Every single instrument I've ever wanted to learn to play I've never been able to do so. I bought a guitar with thoughts of rockstar aspirations dancing through my head, but I can barely strum a string, and once my guitar got out of tune I've never been able to get it back. I also tried to play the piano, but I just can't read the music. Along comes Piano Wizard and I have to ask, "Why did I struggle so hard again to learn the piano?"

The game/learning program operates by running on the PC. For my demo I learned to play Billy Joel's "Piano Man," which I thought was a little too advanced for me because that is his freaking nickname for cripes sake. Well, turns out it is easier than I thought.

There are different levels of adjustability that allow you to make the program harder and harder as you need its helping hand less and less. The game starts with all the keys at the top of the screen and these lineup with the keys on the keyboard that look like a normal piano keyboard. The keys on the keyboard correspond with the colored notes on the screen, so as these various colored screens go up top, you hit the matching key on the keyboard. So green goes up…hit green. If you do these all in time then it sounds like you are really playing Billy Joel.

Now, after you perfect that, you can make the notes go from the right to the left, which makes things a bit more difficult. Then you can switch those so they are smaller colored notes, then to black notes like you'd see on regular sheet music, and so on and so on. Besides the color notes changing to reflect the difficulty and your level of improvement, you can also speed up the tempo so that everything moves faster.

I have to admit that when I first started I had a hard time getting the hang of it, but is that not true of any instrument? However, after learning where my fingers were supposed to go and understanding what colors were attached to what finger, it became extremely easy and enjoyable to press the buttons in rhythm to perform the song.

Here is the ultimate thing about Piano Wizard – it is a teacher! Unlike some similar games like a Guitar Hero for example that has you playing notes along with the music, by the time you are done you haven't learned anything, because ultimately Guitar Hero doesn't teach anything. Piano Wizard is different in that by the time you are done you have actually learned these songs. Why I can tap out the melody with my hands right now on my desk because I fondly remember learning the song.

Piano Wizard is one of those odd experiences that you simply aren't treated to every day. At first I was skeptical, because I've tried to learn instruments in the past, and the only thing I ever learned to play – the trombone – was because I had a music teacher in middle school teaching me. Much like that music teacher, Piano Wizard was a great guide to help me learn to at least play a Billy Joel song, and I hope to get to play more of the Piano Wizard in the future so I can expand my piano abilities.