Dear Greg,
"I'M PLAYING!!! Joy!! Thank you so much! I just spent an hour playing on my first lessons, and it's like being 5 and having my wish come true!"
:-)))))

I also know few people - myself included - who had the dedication to hone their skills by putting in the long hours of practice required to play an instrument well. 

And that's where Adventus' Piano Suite hits the mark. Adventus ..., has a product that appeals to everyone of us who has a song in thier heart but has lacked opportunity to follow through. 

Piano Suite comes in 2 packages, The Basic CD-ROM which provides an entertaining step - by - step guide to the basics of piano for $129.00 or bundled with a 49 full key MIDI (Musical Instrument Digital Interface) keyboard complete with cable for $249.00. And that's not bad considering the price of Piano Lessons and of the instrument itself. While the MIDI board will not produce sound on it's own it is a wonderfully interactive tool when plugged into the computer's game port. 

Piano Suite loads fast and is simple to navigate. The learning areas are well thought out and logically structured. The Basic package comes with 70 songs and the Premiere edition Comes with 350 tunes. The pieces - which include some classical pieces and copyright free national anthems and some more modern compositions (Dust in the Wind by Kansas for example) are also structured at every level from beginner to novice. 

But before you get to them, there's a few basic learning steps, Starting with an explanation of the keyboard, hand and finger position, some rudimentary theory and some repetitive exercises to familiarize you with the keyboard and the notes. There's even a game included in which the keys double as firing buttons like a joystick. All of it helps enhance the learning curve. 

Piano Suite won't replace your piano teacher. It isn't a magic wand that'll turn you into Oscar Peterson overnight. But what it will do is provide a painless, at - your - own pace introduction to piano. If you like it, perhaps you'll invest in an 88 key electronic piano and some music lessons. Even if you're already taking lessons, Piano Suite will help improve technique and report you on your progress, noting missed notes and poor tempo. The key, however, is always the same: Practice, Practice, Practice.

Piano Suite Version 1.0 

One thought kept coming to mind as we had many age ranges testing this great program, the money that would be saved on music lessons! Some of the songs? "My Bonnie", "Always on my Mind", "London Bridge", and many pieces by the Beatles, Whitney Houston, James Brown, Boyz2Men,and many more from Adventus... . 

"Piano Suite" has a self running demo CD that is available if you would like to view this amazing program. I know you'll be convinced that this is a small amount to invest in an all embracing music teacher.

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There are other "learn to play the keyboard" programmes available. What then are the key elements that make this such a good choice. First the concept of "Suite" is developed in a similar way to that of the now well-known Lotus or Corel or Microsoft Suites with word processing, database, presentation and number crunching products all combined together with a common "face" to the client. In the case of the "Piano Suite", the product contains not only the learn to play the keyboard module but also a large and thorough module on music history, as well as theory thinker and a large database on the lives of countless composers and finally a section of musical games. In the Premier edition there is also a "Composer's Corner".

The CD is sold also with a small keyboard to attach to your computer. The instructions for getting the "Suite" up and running are excellent and include exactly how to plug in the keyboard. My installation went without so much as a glitch. There are also instructions on setting the screen resolution to get the optimal result with the graphics in the program. While this is fine for the "Piano Suite", it is not so terribly great if you happen to run on a different (usually higher) resolution and must reset and re-start each time you want to run the "Piano Suite". On the other hand you can run the programme in a smaller frame than full screen with no difficulties at all if you are resistant to constantly changing the settings for your computer. (I am !). The Suite includes a MIDI tester to check whether the keyboard and sound card are really working correctly.

You can choose to copy the graphics to your hard drive or run them from the CD. Here each person will have to assess the speed and space requirements but it is nice to have the choice because there are a lot of graphics.

The graphics are exceptionally well done. You open to the log-in screen where you are asked to enter your user name and password. This means that many students can use the programme and teachers have access to "report cards" for each student. Students have access to only their own report cards. I could find no information on the maximum number of users that the software would support but my guess would be a rather large number. Once a user name and password are defined for a file, all aspects of that file are locked from tampering by anyone without the password. There are two versions of the software, a regular edition and a premier edition which has the additional teacher accessories. Be sure to get the full meal deal!

Once logged in the user is presented with the main screen where you click to move into any of the modules including the learner profiles where the "report cards" are stored. The piano player section is the most unique and requires the most "learning". Once selected, you are presented with the set-up screen where it is possible to set the level of repertoire, select specific pieces, select the size of the notation, select either right or left hand or both, select the metronome setting and select repertoire by category. The repertoire list is long and it is possible for the teacher to add songs as well. The metronome can be set to various useful sounds as well as many not so useful ones since the whole instrumentarium of the sound module is available. You can also set whether you want a 1, 2, or 3 bar metronome lead in, the pitch and volume of the metronome sound. One other nice feature is your ability to determine how many beats before the end of the on-screen notation you wish to "turn the page".

