On a 7 day trial... is it worth it?

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pocmatos
Posts: 1
Joined: Fri Oct 08, 2021 2:21 am

On a 7 day trial... is it worth it?

Post by pocmatos » Fri Oct 08, 2021 3:02 am

Hi,

I am on a 7 day trial and was thinking about purchasing a lifetime license. However, given the blog hasn't been updated since 2018 and I have read that the software itself hasn't had updates in a long time I am starting to reconsider. What is the opinion of those who have been here for longer? Is it worth it or are now better options out there?

Thanks,

Paulo Matos

EFlatMajor
Posts: 147
Joined: Tue Dec 19, 2017 2:51 pm

Re: On a 7 day trial... is it worth it?

Post by EFlatMajor » Fri Oct 08, 2021 1:10 pm

Hey Paulo, welcome to the club.

The lifetime license (in 2017) was well worth it for me. The question is "is it worth it for you?"

You bring up 2 issues here. First, how committed are you to learning the piano? If you are going to use it for 3 months and then let it accumulate dust in the corner, then no, a lifetime license is not for you. It is way too expensive for that. On the other hand, if you stay interested and follow a practice schedule and can see yourself improving, then the lifetime license would be worth it. It takes years to get really good at playing piano, do not let anyone tell you otherwise.

In terms of the app, everything you wrote is correct. There is a new version of the app coming, release date unknown. It contains a few bugfixes and a lot of new features, They are having issues getting it out the door and have not been public as to the reasons why, only to say that they are still busy working on it.

In terms of communications, these forum boards are not the company's primary focus. You are talking mostly to other PGS users here. The company set up a Facebook group which is very active. They do most of their communication there. The customer support boards were locked and replaced with an email address for reporting problems. New song requests now go a different web site. I don't know how to ask for a new feature.

That's about it. I am a lifer and continue to practice and know that I do not need that new version immediately to keep getting better.

The teachers add new content quite often. Sometimes updates to lessons, new songs, youtube videos and live lessons.

All of the above is just my opinion. I don't know why your trial is only 7 days. Mine was 30.
One option you have is after your trial ends get a monthly subscription and continue to use the app for another month, then you could decide whether to pull the trigger on the lifetime license.

This message is getting way too long. Feel free to ask more questions here - or call the company itself - the support people are musicians and can pretty much answer anything.

Hope this helps.

Dee
Posts: 2
Joined: Sat Oct 09, 2021 3:40 pm

Re: On a 7 day trial... is it worth it?

Post by Dee » Sat Oct 09, 2021 4:24 pm

I recently finished my 7-day trial and I'm holding off purchasing for the same reasons. I'm also extremely disappointed that they rely on Facebook to interact with their customers. I loathe Facebook, deleted my account over a year ago, and have no desire to give that data-mining site my information.

Dee
Posts: 2
Joined: Sat Oct 09, 2021 3:40 pm

Re: On a 7 day trial... is it worth it?

Post by Dee » Sat Oct 09, 2021 4:44 pm

I also wanted to add that I'm a complete newbie, having purchased my keyboard 4 months ago. I have subscriptions to both Flowkey and Skoove and there are things about Playground Sessions that are superior. Having spent a decade teaching very complex software to professionals who combine software with a physical skill, I know that it's often helpful to have different methods of learning. For instance, sometimes I needed to teach a concept or skill in a different way before it "stuck." Since these are online apps rather than the one-on-one training I provided, I am more than willing to subscribe to more than one app.

If the owners are relying on Facebook to announce their plans for updating the app, they really need to up their game and put it on their blog, or here in this forum, for the benefit of customers/prospects who don't use Facebook.

SJunior22
Posts: 110
Joined: Mon Jun 13, 2016 4:04 pm

Re: On a 7 day trial... is it worth it?

Post by SJunior22 » Mon Oct 11, 2021 10:58 am

Hi Paulo!

I just wanted to jump in here as well to give you another perspective. I whole-hearted agree with all of EFlatMajor's points. You should evalutate how dedicated are you going to be in 6 to 12 months from now. The first few months are like the euphoric "happy" times. However, when the challenging times come around, are you going to enjoy the struggle and continue or are you going to bailout and let the piano collect dust?

The advice I offer is, sort out all of your expectations from joining a "online-piano-school/program". Make sure there are the specific options (ex. backing tracks, modern song compositions, video-aided learning, solid foundation courses, variety, forum support, etc) you think will help you get you where you want to be as a piano player.

Now, with all that stated above. I'll inject my experiences here at PS. I started with the piano not even having a clue where "middle C" was. Plus, I started out with the mindset of not getting a "trial" of whatever program I chose.I avoided the "trial" pitfall because I know that would be just a way for me to bailout from dedicating myself to learning the piano.

I was determined that whatever the program I selected, I was going to stick with it for life. I shopped around and found that Playground Sessions (at the time) suited my expectations nicely. The "lifetime" membership $$$ was reasonable and the options (fewer than today) were just right for my goals to learning the piano (so I joined for life). The program continues to evolve and it has gotten me to where I wanted to be as a piano player.

The market seems to be heating up out there and I think the people at Playground are working on meeting the reasonable expectations of both inexperienced and the experienced piano players by updating their program. I've been using this program for a while now and it has come a long way from its basic framework when I started with it years back.

Hope this helps in your evaluation and I would also like to welcome you to the Playground Family. As EFlatMajor stated, whenever you post something in the forums, its likely going to be replied by a fellow student of Playground. We're all here to help each other out so that we all achieve the goals we've set for ourselves as piano players. So dont hesistate to reach out in any of the relevant forums.

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