M Audio KeyRig 49 49 Key USB Keyboard Controller Review

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(More customer reviews)This is exactly the keyboard you need if have a computer that does it all. This keyboad is compact, well made, and has all the features you need for simple MIDI entry. I don't recommend it for performance, though - not at all rugged. Great for Apple-based studio (or Wintel).

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Novation Nocturn 25 USB MIDI Interface Keyboard Controller, 25-Keys, NOCTURN 25 Review

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(More customer reviews)The general concept of the Novation Nocturn series is that you have a responsive MIDI controller that is less expensive because a lot of the display parts and intelligence are handled through Novation's AutoMap software. AutoMap can be great, but it can also be very frustrating if the mappings for different devices aren't up to date, and Novation has a poor reputation for keeping their mappings current (in particular with Reason).
I originally had an Akai MiniMPK, which worked great, but wanted something a little larger, so I figured that the Nocturn 25 was just the ticket and only a bit more expensive (and still less expensive than the MAudio Axiom Pro 25 or the Akai MPK25).
It showed up, I installed it, and everything seemed fine, until I tried to use the drum pads. The drum pads under Windows were sporadically responsive, sometimes they'd show up, sometimes they wouldn't. I tried calibrating them, and AutoMap never registered them. Hmm. This is on a Mac Pro 2008 running Win 7. On a hunch, I booted into OS X...and they work perfectly.
So it's not a hardware issue, it's software issue, and one with their drivers. According to another user on the Novation forums, he reported this a year ago and support claimed that they were aware of the problem and 'looking into it'. Non-functioning drum pads on Windows would seem to be a fairly significant issue.
Support hasn't responded to me in 3 days, so I'm guessing they're not going to address this, at which point I'll need to return this. Disappointing since I'll have to spend more money.
Overall I give it 2 stars. If you're solely an OS X user and can live with the Automap quirks, it's probably a 4 star product, but if you use Windows, one of its major features may or may not work for you at all.


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Sunday School Classics Piano Accompaniment Review

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(More customer reviews)Excellent arrangements....not too difficult, but sounds very nice. We used a bassoon-french horn duet with the piano. Highly recommended. Elaine

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Selected Piano Solos by Romantic Composers - Volume 2: Intermediate Intermediate Piano Solo Review

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(More customer reviews)As an adolescent, I studied just about every piece in this collection and still enjoy playing out of it some thirty+ years later. All of the pieces are from the Romantic era (1800-1900) and are for a serious student who has had four-five years of private tutoring. I only put it that way because many of my transfer students claim to have had as many years of lessons, yet are no further than the third volume of a method series.
Of the thirty-two pieces in the book, the majority is dedicated to Mendelssohn's "Song Without Words" (five pieces) and Schumann's "Album for the Young" (six pieces). There are two preludes and a mazurka by Chopin, some studies by Stephen Heller and three short works by Beethoven, including "Six Easy Variations on an Original Theme." Also included in the collection are pieces by Grieg, John Field, a beautiful serenade by Sinding and Burgmuller's famous "At the Spinning Wheel." Chances are you can find the Schumann, Chopin, and Beethoven in other collections, but I've been hard-pressed to find Homer Nearing's "Falling Leaves" or Gurlitt's "Buds and Blossoms" in any of my other compilations.
I've mentioned this in many of my other reviews that the downside to this collection is how outdated it is. In regards to most of the older Schirmer texts, the editor took liberties in regards to tempos, dynamic markings, articulations and even notes. Such was the trend over a hundred years ago and, fortunately, is not the case with today's urtext editions. Yes, there are other collections out there that are just as good, if not better; however, I've found that this edition a nice collection of the great composers at an inexpensive price.

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Bolivar For Trombone And Piano Review

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(More customer reviews)A great piece for advanced trombonists or even professionals looking for a short and sweet virtuosic Central/South American-inspired solo, vaguely reminiscent of something Arturo Marquez might have composed.
It's approximately 3:20 in length, so it's more of a showcase piece than a full-blown concerto. As such, its usage is probably not suited to a traditional orchestral or concert band program. It would work much better in a master class/clinic situation or as part of a grad/undergrad recital program. It may or may not be suitable for an audition piece as well, considering there already exist far more obvious excerpts/standards that are expected by a conductor or judge. Your mileage may vary.
You'll need sufficient comfort, consistency, and most importantly confidence with your upper register. A clean, clear high D is needed only once (for the last note), however by that time you've already spent the rest of the piece lip slurring semiquaver (16th note) triplets of high Bb-C-Bb and high G-A-G, and generally staying in the upper registers of the instrument. It's by far more of a test of endurance and stamina while still maintaining tone quality and a lyrical quality to your sound (since it has a very distinct and catchy melody) than a way for you to show off your screaming/octuple tonguing. The piece has plenty of room for dynamic contrast and interpretation, as well as a brief cadenza section that enables some mild rubato-esque freedom.
Chances are if you're buying this then you've already heard the piece before, but in the event you have not... who better to demonstrate it than the great Joe Alessi:And in true Alessi fashion, he throws in his own minor embellishments just to make things interesting... but you'll have to get the music yourself to find out what he does differently!
Now get out there and make your fellow bones proud.

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Jazz Piano - An In-Depth Look at the Styles of the Masters - Book and CD Package Review

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(More customer reviews)Each song in this book is written "in the style" of a different jazz piano great. My only criticism is that it would be fun to have an idea of where these songs came from. The CD taht goes along with the book is quite good.

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Piano & Keyboard Workshop 2.0 Review

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(More customer reviews)I had previously used Jump Software's Piano Discovery System (now out of business). But I got a new keyboard, and thought that I would get new tutor software to go with it. Well, this was on the shelf at my local electronics superstore, and it was THE MOST EXPENSIVE package. However, I could not imagine a worse package. I would like to point out that, unlike other reviewers, I had no installation problem on WinXP Pro. First of all, this is NOT for beginners. For example, the first lesson never even tells you which hands or fingers use to use. There are ABSOLUTELY NO VIDEOS anywhere. All this program does is is load MIDI files, play them back, and grade you as you play it. That is it! I would expect better from shareware. Even the text instructions do not tell you anything about how to read music, the difference between a half-note and a quarter-note, which fingers to use, etc. So this was a complete waste of $40!
For a point of reference, Piano Discovery System had recorded voices talk you through each lesson. It had videos of a person playing the music properly. It had a couple of games which were actually fun to play. Unfortunately, the company is out of business, and the software does not work on XP.

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