If you are of a certain age, and remember how you began piano lessons with a book and a teacher, you might be taken aback when you see how students learn piano in the 21st century.
Now, instead of worksheets, method books and scale diagrams, students can be found signing into websites, downloading piano lesson apps, and learning complete songs without touching a piece of paper.
There are pros and cons to every learning method, and while using piano apps may be perfect for some students, there are definitely things you want to watch out for if you want to get the most out of the technology that is available now to piano students.
In this article, we’ll point out the features that a good piano technology app should offer you as a student, then we’ll list some of the leading apps and provide some information on each one so you can make an informed decision on which one to use.
What Do You Need Your Piano App to Do?
When looking at the features that you’d want in a music education app, you want to consider what your primary goals are.
Are you looking for an all-in-one teaching solution that tells you how to play piano using notation and alternative strategies (like guided visual cues, lighted keys etc?)
Or, are you looking for a companion tutorial app that provides exercises and additional resources that will accelerate your learning?
These are the factors that you should consider before diving into your app store.
As a music teacher for over 30 years, my opinion is that nothing can replace an expert instructor who can guide you through the process of learning this amazing instrument.
That said, there ARE some apps that do a great job of teaching you the basics and utilizing technology to show you the wonder of the piano.
Features to Look For in Your App
If you are looking for apps that take you from A-to-Z (not in the musical alphabet of course!), then look for these features:
- A clear blueprint of how to play as a beginning student (exercises, videos, tutorials in sequence)
- A way to connect your phone / tablet to a USB or electronic keyboard (Some type of interface)
- A reinforcement / feedback system that tells you when you are playing correctly (should be ingrained in the program)
- A wide selection of piano pieces to play / learn (either a library or selection of music)
Many apps make some of these features available only with a paid subscription, so it pays to read the fine print in each app description. Check out the reviews of every app to see if they check all these boxes.
If, on the other hand, you simply want a piano lesson app that can be a companion resource to your lessons, you may not need all of the bells and whistles of a complete standalone piano app. Instead, you may only need:
- Ear Training games and exercises
These features can help accelerate your learning and may serve your needs better than an all-in-one app.
Now let’s take a look at some of the leading piano technology apps and see if they meet the criteria for your needs.
Let’s Take a Look at Some Leading Piano Lesson Apps
Yousician
Yousician is designed to help you learn the piano by guiding you through three possible tracks – classic, knowledge, and pop.
This app provides a full guided path to learning piano this way, and also has some of the ‘game’ features that make learning more fun while attempting to master the exercises. There are many optional features to get you started, like weekly challenges and training in music theory.
Recommendation: Better for beginners who want an all-in-one teaching solution.
Playground Sessions
The newest piano lesson app on the block has big names behind it, like super producer Quincy Jones and famous musician / actor Harry Connick Jr.
It is a subscription based app with individual lessons and three tracks – rookie, intermediate and advanced. Because it focuses on pop music and playing right away, it doesn’t spend much time on technique or music reading – which means it may not be the best all-in-one alternative for those who want both musical theory and piano knowledge. However, it does have the community aspect of forums and discussions available in the app.
Recommendation: Best as a companion app to make in-person/traditional lessons more fun and engaging
Simply Piano by JoyTunes
Simply Piano is one of the leading piano education apps and has millions of downloads.
It connects with your real-life piano or keyboard, and gives you real-time feedback in a very user friendly manner. Like other apps in this category , it provides an all-in-one track to learning piano from the beginning, as well as a library of songs and a game-style scoring system.
While like all apps, it has its drawbacks in being able to detect errors in fingering, positioning, etc, it provides all the features you would need in a stand-alone piano education solution.
Recommendation: Best for all-in-one piano lesson environments.
Perfect Ear–Ear Trainer
While this app is not designed simply for pianists (it also has a guitar setting) it’s a “perfect” (sorry for the pun) example of an app that can supplement your piano education journey.
Perfect Ear has a variety of ear-training and note-reading exercises that can build your rhythm skills, note-recognition, and interval understanding. Piano lesson apps like this can help you drill down important concepts in your piano learning journey while keeping the gaming feel and tracking your progress. However, there isn’t a way to connect to an external keyboard, so all exercises have to be performed within the app.
Recommendation: Best as a companion app to traditional lessons to improve your musical skill
In conclusion, while there will always be a need for in-person interaction with a professional piano teacher, piano lesson apps like these can fill an important role in your learning – if you know what to look for, and how to use them effectively. Happy downloading!
Allen C. Paul