Online Piano Lessons
If you’re an aspiring Mozart and are looking for the best online piano lessons, you’re in the right place! This complete guide covers the top-recommended online piano courses and apps for people of all ages and competency levels. We also cover lessons that you can use to play different kinds of pianos.
What Are The Best Online Piano Lessons?
With today's technology, teaching yourself to play an instrument, even one as complex as the piano, is much easier than it once was. So - you’re looking at learning the piano online! It’s a great way to set your own pace and work around a busy schedule with no concrete time commitment, but it can be hard to find the right piano lesson in the sea of online sites.
In this article, we will break down some of the differences in some popular online piano lesson sites. Different sites have features that will appeal to different students, so it is a good idea to weigh your options and shop around, especially if you’re looking for a paid service.
Here is the list of the best online piano lessons, including their costs and features.
1. Flowkey
Flowkey has excellent online piano lessons that helps you learn how to play the piano. The online piano lessons teaches you how to play a variety of songs (belonging to different genres) on the piano. You can pick any song based on your difficulty level (beginner, intermediate, advanced or pro) and learn to master it with playing modes (wait mode, slow mode, or fast mode).
Flowkey contains video lessons that combine auditory and visual learning. Students are introduced to note reading early in their studies. Video lessons show sheet music and a birds-eye view of a keyboard with hands playing. Flowkey videos will also adjust to the player’s tempo, there is no need to pause or rewind videos. In addition to lessons in the course content, students have access to over 200 songs (fewer available to free users) that are a variety of genres and difficulties.
By using device microphones, students can receive instant feedback on their playing. Flowkey has several built-in practice tools, include the ability to slow the tempo, isolate hands, and loop sections of music.
Students can access basic course content for free as well as limited songs. Full access is available with a premium subscription.
Pricing:
Flowkey’s pricing is subscription-based, and the pricing varies with time commitment. So, like a lot of popular subscription based services, you’ll save more money the more time you buy up-front. The prices at the time of writing are:
$19.99 USD per 1 month, $12.99 USD per 3 months ; for a total of $38.97 USD, $9.99 USD per 12 months ; for a total of $119.88 USD, or a one-time payment of $299.99 USD. Students who purchase a Yamaha keyboard or digital piano are eligible to receive a free 3-month subscription.
2. Playground Sessions
Playground Sessions is an online piano lesson platform that teaches you how to play the piano. You play the piano in a game-like fashion and receive real-time feedback about your performance. It provides printable sheet music to perform with and teaches you where your strengths and weaknesses lie.
The base package lets you choose from 500 songs to learn from tons of genres, including Classical, Pop, R&B, Rock, and Traditional. You will find tons of hits from all music eras separated by Rookie, Intermediate, and Advanced skill levels.
We found Playground Sessions helpful for pianists of most skill levels, although it specifically caters to beginner and intermediate players of all ages. The digital learning platform lets you learn to play without a teacher or even a traditional 88-key piano.
While some simpler piano lesson platforms only teach you how to play songs, Playground Sessions teaches you the theory behind them. It takes popular songs and uses their rhythms and melodies to demonstrate music theory concepts in a relatable fashion.
Pricing:
Playground Sessions is also a subscription-based service, with pricing in the middle range of the pack when compared to other online piano lessons. However, if you’re looking to learn some more advanced songs, you’ll have to save up points or purchase the songs on top of your subscription payment.
$17.99 USD per 1 month, $9.99 USD per 12 months ; for a total of $119.88 USD, or a one-time payment of $289.99 USD
3. Pianote
Pianote is the self-proclaimed “ultimate online piano lessons experience.” This virtual piano teacher uses its web-based platform to deliver hundreds of step-by-step lessons for beginners and intermediate students alike.
Pianote offers video reviews, practice plans, and real teachers that provide you with live lessons. Optimized for both desktop and mobile, the site is easy to maneuver and is the ideal platform for anyone frustrated with trying to learn the piano the traditional way. Pianote’s main selling point is it’s access to professional teachers for subscribing students.
Pianote offers popular songs along with their lesson access, but they also have a focus on teaching songwriting, which was a bit of a standout feature. Pianote, in addition to fundamentals, claims to help teach students versatile skills, such as improvisation and developing a better ear for music.
As for learning, Pianote has a lesson plan supplemented by helpful teachers that are available for advice and give weekly video lessons. This gives students the opportunity to learn from multiple teachers, which is very helpful for finding a style that fits your personal needs, as well as exposing you to different techniques and perspectives. Pianote also offers a 90-day money back guarantee, if you’re not satisfied with their service.
Pricing:
Pianote’s pricing is subscription based, and they are a bit higher in price than some of the other options in this article. In addition, it doesn’t offer quite as many pricing options as other online lesson services. Pianote only has two pricing options:
$29 USD per 1 month, $197 USD per 12 months
4. Pianoforall
Pianoforall is a chord-based piano method, geared towards beginning musicians. Students start learning to play by ear using keyboard images, and through that eventually, learn to read music as well. Pianoforall is a one-time purchase. Students get access to nine e-books, containing 200 tutorial videos and 500 audio examples. The e-books can be downloaded or are available by DVD, and in either case, do not require the user to be online.