Many songs on the piano player have words which you can select to display or not. You then can preview the material or click and perform to the notation. At the bottom of the screen, on top of the keyboard graphic, the pre-set options can be changed with a click of the button. You are able to mark sections to repeat and you can select one of the two styles of learning. The first -- "wait for note" requires you to get it right before you can move on. The second "notes and timing" records your performance and analyses your performance against the "right" version. Both methods worked well for me. There is also a "virtual keyboard" available on your computer keyboard which is useless in learning to play the standard musical keyboard. Altogether the whole teaching module works extremely well and comes highly recommended. The most important feature is the high degree of self-directed control you have over each and every element of the programme from repertoire to tempo to instrumental sound output. This means that a student is never locked into a learning style or speed that is incorrect for the learner's needs.

Because the keyboard is a MIDI device, the sounds that are produced can be set to any instrumental patch that is available on the sound card or synthesizer. Students using the basic setup with the keyboard supplied by Adventus and a soundblaster card will be very limited but if you are using a more advanced keyboard or sound module it will be possible to use many sounds. Here again the strength of the software is the ability to self-select. While it is not important to be able to select many unusual sounds, there are times when using harpsichord or other more typical keyboard instruments such as clavichord or celeste might be quite interesting. Another interesting feature is the ability to set the right hand to a different sound source than the left hand. You can also select the octave in which the centre of the keyboard will sound. This is a useful feature in a short keyboard if you want or need to play very high celeste parts. You also can select the appropriate keyboard setting for the number of keys on your keyboard. The default is a 49 key system.

One important learning feature of the piano player module is the ability to select smaller sections of the music to hear and to practise. This is easily accomplished by clicking the "mark bars" button. You then can elect to show only the selected bars for repeated work.

The next module to discuss is the "Theory Thinker". Contained within this section are significantly more interesting and useful things than just a few tidbits of music notation. There are movies about the piano itself - where it got its name, what makes it sound the way it does and many more. There are also sections on looking inside the instrument as well as tips for posture and hand position.

Another good feature is that the software keeps track of the topics you have visited before and you can jump to the newest topic with the "Daily Director". You can also set the skill level for the exercises. Most exercises are also linked to pieces in the Piano Player so you can jump back and forth from practising a piece to the theoretical issue presented by the piece. There are graphics showing the correct hand and finger positions for each piece as well.

Then there are the games. What software would be complete without the fun stuff too? In this section you will find "Key Quest" used to develop a familiarity with note placement on the keyboard and "Keyboard Note Search", an expanded version of the same sort of exercise. "Word Play" challenges you to spell words on the keyboard and there are other exercises for placing notes on the grand staff and treble and bass cleft. These all seem to work as intended. The old standby "Concentration" is even here with the challenge to match word with musical symbol.

The "Composer's Corner" allows the recording of your own composition on a single track at a time. You can save the piece in MIDI format and listen back as well as save it to the custom library which will allow someone else to learn it in the Piano Player. This allows various members of a class to share their compositions both as sound sources to listen to but also to let others learn to play pieces by other members of a class. Much of the grunt work is built into the program. You create a name and select a time signature from a drop drown list. It will serve most teachers - even 12/16 time is on the list. Then you select a key signature and assign a level of difficulty. You can put your song into a category from the list used in the Piano Player and identify the smallest note value in the composition for automatic quantizing. You can also set the metronome speed here as well. A recording screen appears and you simply play in your song. After you are finished there are simple editing tools available for touching up the composition. You can even add a picture to the title page of your song.

The next section to discuss is the "Personal Profile" module. Here you can select to report on all activity from today, last three days, last week, last two weeks or last month. The software will create reports for the theory exercises as well as the Piano performance sections. The "Piano Practice Report" allows you to view the evaluations on every piece you have practised during the period selected.

There are other features which will allow you to copy files here and there to other disks to share with teachers or others elsewhere or to E-mail to a friend on a distant tropical island.

One of the most impressive sections is the "History Happens" where you can find a historical guide to composers and performers. The list is very extensive and includes performers of all instruments, not just the piano. The composer biography bank is excellent and each composer has a picture that appears for each entry.

