PrestoKeys

School aims to prepare you for most things life throws at you, but it also tries to stimulate your artistic sense. Music is one branch of art, but you can just as easily start from scratch without tutors, and simply letting applications like PrestoKeys guide you through all it takes to playing piano.

It takes little time and effort to go through the setup process to make the application work. However, you need to make sure that Java Runtime Environment is installed on the computer you want to use it on.

A great deal of attention, and effort were invested in the visual design, with high-quality textures, highlight, and interaction animation for every button you press or check out. This makes the overall experience a charm, especially since general functions also live up to expectations.

The first time you run the application you get the chance to connect an external MIDI device, which adds a lot to flexibility, and provides better support for learning keys. This can also be configured from the settings menu, where you can also set the keyboard as primary input, in several methods, as well as multiple levels of difficulty.

Sooner or later you end up in the practice area, which you can initiate in a still, or scroll manner. Progress is tracked based on accuracy, and points, so you get an idea if your skill improved. Depending on difficulty and assistance levels, games, challenges, and songs can simply stop until you press the correct note, or go on with penalty for incorrect, or missed notes.

Every now and then it’s a good idea to pay a visit to the statistics panel. It shows high scores, as well as playing time in an organized manner, but only for successful attempt, and total time played, with no possibility to generate a report.

To sum it up, PrestoKeys is a powerful music tutor that’s sure to teach you a thing or two about playing the piano in a fun, interactive environment. You can either use a MIDI device, or your own keyboard, with various configurable settings. Games and challenges are neatly done, while polished visuals convince you to try your luck until your skills improve.