Nearly every activity has been pushed online because of the coronavirus pandemic and music lessons are no exception. In addition, many kids have been making the most of their remote schooling schedules by learning new instruments. According to a June 2020 survey from the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, 38% of parents said their kids started learning a musical instrument during lockdown, and 66% of kids who were learning an instrument practiced more.
Children frequently start off by learning piano. Comfort with the basics of music – note reading, rhythm, the discipline of regular practice – will also help those who have an interest in other instruments down the line. However, a piano or keyboard is a big upfront investment for parents, both in terms of finances, and how much space it will take up in the home. Then there’s the cost of lessons, typically starting at $30 an hour or more.
Good news: There’s a spate of online piano apps promising to engage kids and teach them everything, no matter their level. These apps are introducing classical music to a whole new customer base, engaging families with their fun song libraries and interactive lessons.
You don’t even need to own a piano or keyboard to get started with some of these, just a smartphone, tablet or PC. Most of these apps work with some type of AI, so you'll need to enable the microphone on your device in order for the apps to recognize the notes you’re playing.
Yousician
Yousician is a popular platform for those wanting to learn an instrument, and lessons extend beyond piano to include guitar, ukulele, singing and bass. You can use your tablet as a keyboard, and the app and basic lessons are free. Premium plans cost $19.99 a month ($119.99 a year) and offer unlimited lessons on one instrument; Premium plans cost $29.99 a month ($179.99 a year) and give students unlimited access to lessons and the full library of 1,800 songs, across multiple instruments.
The lessons aren't specifically geared to kids, but there’s no reason they won’t enjoy learning from the app. Yousician is tailored to pianists at any level and combines a gamified approach with interactive learning and real-time feedback.
Lessons take you through the basics, such as learning where middle C is, using your left hand, and mastering sharps and flats. After each lesson, you have the opportunity to play songs related to what you just learned, which provides some instant gratification. Our eight-year-old went straight from a lesson and workout on the C position to playing a slow version of Beethoven’s Ode To Joy (with a backing track), using those same notes.
Yousician has color-coded keys and a range of notation views you can change as your child starts learning the notes. There’s a leaderboard where you can see how you rank alongside friends and others at the same level, and you’ll also find weekly song challenges.
Over the course of 2020, millions of new users have signed up for Yousician, pushing its base from 14.5 million to over 20 million. It’s available for Android, iOS and PC. Yousician for Teachers was launched during the pandemic, so it’s now being used in the classroom, too.
Simply Piano by JoyTunes
During the first London lockdown in spring 2020, one of our friends sent around a video of her seven-year-old son playing the piano. His rendition of Katy Perry’s Firework was amazing to watch, especially considering he’d been a beginner a couple of months prior. The secret? The Simply Piano app, which he’d become completely obsessed with and started playing for a couple of hours each day.
He’s not alone: Simply Piano has been downloaded over 10.2 million times. It’s won multiple awards and is appealing to users of all ages and skill levels, with tutorials that break down technique, chords, moving from one hand to two, and more.
While you ideally need a keyboard to get going, the Touch Courses option turns your device into a virtual piano. After signing in, you can choose from a selection of goals, such as learning chords or mastering songs you love. Multiple family members can have profiles on the same account so siblings can learn at their own paces.
One of the best bits about Simply Piano is that the song library is refreshed regularly. Kids can try playing songs from trendy artists like Sia and Robbie Williams from the get-go. Though, as my 10-year-old learned when she tried to play Tom Petty’s Free Fallin,’ the app will discourage users from going above their level. Like their parents, Simply Piano will urge them to master the "Essentials" first. Since the app works via AI note-based recognition, users receive interactive, real time feedback.
You can sign up to a free intro trial for a week and then things start to get pricier, from $59.99 for three months to $119.99 for the year. If Simply Piano is too staid for your young pianist, developer JoyTunes also makes Piano Dust Buster and Piano Maestro, which have kid-friendly graphics.
Skoove
Combining theory and teaching in a clear, straightforward way, German app Skoove uses AI pitch detection and teaches budding pianists in eight languages.
Kids aren’t Skoove’s target market, but it appeals to both aural learners (who can use the app to play by ear), and those who prefer to copy hand movements. Skoove works with all pianos and keyboards, and can also turn your device into a touchscreen to get you started sans instrument.
Skoove is incredibly user-friendly and features more than 400 lessons to choose from. Beginners can launch straight into songs like Lean on Me and American Pie, and learn note names and values as they go along. Videos break things down into easy steps, so you learn and relearn each bit of a song before moving ahead - and, ultimately progress to “playing with the band.” I can attest that reaching that level is an incredibly satisfying feeling for both little ones and older beginners.
Costs start at $19.99 for a one-month subscription, through to $149.99 for a lifetime subscription.
Flowkey
Flowkey promises to teach learners of all ages the basics in under 20 minutes, and my 8-year-old launched right into playing Beethoven’s Ode to Joy in minutes. Like Skoove, flowkey is a Berlin-based piano learning app, working in collaboration with Yamaha, so you’ll often see the brand’s instruments featured in the videos. Those lessons will teach learners everything from how to sit properly at the piano to reading musical notes and playing scales.
The app is comprehensive, with a library of over 1,500 songs broken into categories, like jazz and gaming music. We’ve spotted everything from Baby Shark to Nirvana tunes on there, so it has the range.