One of the nicest touches with this section of the software is that it uses a very familiar web browser look and feel. If your students have ever visited the web they will instantly be able to move around in this section of the "Piano Suite". The biographies tend to be sized according to importance as well which means you will find a significantly longer entry for Bach and Mozart than for Pachelbel or Hindemith all quite reasonable in my view.

Then to finish off there is a super game. The "Grand Staff Battle". Kids will get into this in a big way. You play the part of "Mr. Semi-tone" and try and stop the invasion of monsters led by the evil "General MIDI". Again there are many settings to make the levels appropriate.

Altogether the creators of Piano Suite at Adventus have manufactured a splendid collection of software. My praise goes out on a number of general fronts. I like the way you can customize the program easily and virtually instantly. I like the idea of being able to add tunes that might be of some local interest to a student or teacher. I like the fact that the thing actually runs so far for me flawlessly. I like the thoroughness of the "package" and appreciate the care that has been taken to include many things that other programs have tended to ignore in their quest for market quaintness. I like the quantity of material housed on the disk. This is really a big product and a good product.

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I jumped to the composition section early since I could not sight read. I never was able to transcribe any of my original tunes or interpret sheet music simply because I did not know music notation. But the musical score popped up on the screen -- and before my eyes all the notes appeared on the staff as I played them. My life-long frustration vanished. But…could I ever properly finger those notes again? No problem. The Theory section of the program was there to set me on the path to a "Conservatory Level I standard".

Not only that, but it would be literally child's play. I was encouraged by little talking people and creatures, including what I believed to be a cricket. (All right, maybe it was really a roach, but it was a cricket to me.) When I finished a drill to his satisfaction, the little critter back-flipped with joy! We became friends. In fact, I think it was this little guy who called me "Monkey-rific!"

A host of animated characters were the kind drill sergeants who guided me through the treble, bass, and grand staffs. The seven games helped also, ranging from the simple to the complex.

The most complex is "The Grand Staff Battle". In this game, which tests your sight reading as well as your ear, you are Senor (sic) Semitone, a good guy who is trying to stop an invasion of monsters led by the wicked General Midi and his pet monkey. To play the game, you must travel through forests and desert lands and the Aztec world. On the more difficult levels, the enemy can shoot you and you must use two-note chords to take out attacking animals. In the Aztec region, you must shoot three-note chords at monsters, and you have only two minutes to get out.

You maneuver your sombreroed alter-ego with piano keys. Each of the regions have five levels with five monsters, each of which harbors a note that you must collect to move on to the next level. The note a bad guy shoots at you is the same one as he carries. (You can hear and even see the note by shooting away at it or by letting it fire off in your direction. A tiny music staff appears close to the enemy to display the note).

You can destroy the enemy by shooting a musical note or chord at it. When an enemy is hit, it will sound its own note. If it's the same note as the one it carries, it's a goner. At that point its note is left behind. You must collect it to move on to the next level. And then there's that pesky monkey. It will shadow you around the level you're on, run away if you chase it, and race to pick up the note that was left behind by your victim. If he beats you to the punch, he'll take the note back to the General, and another monster will be created.

The evil General Midi and his blasted monkey will withdraw only when you collect all five notes at that level. And then you're off to another level. There's much more, but maybe you should find out for yourself. 

And while you're into exploring, you might sample the 128 MIDI instruments and sound effects available. The Piano Suite Basic program has 80 musical pieces, while the Premiere Edition has 350. Everything from popular tunes such as "La Bamba," "Singin' in the Rain," "Louie, Louie," and "Let It Be," to traditional folk songs such as "Down in the Valley," "My Bonnie," and "Clementine." There are country favorites and children's songs, Christmas carols, classical compositions, jazz and blues riffs, and even national anthems from all over the world.

If you decide on the full bundle, you'll find that the Studiologic Midicontroller Studio 49 by Fatar is a damn fine keyboard for the price. It has 49 full-sized keys that provide respectable dynamics along with an external adapter (9v DC 500mA). A MIDI keyboard to game port cable is included.

I found that customizing the program was simple. I could adjust even the size of the staffs themselves and make them easier to read. Another feature let me select a bar of a particular piece to practice until I got that bar perfect. I could also choose either my right or left hand, or both hands together.

Piano Suite uses two learning systems: "wait for a note" and "notes in timing". The first method waits for the correct note to be played before the next note is highlighted. The second method is more demanding: There is a traveling line in sync with selected timing. This highlights notes at the precise moment they should be struck. Correct timing is thus developed.

The analysis capability is helpful. The player module visualizes the keyboard and the score that the musician plays compared to what was actually written.

I found that I could keep track of my improvement throughout the course. It is encouraging to be able to document one's progress on the screen.