Some studies indicate that more than half of people would like to know how to play a musical instrument and, in particular, the piano is one of the most desired.
However, learning to play an instrument takes time and, above all, money. Fortunately, There are apps that allow you to do this from home, even if you don’t have any experience.
skoove is considered one of the 3 best apps learn to play the piano globally. A good proof of this is that it accumulates 1 million downloads with a average score of 4.4 in the App Store, and already has 100,000 monthly active users.
The Skoove app is available for download on iPhone and iPad s as well as Game store for Android devices as well as on the Skoove website if you prefer to use a computer.
Skoove: Learn to play the piano (free, Google Play) →
Skoove – Piano Lessons (Free+, App Store) →
I had the opportunity to try the Skoove app and here are my impressions.
More than 400 classes organized by levels
If you are a beginner, I have good news, as the first thing Skoove does is ask about your level of piano experience: none, basic or advanced. In this way, the app shows the courses that are most relevant to your level.
The app offers over 400 lessons grouped into 21 courses They are divided into 5 courses for beginners, 11 courses for intermediate users and 5 courses for advanced users.
Courses are fully translated into Spanish, which is also appreciated, as I’ve seen many English-only apps where, to begin with, not even the musical notes have the same name.
| Course | goal | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Beginner 1 | From the beginning you will experience melodies of Mozart for Craziness and you will interactively learn the fundamentals of reading notes and piano |
| two | beginner 2 | You will play hits from Bill wither for JS Bach. If you already have some experience in playing the piano with both hands and reading at a glance, this course is ideal for you. |
| 3 | Beginner 3 | You will increase your note-reading skills and learn about breaks interactively. You will play exciting songs from Monty Python for “The XX”. |
| 4 | Intermediate 1 | You will play hits from pop, movies or classics like “The Scientist”, “James Bond” and “Peer Gynt” and you will learn to play different key signatures. |
| 5 | Intermediate 2 | You will play songs like “War of Thrones”, “Clocks” and “Valse d’Amelie” and you’ll learn about chords, bars and dynamic performance. |
| 6 | Intermediate 3 | Touch “Piano Man” from Billy joel, “Crazy world” from tears for fear and back to black from Amy Winehouse. You will learn how to build the major and minor scales and expand your knowledge of chords. learn |
| 7 | advanced classic | Learn the basics of the classical repertoire – from Beethoven until Enaudi. You’ll increase your knowledge of music theory, practice hand independence, and learn to interpret the pieces your way. |
| 8 | Advanced Pop | Play pop classics like “Rollin’ In the Deep” from Adele or “Let it be” From Beatles. Play freely following the figures and find out how to improvise. |
| 9 | read a score | You want to gain more knowledge and practice in sight reading and music theory. Develop and strengthen your skills in this optional course with many interactive exercises. |
| 10 | Blues and Boogie Woogie Piano | From fat waller until fat dominoes – plays the riffs of the greatest blues legends and the boogie woogie. Familiarize yourself with the Blues scale and play your own improvisations. The course is perfect for beginners who want to get into Blues and Boogie-Woogie, as well as intermediate students who want to play Virtuoso Blues licks. |
| eleven | Chords and scales | Learn how to build chords on your keyboard and get creative with scales. Play the chords of the most popular songs and improvise with the band. learn |
| 12 | producer keyboard | This course is designed for all producers who want to learn more about harmony, arrangement and how to play the keys. Learn iconic dance songs from no faith, skinny fatboy, Eminem and more. |
| 13 | beginner songs | Apply your skills to beginner courses and play a wide selection of hits from various artists, from ABBA until A republic. |
| 14 | Intermediate Songs | Apply your skills to intermediate courses and play a selection of hit artists from cold game until Yiruma. |
| fifteen | advanced songs | Apply your skills to advanced, pop and classic courses and play a selection of hit artists from Beethoven for Kraftwerk. |
| 16 | Beatles Songs | Become the 5th Beatle and play some of the quartet’s most famous songs. |
| 17 | Queen’s Songs | Play the movie hits ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ (2018). |
| 18 | Soundtracks | Play your favorite soundtracks from ‘Amelie’ until ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’. |
| 19 | Christmas carols | Learn Christmas hits from “Peaceful night” until “Santa Claus is coming to town.” Whether you’re a beginning or intermediate pianist, you’ll find the music that’s right for you. |
| twenty | Florian Christi Songs | Play the music of the pianist and composer Florian Christi. |
| twenty one | Remme Songs | Play the song by the singer and songwriter remme. |
You can practice classes with a MIDI keyboard or acoustic piano. Or if you don’t have any available, you can use the your computer keyboard to get out of trouble (although not the best option, since what you want is to learn the piano keys, not the computer 
)
It is possible to use Skoove in a smartphone, tablet or the web on your computer. In my opinion, using a tablet or computer is the most suitable as, thanks to the larger screen size, the piano keyboard is shown at the bottom of the screen with keys that light up, so it’s much easier to follow the lesson and know which key to press at any time.