In each Pianoforall video, students will see two different views of the piano keys. One shows hands playing the keys. On the other, the keys light up as they are played, and the note names are identified above. This is especially useful as pieces and techniques are learned. It will showcase the correct fingerings to use, and students can see which keys to play.
Students can learn a variety of musical styles, including blues, rock and roll, jazz, ballads, and classics. There are also introductions to improvisation and basic melodic composition. Pianoforall states their method is perfect for students with no musical background, or students who may have experience playing or reading music but want to improve.
It is suggested for teenagers and adults, but not currently recommended for children. The website mentions a children’s book coming out soon, but it is not available yet. Pianoforall claims students will begin to sound good in a matter of days, though, with any piano method, it does recommend 20-30 minutes of daily practice.
Pricing:
Pianoforall is available for a flat fee, meaning students have access to the content forever. The material can be downloaded digitally for $79 (currently on sale for $39) or get a data DVD and digital download for $89 (now on sale for $49). Both options come with a 60-day money back guarantee.
5. Skoove
Skoove is a more customized program than many other piano-learning programs. Skoove is great for adult beginners and advanced players. It has a neat, pretty appearance, which makes it easy to navigate it. The browser-based piano app works great on almost any browser you are using. You can use the virtual piano if you don’t have a real keyboard. That said, the online keyboard is fun to play.
Skoove has programs and instruction that can help you learn all facets of the piano. It teaches you a mix of useful skills that you can apply to play. It can also help you learn how to play specific songs to show off your piano skills without a lot of lessons.
Skoove comes with over 400 different lessons that can help you learn about every aspect of the piano. Many of these lessons teach music theory. You will learn concepts like chords, scales, rhythm, composition, reading music, and music production. All of these skills are available for you to study.
Pricing:
Skoove offers a free version that you can try. With the free version, you only get 25 lessons.
6. Yousician
The Yousician music lesson platform provides lessons on piano, guitar, bass, and ukulele. The basic content is free, or there is also a premium edition available. Yousician is game-based, meaning students complete missions to advance through the various levels.
All missions contain video tutorial lessons. In each video, there is a keyboard with letter names and keys that light up, along with scrolling sheet music. Numerous practice tools accompany Yousician, including the ability to adjust the tempo, isolate hands when practicing, view simplified music notation, and view color-coded notes. In addition, most practice songs contain background music, making simple melodies more interesting. Yousician also includes interactive features.
Using the microphone on your device, Yousician provides students with immediate feedback. No specialized equipment is required. Going along with the game-based feel, students can participate in weekly challenges, “competing” with users around the world.
Yousician is available for Mac, iOS, Windows, or Android. The basic app is free; however, students are limited to 1 lesson every 12-hours. (This is approximately 20-30 minutes of practicing.) The premium version allows unlimited practicing and is available for $9.99 per month with a one-year contract, or $19.99 per month with no contract.
Pricing:
For $14.99 per month, students can have access to lessons for piano, guitar, bass, and ukulele. The premium version also offers a 14-day free trial.
7. Pianu
Pianu is an attention-grabber, with a bright and cheery website design that is easy to navigate and to use. While it does offer lessons using your computer keyboard, it also supports MIDI input, which is a much more effective way to learn. If you’re looking for a good option, Pianu actually recommends a few on their website. If you’re looking for some more budget options, Amazon has a few options under $60. Be sure to check your local music store for sales and deals, as well!
Pianu offers a robust and growing song library, ordered by genre and/or difficulty. They also offer the service for free in music classrooms through their school program to any teacher that requests it. The program will give 30 licenses per class.
As for learning, the lessons are easy to navigate and track your progress with cheery displays and stats, like total amount hours played. Pianu doesn’t offer an app, but their website is mobile-compatible, which is the next-best thing. They state that their full lesson plan is equivalent to a year long introductory piano course, and payment includes any and all future lessons added to the lesson plan.
Pianu also supports uploading custom .midi files, for students who want to learn a particular song that they don’t have in the site library. They also take user requests for songs to add, and update the database on a weekly basis.
The website also lets you gift lesson subscriptions, which is a great feature for parents or friends looking to give the gift of learning to someone. All things considered, Pianu is a solid option for online lessons, with a fun and challenging lesson plan and a user-friendly interface.
Pricing:
Pianu’s pricing, like most online lessons, is subscription-based, and the pricing varies with time commitment.
$8 USD per 1 month, $5USD per 12 months ; for a total of $60 USD, or a one-time payment of $225 USD
Best online piano lessons helps you to learn at your own pace in your own space, with dedicated software providing the structured learning and educational gravitas of a real teacher.
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