Customer Rating:  
Summary: The Patterns of Music
Comment: As a run-of-the-mill pianist, I'm a sight-reader only, meaning that if the music isn't in front of me, I can't play. People who play by ear and improvise cool sounds seem mysterious and genius to me. I always wanted to unlock the secret of improv but the instructional books I bought demanded that I become a scholar of musical theory -- and still I can't remember how many sharps there are in the key of A! This video is different: it really had me improvising music within minutes. How? With a series of simple patterns that you can combine, alternate, play an octave higher or lower, and repeat. She tells you the notes that go together and the notes that don't. It was thrilling! I finally "get" what my play-by-ear friends were trying to tell me: music is all patterns!
The video is well shot - shows her fingers in first-person perspective (that is, as if her fingers were your fingers) - and she demonstrates the patterns more than once, slowly, before putting it all together for you. The production value is good; it remains true to its instructional purpose and doesn't distract with dazzling effects. My only criticism of this video is that it was clearly shot in the late '80s, early '90s (check out those shoulder pads!), when New Age music was ambling its way into the mainstream - and into this video. I wish the video had more variety in musical style. Still, if your aim is to play the piano TODAY - not to become a music student - this technique will work for you. (I also bought her second video, Playing the Blues Overnight, and had fun with that, too.) If you stop the tape and practice every time she prompts you, yes, you will be playing the piano overnight. You might never get to bed!
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