A good start for a beginner
My piano playing experience is nil, so my first stop was the beginner’s course 1, which is formed by 18 lessons. I was always curious to learn to play a musical instrument, so I really wanted to start classes.
One thing I like about Skoove is that instead of starting training with boring lectures, it takes you to continually practice each new concept you learn, which makes the process much more dynamic and fun.
For example, Lesson 6 teaches you how to press the D note and encourages you to practice it with your left hand in time to the music we will Rock You from What in. After a few minutes of practice I can say it looked almost as good as the original 
– well, maybe not so much 
.
To learn to play the Mi and Fa notes, the app suggests you play the movie theme Shark. And to practice everything you’ve learned with both hands, the app suggests you play Our House from Craziness With your help.
I like that they chose familiar songs to learn to play the piano, rather than more boring classical pieces, because that makes learning more motivating, at least for me. In fact, one of the modules encourages you to become the “fifth Beatle” to play songs known as Help, Let it to be, Yellow Submarine or Yesterday.
The application makes use of Artificial Intelligence through a Analysis mode that uses your device’s microphone (or connecting your keyboard via USB or MIDI) to hear what you’re playing, so give yourself personalized advice.
For example, it can give advice on your posture and ways to move your fingers on the keyboard to hit the right notes.
Another interesting point is that you are not alone with the app. if you get stuck you can ask a real teacher for help, which will show you tips and tricks to master any lesson. This combination of online training and personal help is very helpful.
From beginner to expert: the path to success
First of all, as a tip, I would like to comment that you have to master the beginner modules and have practiced some of the songs before moving on to the intermediate and advanced modules. Otherwise you might get frustrated.
At intermediate level classes are structured similarly to beginners, but cover more advanced concepts such as “sharp”, “flat” or chords. Practice songs are also more complicated, of course.
Among the topics proposed to practice, I liked that you can practice with the tuning of James Bond, that in this module you learn to play from beginning to end. I haven’t reached that skill level yet, but I’m working on it.
Finally, there are the advanced level classes, where you can practice more complex concepts and melodies with the help of the app. Among other songs, you will learn to play Rolling in the Deep from Adele or Fallin’ from Alicia’s keys. Almost anything! If yours are classic pieces, there are also some like to Elisa from Beethoven.
A library with over 200 songs to practice
Skoove puts at your disposal a great selection of songs to practice, including more than 200 modern and classic songs.
These topics are organized by difficulty level – beginner, intermediate and advanced – so it’s easy to practice based on your mastery of the piano.
The scores for these songs were composed by the Skoove team and are designed to be easy to play at their corresponding level. Zero frustration.
The song selection is updated monthly, so new tracks are added continuously. My only complaint here is that most of the songs are pre 2000 and I would really like to see some more current songs.
How much does it cost to learn to play the piano with Skoove?
The app offers a 7-day free trial period which unlocks over 400 lessons and all songs.
During the trial period, there is no charge and you can cancel it at any time, so this is a great way to try it out and see if it convinces you. If after testing you decide to continue using the app, the price to pay will be €89.99 per year, which isn’t much considering the cost of tuition in the real world.
conclusion
It’s never too late to learn, and even less so when we talk about learning to play a musical instrument that can provide us with so many hours of fun.
I found Skoove to be an ideal app for learning to play the piano at home, at my own pace, with the help of a mobile phone or, better yet, a tablet or computer, without spending money on expensive classroom lessons.
The app is perfect for both novice users and those with some experience. Through interactive lessons, the app teaches you everything you need and encourages you to test what you’ve learned by playing familiar songs. What else, incorporates an AI analytics that hears what you play and gives you personalized advice.
In my opinion, the cost of subscription is too tight for everything it offers, as for €89.99 per year You have access to over 400 Spanish lessons and a catalog of over 200 songs to practice.
∼ Article sponsored by Skoove ∼