Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Adult Beginners Forum Duane Shinn

As far as the video and audio quality - I've had mine for a few years, and they are on audio cassette and VHS. It's instructional material and the production quality is certainly good enough for the purpose.
I've only got the pro secrets course and the year-long weekly-lesson video course. There's a wealth of information there, and I like his teaching style. You can probably buy books and get the same information for a lot less money.
Is it worth it? I can't say for you. For me, it was. I'm still using the tapes. That much money spent on private lessons would be long gone, and then some.
There's a lot of choices out there, and even a lot of free lessons you can find on the internet. Just depends on what works for you and what you're comfortable with.

I have looked around for books that teach what he does and nothing seems to come close. I also know what you are saying as far as paying a teacher and having it all lost.

I am lucky my teacher writes all my music and tapes the songs at the end of the lesson. Of course she tapes it with all the fillers, intros, and turn arounds, and all the other good stuff.

I am slowly but surely learning. When we review songs she adds new licks and tricks and bass movements so I will be challenged to learn. The problem is that my playing still sounds to dry and I want to understand why and how to add all these great sounding keys. I was very interested in his "How to dress up naked music" course.

You stated that he used to give discounts. Where did you find out about that?

I used to get flyers in the mail all the time, but I know they quit doing that some time ago. Duane has had at least one heart attack, and perhaps has had to slow down some since then.
You might just tell them you know someone who got some courses at a discount and see what they say, or you might sign up for their free lessons online and maybe they'll offer some deals.
I can't really recommend any particular books that cover what he teaches, because he does cover a lot of ground and I just don't know of any that really cover the same material.
A couple I do know of that have a lot of good stuff about playing popular style piano are one called "How to Play from a Fake Book". Mark Harrison's "Pop Piano Book" is also quite good.
I'm mostly into jazz and there are a lot of good jazz piano books, but Duane has a different approach than any of them.
I know others have recommended various books and/or video lessons so you might do a search of the forums.

Hi EP,
You posted to this forum years ago, so, I don't know if you will even see this reply, but it's worth a try!
I am very interested in taking my piano playing to the next level, to sound more "professional." You mentioned that you've purchased his "PRO SECRETS" course. How is it? Did you learn a lot from each disc in just one month, or did it take you a bit longer? Does he explain each secret in great detail and in a way where you will clearly understand what he is doing? Did other people notice a big difference in your playing? And, would it be best to take "How to Dress up Naked Music" first before taking the bigger course, since he covers a bit of things in that one? Shinn courses that I have bought in the past were excellent, but I was just wondering if the "PRO SECRETS" is worth the money, since it's $700! I really want to invest in this course, but was just wondering if it is REALLY worth the money, especially considering that it is a "learn on your own" type!

Thanks,

Kris