Simply Piano: The Best Way to Learn Piano for Kids and Adults
Simply Piano is, without a doubt, the best investment I have made in a very long time. My son and I have both been using this piano app from the App Store for about one month now, and I have nothing but positive things to say about our experience so far. If you or your children want to learn how to play the piano, you should download Simply Piano - it’s as simple as that.
Before we discovered Simply Piano, my 7-year-old son actually had more experience with the piano than I did, but not as much experience with reading and playing music in general. Over the last 2 years he has had a couple of different piano teachers, and he has participated in a very common schedule - something like 30-minute lessons, once a week, off and on.
It’s hard to say this without sounding like a critique of his piano teachers. Believe me, as a teacher, I know the incredibly restrictive nature of meeting with a student for only 30 minutes a week. But our son always wanted more results out of music lessons. He wanted to actually feel like he was playing songs. And then he learned more and saw more tangible gains using Simply Piano in just 2 days than he did during all of the lessons he took over the last 2 years.
With apologies to piano teachers everywhere, it seems impossible to compete with the system that Simply Piano has put together. It accurately detects the notes you are playing, and whether you play them at the right time. If you are struggling, it deftly slows you down, puts you into a practice mode, and gives you the repetition you need to master a lesson. And it mixes in popular songs to play almost immediately - something that made our son very happy.
Even assuming he had the very best piano teacher on earth for 30 minutes a week, it would be almost impossible to replicate the immediate feedback on his performance, or the ability to progress him to more difficult content exactly when he’s ready. They couldn’t match the accessibility of the songs that students are actually interested in playing (this is a huge one for us). And, perhaps most crucially, a teacher simply isn’t available at 5:00 in the morning or 11:00 at night - for just 5 minutes or for 5 straight hours.
For what it’s worth, my general theory is that the very best possible situation might be to have a very good piano teacher at the same time as Simply Piano. An expert teacher can of course still correct bad habits and give you personalized feedback. But if you have a young child who is interested in playing on the piano, and you have to choose between the two, I don’t think it’s a difficult choice at all. Unlimited access to Simply Piano for $120 a year is a vastly better investment for us than $50 a week for a teacher at this point.
© Simply Piano
Music lessons with kids have a very fair reputation of being slow and tedious, and you run the very real risk of boring your kids to death and scaring them away from playing instruments for the rest of their lives. Simply Piano got our son playing songs he enjoys almost immediately - and feeling accomplished. And that’s exactly the kind of engagement I’m looking for with our kids - the type of engagement that could develop a lifetime passion.
Now my son will wake up before I do, grab my iPad, and take it to the piano before the sun comes up. He might be working on his lessons, or practicing some of the songs he’s unlocked, or trying to earn more stars on a global challenge. I can hear him playing away before I even get out of bed, and it’s not uncommon for him to be playing again much later - even when his sister is already in bed for the night.
And it’s definitely worth mentioning that included in our subscription is my own personal account on Simply Piano. It’s been my new hobby during all the extra time at home we’ve had during the coronavirus pandemic and quarantine. And it’s safe to say I’ve been thoroughly impressed and that I’ve been having a blast.
Simply Piano
My own experience with the piano was very minimal before I started using Simply Piano. I was in choir in school and long ago I had lessons with the mandolin and the violin, I was already able to read music for the most part. So, basically, I could very slowly peck out the keys of a simple melody on a piano using one hand. And even that was very hit or miss.
The instrument I have spent the most time on in my life is the mandolin, and I already had a playlist of some of my favorite songs that I like to try and play through. I built up my list using the app Ultimate Guitar: Chords and Tabs, and I pulled out the same list to try on the piano. And I am simply blown away by the fact that, after only a few days with Simply Piano, I was able to play almost all of those same songs and their chords.
After a few lessons on the basics, Simply Piano presents you with a choice of 2 paths: chords or soloist. I chose the chord path, while my son chose the soloist path, and I very quickly learned chords like G, C, D, A minor, and E minor. I also learned how to use my left hand to play the bass portion of the chord, and even a few different styles to experiment with while playing the songs.
© Simply Piano
Another section of the Simply Piano app worth mentioning is the “Play” section which is still in beta - where you can look up the sheet music of a very good selection of songs, choose from different difficulty levels, and learn how to play them. I found the beautiful classical song from the movie Amélie and I drilled it repeatedly, slowing down the pace until I finally mastered it. I’ve always wanted to know how to play that song, and I think it’s a great example of the power of this program.
It’s hard to explain how special it is for my son and I to be able to make a little more music in the house now. My singing voice probably leaves a lot to be desired for the rest of the family, but I can’t stress enough how excited I am about this investment and how much enjoyment we were all able to get out of our piano so quickly.
And it warms my heart to see my son’s excitement about creating music. He truly loves it. Even if Simply Piano was an inferior teacher to humans, unlocking that love is more important and more than worth it. That’s the ultimate goal of learning new hobbies after all - building passions that bring happiness to our lives. And that means a lot to me as a dad.
Do you have a keyboard or piano lying around the house waiting to be used? Have your kids ever shown interest in learning how to play - or expressed frustration at the pace of progression with weekly lessons? Maybe you’ll love Simply Piano as much as we do. Let us know in the comments if you have any questions, or if you’ve tried Simply Piano before.
