I don't take time to practice regularly. I had piano lessons when I was younger and learned to read notes, and I can play anything in the hymnal-- but by note only. Although it's been twenty-mumble years since I've had piano lessons, I've never really quit playing the piano-- but I haven't really progressed very far either. I've often wished I could play by ear or at least improvise a little to make the music more pleasing. I just figured I wasn't gifted in that way. I'm beginning to realize that's not necessarily so.

A few weeks ago Timberdoodle sent me a copy of Piano for Life to review. I was interested in it primarily for the benefit of my younger daughter who loves to pick out tunes on the piano by ear. I have worked with her a little bit on learning the notes, but mostly she plays what she hears. I would love to find a teacher who could work with her special learning style, because I believe she does have a natural gift for music, although she struggles with reading in general. With Piano for Life (and the prequel, Piano for Quitters) I think she and I, together, can learn to play the piano with the natural learning style used by the masters.

I am learning so much myself from the videos. I had several years of piano lessons as well as a music theory class in high school, so I thought I knew a good bit about music already. Apparently I learned the theory and the rote playing without really understanding how theory related to performance. Now, just to find the time to practice what I'm learning...

Piano for Life, a 3-DVD set with 4 1/2 hours of instruction, is available from Timberdoodle for $67.50. I recommend starting with Piano for Quitters, and then progressing on to Piano for Life.