Purists will like that you learn with a standard keyboard. Notes you’re meant to play light up in orange on the top of the screen, played by a professional, while below it, you’ll see sheet music. Everything is helpfully broken into bite-sized sections, with a loop function that lets you keep replaying parts until you get it all right. Our kids also liked the slow-motion feature, which let them dive into complicated songs sooner than they’d normally be able to.
You can start flowkey on your computer keyboard, plus it’s free in the beginning. That free period gives you access to eight songs and most of the first couple of exercises on the courses. Access to flowkey Premium for all 500 song lessons and all of the courses starts at $19.99 a month.
Playground Sessions
Who doesn’t want to learn piano from a pro? Co-created with Grammy-winner Quincy Jones, Playground Sessions has the celebrity stamp of approval.
It even gets you up close and personal with celebrity piano teachers, with lessons from the likes of Harry Connick, Jr., Mike Garson (David Bowie’s keyboardist), and YouTube-favorite David Sides. Playground Sessions is designed to appeal to parents as much as kids – see Harry Connick, Jr. as your piano tutor, above.
The app makes you feel like you’re getting 1:1 training through its step-by-step, interactive video lesson approach, which uses popular songs to teach piano skills. The app layout is similar to flowkey’s, with light-up keys and a slow-down feature. Playground Sessions will also break songs up into small, easily digestible sections to ensure you’re learning everything before moving on.
Recommended for kids aged seven and up, you can try Playground Sessions with a free seven-day trial. There’s currently a 15% off sale on all memberships. Family plans for two players start at $152.90 annually, which includes $240 of free songs. Unlike other piano teaching apps, which tend to give premium users access to a whole library, with Playground Sessions you buy individual songs you’d like to learn to play. Monthly memberships start at $17.99, which includes five songs a month.
Ludwig
Primephonic’s Ludwig is a musical history course rather than a piano-learning class, but we thought it merited inclusion because it makes music more accessible and interesting to youngsters. It’s included in the subscription to Primephonic, the classical music streaming app that’s been downloaded over 500,000 times and rated one of the top 100 apps in the world.
We'd recommend this for older kids and teens. Ludwig turns musical history from boring to brilliant. Over 10 weeks, you get a crash course in top classical composers and their most notable works, must-know events in musical history, and an overview of musical genres and instruments across history. Lessons are conducted via podcasts and email.
If you don’t have Primephonic already, you can subscribe to Ludwig for $18 for the whole course, which is designed to last three months, and includes access to the Primephonic app, too.
LUMI Keys
Guitar Hero, but make it piano. That’s the premise behind the LUMI Keys, an all-in-one piano learning platform with its own keyboard. You play the keyboard while using a tablet with the app installed for lessons.
The keyboard is much smaller than a standard keyboard, with 24 keys (versus 88 on a standard piano), and each key is ⅞ the width of those you’ll find on a standard piano - it’s roughly the size of a MIDI keyboard. You can snap a couple of LUMI keyboards together if you’d like to play more advanced pieces. It requires a tablet to display the lessons while playing on the keyboard.
The LUMI, made by Roli, is great for kids, who view it like a toy as much as a learning device. The keys light up in rainbow hues as you play, and you don’t need to know a single note to get started. The app includes 40 songs and a selection of in-app lessons, which took our eight-year-old tester from a fairly disinterested beginner to a rather solid, advanced beginner in a smattering of weeks. You can shell out an extra annual fee of $79 for access to LUMI Complete, which puts over 500 songs and classes at your child’s fingertips.
One of the best bits about LUMI Keys is the option of four screen views. Cascade View deluges you Guitar Hero-style with rainbow rectangles floating up and down the screen. Rainbow View features rainbow shapes on horizontal lines, while Classic View displays basic sheet music. ColorNote View jazzes up a five-line staff with colorful notes.
We tested the LUMI and all four of our children (ranging from age 3 to 10) were completely obsessed and wanted to play. However, that passion didn’t necessarily extend to using their newfound skills on the keyboard we have at home. However, the LUMI keys is a great option for its portability.
Curious Campus
Our kids have found remote learning via Zoom incredibly engaging, and Curious Campus is basically Masterclass for kiddos, with offerings including virtual book clubs, coding camps and mythology.
If you want live instruction for your mini-pianist, you can book an hour lesson with a professional concert pianist, from $49 (£35) an hour, who can teach your child at any level, at any time that suits you.
Live cello, guitar and singing classes are also available.
Outschool
Outschool is an online learning platform with a huge selection of virtual classes, from Harry Potter potions to U.S. history through the eyes of American Girl dolls. It became a bit of a lifeline for us in the early part of the pandemic, and is something we’ve been continuing to enjoy even as the kids have gone back to school in person.
There are a range of Outschool Zoom classes for piano, from beginner options for five-year-olds, across multiple days ($10 per class) to a piano improv class using notes from the major blues scale, suitable for kids eight and up ($10 per class).
Not only will they get the benefit of learning with a teacher, but they might have a chance to make a friend in another country, too – the social aspect of Outschool is one of the best parts.
UPDATE: March 19, 2021, 8:55 a.m. EDT This article has been updated to clarify that you can take piano lessons on Yousician without an instrument.
