Piano Virtuoso with Maestro, 1.0 Instructor Edition

American Music Teacher, Feb-March, 2005 by Kathy Rabago Winston

Piano Virtuoso with Maestro, 1.0 Instructor Edition; includes 2 student versions (and instruction book). Wickes, Inc. (111 Oak Meadow Dr, Simpsonville, SC 29681), 2004. 43 pp. $59.95.

This software packet comes with an instructor CD-ROM, two student CD-ROMs, two student game diskettes and a brief instruction manual. It is designed for a PC with a CD-ROM and 3 1/2-inch floppy drive, running the operating system Windows 95 or later. This program cannot be used on a Macintosh computer.

The software is designed to be custom tailored to each student's need and level. The instructor CD-ROM allows the teacher to create a profile for each student and determine what theory skills are appropriate for that student. The profiles are then saved as "games" on individual diskettes for students to take home and work on. Each student's game can be preprogrammed to include a wide variety of specific concepts: chords, scales, rhythm, intervals, symbols, terminology, ear training, key signatures and note identification. For example, one may set up a student's game to include just the major key scales of C, G and F, and another student's game to include the minor key scales of A, E, D, G and C. Once the student completes segments of the games, the teacher can insert the diskette into his or her computer and analyze results through line graphs, group charts, pie charts and bar charts. A student's diskette may be modified as many times as needed for the next take-home session. The teacher also may set up groups of students to play the theory games simultaneously, each at their own level.

My main complaint about the program is it is titled as an "Interactive Learning System," when it actually simply tests concepts, records scores and displays graphs. I see this not as an interactive learning tool, but as a testing and evaluation tool. A second complaint is the simplicity of the look of the program's graphics, layout, interaction and so forth in comparison to the video games many children play daily on their cell phones and home video-game units. On a testing/evaluating basis, the program's authors did a very thorough job. However, as a pedagogical tool, I believe this software is lacking because the concepts are not taught and practiced through repetition before they are tested. In my opinion, the instructors who will derive the most benefit from this software are those who teach theory concepts during a lesson and desire an application to test and record students' theory scores.

Kathy Rabago Winston, Cedar Park, Texas.