mrdp12,
EDIT: forgot to say welcome!
Don't get misled by all the hits you get when you search on Learn and Master Piano. They're all advertising, even if they don't look like it.
I have the course and I'm working through it slowly alongside the pieces I'm learning. It's well produced. The DVDs and playalong CDs are excellent, although the book could have been better planned, it doesn't have a spiral binding and the text runs too close to the margins to give you the option of binding it yourself. Also it's a small format and the pages are rather 'busy'. I think the course introduces a lot of concepts that are good to know, but it's geared more to accompaniment than to solo playing. Here's what Will Barrow posted recently in the LMP forum after someone had commented that they'd have liked to see more emphasis on solo playing.
In developing the material for this course, I had to decide which concepts would be given most attention,while trying to present some material on chords,patterns,rhythm,scales,piano techniques in a variety of styles,developing the ear,solo piano, etc. The course is certainly weighted more toward the area of learning chords,patterns and the piano as an accompanying instrument.There are a few examples of songs that can be learned using the left hand to accompany a melody["Fur Elise",Amazing Grace","The Entertainer"].I made attempt to present enough examples of different elements of piano playing that the learner could establish building blocks for developing the ability to play lyrically,rhythmically,hear the basic chord movements of many common progressions and begin playing a few solo pieces.
I hope and believe that if followed attentively this material will help most people enjoy playing the piano more-in a variety of genres and approaches.If the main goal is to play solo piano-left hand accompanying right hand-more material will certainly be required after this foundation is established.
Whether or not LMP is the premier home course is up for debate. Whether it's right for you really depends on what you want to do. I wouldn't recommend it if your principal interest is classical music or solo playing, unless you're prepared to work from another method and/or learn pieces that aren't in the course alongside it. But if you want to play popular music and jam with your friends it would be a good starting point.
