Parents' Guide to PlayItYourself 4 HD

PLAYITYOURSELF 4 HD is meant to be a learning tool, but does little to explain what kids are seeing on the screen. Kids will catch on that they're meant to tap the highlighted keys, but they won't learn anything about note names, rhythm, or symbols such as key signatures and clefs. The virtual keyboard only spans two octaves, and if the music on the score goes beyond that range it substitutes a note in a wrong octave, which often requires kids to leap across the keyboard in the opposite direction of the musical line so that they're actually learning the score incorrectly.

Play It Yourself 4 HD has bitten off more than it can chew, and perhaps should have stuck to songs that fit within the two-octave range of the keyboard it provides. The interface will probably overwhelm beginners, while experienced pianists could easily pick up bad habits from trying to follow the inaccurate note mapping. This is one case where it's better to stick with the real thing.