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Learn to play piano? Discover the best apps for your musical journey

Learn to play piano? Discover the best apps for your musical journey

Today, thanks to technological advances and digitalisation, there are many new options for learning to play the piano independently. One of the most popular methods are interactive piano learning apps for smartphones, tablets and computers. Apps to learn to play the piano can be a convenient alternative, if you have a busy schedule or if you find piano lessons too expensive. Nevertheless, 'real life' piano lessons still remain the best guarantee and most appropriate method to learn to play the piano properly. Also read our blog on this subject: Learning to play the piano, how is it done these days?

There are a lot of interactive piano apps available, but which one is the best choice for you depends on your personal needs and preferences. Most apps can be used with both digital and acoustic pianos and grand pianos. Your device's microphone captures the notes you hear on the acoustic piano or via MIDI if you connect a digital piano to your device.

Pianos Maene made a selection for you and listed the better piano learning apps:

Flowkey

Flowkey is a great piano tool for beginners with music in various genres, including classical, pop, film and TV, jazz, rock, etc... The paid app also contains pieces for intermediate and advanced pianists, but is mainly aimed at pianists not yet familiar with reading sheet music. Flowkey also includes informative videos on sitting position at the piano, sight-reading and basic music theory. You can quickly and easily install the app on a PC or Mac, or on your iOS/Android smartphone or table via the Flowkey website. A premium subscription gives you access to the full song library (with more than 1,000 songs).

Flowkey is generally a fun introduction to learning to play the piano. The app is very user-friendly, intuitive and beautifully designed. Flowkey is a great help for beginners in learning to read scores and expands their piano repertoire in a fun and modern way. If you want to learn correct piano posture and technique, it is best to take lessons from a piano teacher, something the app cannot offer.

When you purchase an acoustic or digital piano from Yamaha, you will receive 3 months free subscription to Flowkey.

Skoove

Skoove is a popular piano app designed to familiarize you with basic musical concepts such as sight-reading, chords, scales, dynamics, etc... The app has a range of more than 300 lessons in over 19 courses, and is also mainly aimed at beginning pianists. The app can be used via PC/Mac, or you can install it on smartphones/tablets, for both iOs and Android operating systems.

The Skoove app is aimed at learning sight-reading and learning basic musical concepts through play, and is therefore especially suitable for older children (12 years and older). Skoove offers a large selection of pop songs, but is slightly more limited in its classical repertoire. Skoove offers a good basis for becoming familiar with piano and music theory. Once you progress to an advanced level, the app will become less useful. Like other online piano learning methods, the biggest limitation remains that you don't get personalised feedback on technique, musicality and dynamics.

With the purchase of a Roland or a Kawai digital piano, you will receive 3 months of free premium access to Skoove.

Simply Piano

Simply Piano is currently the most popular app for online piano lessons, and has been developed specifically for smartphones and tablets. With a unique, and interactive approach, the app tries to keep you motivated to discover new things every time you take a seat behind your piano. Basic concepts are explained in a very accessible way, making it ideal for beginners. Simply Piano can also be a fine reintroduction for pianists who want to pick up the thread after a long time.

The great thing about the Simply Piano app is that it allows you to play piano immediately and gradually discover new popular songs. Meanwhile, you get a clear understanding of notes and chords, and how they fit into a more general musical context. Simply Piano is suitable for beginners and is intended as an introduction to piano. The app is less suitable if you are looking for a detailed theoretical basis for learning to play the piano. If you want to quickly learn your favourite songs and enjoy playing the piano, Simply Piano is a fun way to get started. You can try the app for free, but you can also get full access via a monthly or annual subscription.

Pianote

Pianote is an online learning platform with piano lessons, courses and a vast library of popular songs. The biggest added value of this paid app is the ability to connect with other students and ask questions of real piano teachers. So the focus is on community and interaction.

Through Pianote, you get tips and practice methods from piano teachers. Musical concepts are explained and they demonstrate them in an accessible way. The app offers a lot of engaging video lessons that feel like you are sitting with a piano teacher in class. Moreover, questions can also be asked, and content is added very regularly.

Like most piano learning apps, Pianote is mainly aimed at beginners. Pianote is slightly more expensive compared to other piano apps.

Play Ground Sessions

Play Ground Sessions is a tool for learning piano through an app, offering a combination of video lessons and songs where you get real-time feedback. Similar to Simply Piano, you have a 'game experience' where you receive ratings and skill points. This, in turn, can be a fun motivation and incentive for younger learners. The video lessons are created by piano teachers (including well-known YouTubers) with different backgrounds, and in different genres. Playground Sessions can be installed on PC, Mac, smartphones and tablets.

Playground Sessions profiles itself as the ideal piano app for complete beginners, with no musical background. However, the game nature of the app, with feedback and points system, can also appeal to advanced pianists who love technology. The app works best with digital pianos. With an acoustic piano, you cannot use the interactive features.

Piascore

Piascore is a digital app for browsing sheet music on iPad and iPhone. This way, you always have your entire score collection at hand. The app offers a wide range of features such as note writing, automatic vertical scrolling, free classical sheet music, easy score management, metronome with real sound, Bluetooth page turners, etc...

With the Piascore app, you can download sheet music, as well as scan scores or import PDF documents. The app can be purchased once via the app store, so there is no need to pay a monthly subscription. Highly recommended, for those who want to avoid carrying large amounts of paper scores everywhere.

Learning to play the piano through an app: good idea?

Interactive piano apps are a fun and accessible way to get introduced to the piano as an instrument, and can be a valuable addition to the learning process. They can be motivating, help to learn to read notes and become familiar with basic fundamental concepts. Most apps are very price accessible and can easily be used at home, whenever you want, at any time of the day.

If you want to take your piano playing to the next level, lessons with a real piano teacher are still the best choice. This is because through apps, you will not get feedback to correct wrong habits and improve your technique. Developing advanced piano skills, learning complex pieces, musical interpretation and improvisation is virtually impossible without feedback and additional guidance from an experienced teacher. So, from a pedagogical point of view, classical piano lessons are still the very best learning method.