Ruth Lundell's Quick Start Piano

Ruth Lundell looks the part of the "quintessential piano teacher": kindly and encouraging, she presents her ten lessons in a clear manner. The camera hovers over her shoulder, following her demonstrations as she explains notes, major and minor chords, B flat's and E flat's and chord inversions. Halfway through the program, I felt a little out of my depth. So I called upon a colleague who is a music librarian and piano instructor. Here's what Veronica Thomas said: "When you teach piano, you should give a firm foundation to stand on. This video gives you a partial picture. It's not that what she's saying is incorrect...it's that it's not integrated. There's no talk about hand position, fingering, or key signatures. A person may be able to learn from this video but there will be a lot of holes in their ability." In fairness, the title says Quick Start Piano, not overnight piano whiz. As for me, I'm sticking with my CD collection for making music. An optional purchase. Aud: I, J, H, P. (C. Dratch-Kovler)