Music is one of those things that speaks deeply to our souls. It connects us to our ancestors and lets us speak with all of humanity at a truely deep level. No matter what skill level you’re at, playing the piano is a rewarding and entertaining experience. However, you may find your progress begin to plateau at a certain point.
While traditional learning methods have guided students for centuries, they may not be your most effective option. Studying the fundamentals and reading theory books can become confusing and tedious. Attending lessons with a trained pianist is often ineffective, as you’ll only see your teacher once or twice a week.
If you’ve always wanted to play like Beethoven or Mozart, you can improve your piano skills from the comfort of your home.
We’ve picked out the top 6 best online piano courses to help you become the best pianist you can be. We’ve also taken the liberty of categorizing them so you can choose the one that best fits your needs and preferences. Check out our comprehensive list below!
| Brand | Best For… | Rating | Price | Read More |
 | Best Overall + Best Tracking | ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ | Monthly: $17.99/month Yearly: $9.99/month (119.88/year) Lifetime: $289.99 one time payment | Click Here For A Free Trial |
 | Best For Learning Songs | ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ | Monthly: $19.99/month Yearly: $9.99/month (119.88/year) Lifetime: $329.99 one time payment | Click Here For A Free Trial |
 | Best Beginner Course | ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ | Monthly: $19.99/month Quarterly (3 months): $13.33/month (39.99/quarter) Yearly: 9.99/month (119.99/year) | Click Here For A Free Trial |
 | Best One Time Purchase | ⭐️⭐️⭐️ | $39 Digital Download $49 With Physical Copy | Click Here For A Free Trial |
 | Best For Young Children | ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ | Monthly: $97 One-time Payment (only if you liked the first 30 days) Lifetime: $347 One Time Payment | Click Here For A Free Trial |
Table of Contents
Playground Sessions – Best Overall + Best Tracking
Playground Sessions is a software designed to teach piano students using their favorite songs. It incorporates technical lessons into modern songs, making it easier for students to digest complicated concepts like rhythm notation, and playing by ear.
Playground Sessions offers interactive lessons, video lessons, songs, and community forums. Its content is broken down into Rookie, Intermediate, and Advanced versions to cater to players of all skill levels.
What’s Unique About This Course
Grammy-winning musician Quincy Jones created Playground Sessions. Users can trust that this course was created by a knowledgeable and experienced individual in the music industry. Plus, Playground Sessions has recruited several talented instructors like Harry Connick and David Sides to star in its video tutorials.
With Playground Sessions, you can sign up for a monthly, annual, or lifetime membership. This flexibility is a great perk, as it works for students who just want to dip their toes in or those who want to invest in their piano skills for the long term.
One nice thing about Playground Sessions is that it allows for some offline use. You will need Internet access to download songs and lessons and access the community forums. However, once you have downloaded a song or lesson, you can practice away.
Things To Watch Out For
While Playground Sessions does offer a large library of songs, gaining access to the ones you love will come at a cost. With the monthly and annual memberships, you only get access to five free songs per month. The lifetime membership comes with 40 free songs in total. After that, you have to pay $1.99 for each additional song. However, you can practice Christmas and classical pieces as much as you want, as Playground Sessions offers them for free.
Playground Sessions may be a little misleading with its promises of great instructors. While the instructors are very knowledgeable and entertaining to watch, there are many more interactive lessons than video tutorials. For some this may be a bonus if you prefer learning by doing rather than from a video, but we wanted to make sure you were aware.
What To Expect When You Buy This Course
Playground Sessions is the best choice for the traveling pianist. It works with different kinds of keyboards, so you can hook your instrument up no matter where you are. If you want to keep up with your skills but don’t always have a reliable Internet connection, Playground Sessions will help you stay on top of your game.
Check Out Our In Depth Review
Check out our full Playground Sessions review over here.
Flowkey – Best For Learning Songs
Through its intricate lessons, Flowkey helps pianists perfect both their playing and technique. In each lesson, the app simultaneously depicts someone playing the notes on a keyboard and sheet music. This way, users aren’t limited to just one still of learning.
