Learning a new musical instrument is really a blissful practice which allows for recreation and relaxation. Piano is one of the most difficult instruments to learn and one must have a lot of practice to be decently good at it.
However, given the bulky size of the instrument, it often becomes a hassle for the piano player to learn on a daily basis. Thanks to technology, you can now learn anywhere and everywhere even if you don’t carry your keyboard all around.
Here’s a selection of best piano learning apps which you can use on your Android & iPhone to simulate your skills like a acoustic piano and thereby are really useful at teaching you and polishing your skills.
Perfect Piano (Android & iOS)
This app has a great user interface and has a variety of professional tools which you can practice on any device with iOS 7.1 and above.
It offers you a very realistic experience having an array of sound effects like Grand Piano, Synthesizer and Organ Pipe among many others.
It displays the entire length of the keyboard, giving you the option to customize the key width as per your convenience.
There are even choices for which mode you would like to play from like two-player mode, dual row mode, and single row mode.
Under the ‘Learn to Play’ is like a lesson mode you can practice as per your skill level amongst the three difficulty levels for each song.
There are almost seventy sample songs and even more can be downloaded from the store which updates weekly to be added to your library.
The app is developed by Revontulet Soft and is free to download and use. There are some more additional features which can be received by the payment of an extra fee.
Nonetheless, it’s an app full of rich content. It also allows you to record your playing and download them for listening and playing offline.
There are additionally nine keyboard sounds, including Metronome sounds along with audio and MIDI. The best part about the app is the accuracy and sensitivity to touch which makes it very convenient to practice the most intricate of songs.
Magic Piano by Smule (Android & iOS)
Magic Piano by Smule app offers a fun way for learning piano to a newbie though it might not be the ideal option for a professional player.
The user interface involves the player to follow beams of lights which go on to make music. There’s a huge range of options which one can play from older classic numbers to the latest songs of pop charts.
The song list is updated every day and you can even create your own songs and circulate them around the web.
Rhythms and tempos can be changed as per the sound you want. It becomes really fun to add a creative twist to the popular songs and one can get huge applauds by the various users of the app.
The mode of the instruments can also be changed to organ pipe, harpsichord, and others.
You can challenge yourself by choosing different levels of difficulty. Not only that, but there’s also a game mode where you can unlock badges and achievements to get more songs and rewards to have additional features.
Opting for a premium subscription allows you to play all their existing songs on any instrument and receiving the best of this fun music app
The Piano (iOS)
The piano app developed by Impala Studios is an awesome app to rehearse or just to play it for fun. This app is simple and straightforward.
The sound is quite realistic like an acoustic piano. This app is most commonly used by music teachers, singers and beginners.
The Piano app doesn't provide any songs or tutorials to practice with. However, it's is focusing on users who go for quality sound and already know how to play, but want to have a real piano substitute on the go.
One awesome feature is that you can choose different type of piano sounds like Classical piano, Xylophone or toy piano. Users can also save and share their recordings.
After playing with so many apps, I can say that "The Piano" app got the best sound quality.
My Piano (Android)
The My Piano app developed by Borce Trajkovski is the ideal virtual mode of playing a real piano. The sound is very realistic and the technology is wonderful to help you work on your skills anywhere you go.
This app is especially known for its high quality sound which sounds as perfect as those recorded in a studio and an extensive array of features.
These features include eleven musical instruments and eight different effects to choose from. These features give you the joy to show your keyboard skills with instruments like organ pipe and saxophone among several others.
The multiple effects boost your sound level and quality depending on the range of notes you want. There are features to load your audio in MIDI format with various options controlling velocity, aftertouch and pitch blend.
There’s also the option to change the graphics like your piano skin, the windows theme and the key types which enhance your user interface experience with the device.
The latest update also contains animation and HD graphics. There are six modes of octaves customizing which can have amazing effects on the nuances of your sound.
New features like split-keyboard and visual graphics make it a really interesting app to choose for your daily piano practice. The only downside of this app is that they don't provide you any learning lessons.
Not available on Apple store as of now!
Pianist HD: Piano + (Android)
This app developed by Rubycell allows for a range of modes which help in learning the instrument in the individual’s own style and pace. There’s a full 88-key realistic keyboard which gives you access to all the sounds of a real keyboard.
Moreover, twelve instruments to choose from with built in effects makes the app really interesting to learn with different options and enhancing your skill.
The metronome feature allows you to keep track on the time taken for the performance and there’s a game mode which allows for competition which is a best way to promote practice.
There is also lessons which will teach you to play the piano!
There’s also a mode which allows for sheet music while playing allowing you to read all the notes. The “listen and repeat” process is quite useful in promoting knowledge of the song for learning and practising.
A huge range of songs are provided and the users can upload their own MIDI files for practice.
The songs can be recorded and shared for encouraging social interaction in similar circles. Therefore, it’s a really great app one must try to learn their individualistic pace of learning.
Beginners as well as professional piano players can use this app for regular practice depending on their own styles.
Not available on Apple store as of now!
Gismart Piano Free (Android & iOS)
The Gismart Piano is one of the best apps to learn piano both for beginners as well as professionals. It is an app which is made by musicians for musicians and therefore has several features to enhance the nuances of the genre.
The differentiation between the various types of pianos and instruments is really important in understanding the sound variations and applying the effect accordingly in your composition. Some of the instruments that are offered are organ, harpsichord, accordion and pizzicato.
The double keyboard feature can be used play different chords and nodes in the 88-key set of the real piano adding layers of intricacies to your performance.
A number of songs are provided in the app which is useful to help beginners in learning to play. In fact, there are special features for beginners like tutorials, teacher notes and lesson mode which help in understanding the basics and helping a rookie to learn at their own pace.
There’s also the record and play feature which allows you to listen and share your songs.
One of the most amazing features in Gismart Piano is the 3D touch which is used very smartly.
Not only does the graphic seem appealing and realistic to the player, but it also produces sound as it gets varied by the pressure applied by the fingertips just like an acoustic piano.
This effect is used with great finish on this app unlike others giving users an amazing experience with Piano by Gismart. They also have song lessons which will help you to learn the chords.
Final Verdict
My personal favorite is Pianist HD: Piano + because of it's user interface and features. However, I'd recommend you to try out all the apps and find out what suits your needs. If you've a Yamaha pianos, you can try their NoteStar app as well.
Learning piano with these apps is not only fun but will also help you to practice different songs, record it easily and share it with your friends and much more!
If you've any suggestions, feel free to let me know in the comment section.