Flowkey offers a free membership with limited courses and songs. When you opt for the paid membership, you will gain access to Flowkey’s lessons and its entire song library, which consists of more than 1,000 songs.
What’s Unique About This Course
One neat thing about Flowkey is that it has some informational videos about sight-reading, posture, and basic music theory. These videos allow new players to take a step back and correct aspects of their playing that they may have never even thought about. That’s why we’ve named it the best piano playing app for the technique-obsessed player.
Unlike Playground Sessions and some of the other software, Flowkey doesn’t require you to plug in your keyboard. Flowkey has advanced note recognition software that allows you to use it even with an acoustic piano. It will pick up the notes you play and help guide your playing. That being said, you can still connect a MIDI keyboard if you have one via a USB cable.
Things To Watch Out For
One potential drawback to this course is that it doesn’t teach you how to compose your own music. It relies strictly on teaching others’ arrangements. As a beginner, you likely won’t be writing your own compositions yet, so this con isn’t a huge deal.
Another thing to be aware of is the accuracy of Flowkey’s arrangements. While the notes always seem to be pitched correctly, we have found that the tempo isn’t exactly correct in some cases. To a beginner, this kind of rubato, or straying from the original tempo, can make it frustrating to follow along and keep up with the lessons.
What To Expect When You Buy This Course
Flowkey offers a great introduction to playing the piano and the technique behind it. In addition to learning your favorite songs, you’ll also get the chance to familiarize yourself with the basics of sheet music and proper piano ergonomics.
Read Our Full Review For More Information
Check out our full Flowkey review.
Skoove – Best Beginner Learning Path
Skoove is similar to most of the piano learning apps we’ve mentioned here. It lets you learn your favorite pop and classical songs, and it offers personal feedback based on the notes you play.
Taking piano lessons online can be intimidating because of the lack of real-time support. It can be easy to get discouraged and want to give up if you don’t have someone who can readily answer your questions. With Skoove, you can receive one-on-one support from its music instructors. As long as you’re on the Premium plan, there are no extra charges to seek help on any topic you have a question about.
What’s Unique About This Course
Like Flowkey, Skoove works with acoustic and digital pianos. You can easily learn and play on the old upright piano in the family room and avoid purchasing a fancy MIDI keyboard.
With Skoove, you’ll save big if you commit to a longer subscription. If you go month-by-month, you’ll pay $19.99 per month, while a yearlong subscription will only cost you $9.99/month.
Things To Watch Out For
Skoove is really only worth it for the Premium version. You need to be on the Premium plan to access the one-on-one support, monthly updated songs and lessons, and special courses. While it won’t hurt to try out the free version, you likely won’t be satisfied with it as a long-term option.
What To Expect When You Buy This Course
Skoove is a standard piano learning app that’s very affordable when you sign up for a year in advance. There are over 300 lessons to view, and Skoove updates its resources every month, so you always have access to fresh content. Skoove is mostly designed for pianists aged 12 and older, but younger children can benefit from it with an adult’s guidance.
Read Our Full Skoove Review To Learn More!
Check out our in depth Skoove review for more information.
Pianoforall – Best Value + Best One Time Purchase
Pianoforall is set up a lot differently from most other online piano lessons, but we love everything that it offers.
It starts by introducing you to songs played in traditional rhythm styles. Absolute beginners will begin with songs by artists like Lionel Richie, Billy Joel, Coldplay, and Elton John. As you progress through the course, it will allow you to expand into different styles like jazz and ragtime. You’ll even get to learn how to improvise and play your own melodies.
What’s Unique About This Course
Pianoforall is truly a one-time investment. With your purchase, you will get instant access to all of the content. You won’t have to worry about paying for any software updates either, as your purchase comes with those as well.
Pianoforall presents its material in a way that will appeal to anyone. It offers follow-along videos and tutorials that let you play note-by-note. Your purchase will also come with 9 Ebooks that you can download onto an Apple or Android device. The books cover diverse topics, including “Taming the Classics,” “Advanced Chords Made Easy,” and “Blues and Rock’N’Roll.”
Even though this course is very affordable, you can rest easy because of its money-back guarantee. If you are unsatisfied with the course for any reason, the creator will give you a refund with no questions asked.
Things To Watch Out For
Pianoforall falls short when it comes to teaching the fundamentals of technique. You will need to learn concepts like posture, hand position, and wrist movement from outside sources.
This tool also could have designed its sheet music better. Even in the books and lessons centered on sheet music, you are either provided with the note names or the chance to improvise. This kind of hand-holding approach to reading sheet music can make it more difficult for you to learn to sight-read on your own.
What To Expect When You Buy This Course
Pianoforall is backed up by thousands of testimonials from complete beginners. The creator guarantees customer satisfaction, as you can start seeing results with as little as 20 minutes of practice time per day. You can play on the acoustic or digital keyboard that you already have, so you don’t have to invest in any fancy equipment to start playing and learning.
Check Out Our Complete Pianoforall Review
Read our complete Pianoforall review here.
Piano Wizard Academy – Best For Young Children
While all online piano learning tools try to make learning the piano fun, Piano Wizard Academy stands out in this area. Its setup is very similar to video games like Rock Band and Guitar Hero. However, Piano Wizard Academy requires the use of a real piano keyboard instead of fictitious instruments. Its system is patented and uses a series of sound and color learning cues to help kids play popular songs.
What’s Unique About This Course
Piano Wizard Academy offers songs you’d expect like Twinkle Twinkle Little. As players progress further into the course, they can learn more advanced songs like Beethoven’s Symphony No. 5. Despite being geared toward children, this app teaches users to play songs with both the right and left hand. This is a great skill for younger players to learn and a nice perk of Piano Wizard Academy, as apps for younger children will often simplify the tutorials for songs.
Piano Wizard Academy comes with 50 professional video lessons on 10 DVDs and 50 additional self-guided lesson
s. These lessons will take place over the course of two years, so your purchase offers great value. It also comes with the USB cable that you’ll need to hook up your computer and colorful stickers you can use to label your piano keys.
Things To Watch Out For
Piano Wizard Academy is advertised to all ages, but we do not recommend it for serious piano players. It’s not ideal for adults or those who are looking to drastically improve their skills. This tool is meant to get younger children excited about playing the piano. It’s a great introductory program, but it shouldn’t be used for serious instruction.
Even though it can help children play advanced songs, it causes them to rely too heavily on color cues rather than the actual notes being played.
What To Expect When You Buy This Course
Piano Wizard Academy makes learning the piano fun and turns it into a video game. It distracts from tedious scales and repetitive drills during a child’s introduction to the piano. Even though it’s not the best long-term option, it’s a great way to get children to want to practice.
Read Our Review To Learn If Piano Wizard Is Right For Your Kid
Our full Piano Wizard Review will tell you everything you need to know.
Sign Up for a Course Today!
Even though playing the piano is a complex art with a lot of technique and theory involved, learning it doesn’t have to be daunting. As we’ve shown you here, there are plenty of online tools to help you master this beautiful instrument. Something like Pianoforall will work if you want a simple tool to use at an affordable price, while something like Playground Sessions will accelerate your progress.
Consider your needs and sign up for one of these six apps today so you can start your musical journey! If you still don’t see what you’re looking for, consider checking out our reviews for Hear And Play Piano, Learn And Master Piano, Piano Encyclopedia, Piano Marvel, or Rocket Piano.
| Brand | Best For… | Rating | Price | Read More |
| Best Overall + Best Tracking | ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ | Monthly: $17.99/month Yearly: $9.99/month (119.88/year) Lifetime: $289.99 one time payment | Click Here For A Free Trial |
| Best For Learning Songs | ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ | Monthly: $19.99/month Yearly: $9.99/month (119.88/year) Lifetime: $329.99 one time payment | Click Here For A Free Trial |
| Best Beginner Course | ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ | Monthly: $19.99/month Quarterly (3 months): $13.33/month (39.99/quarter) Yearly: 9.99/month (119.99/year) | Click Here For A Free Trial |
| Best One Time Purchase | ⭐️⭐️⭐️ | $39 Digital Download $49 With Physical Copy | Click Here For A Free Trial |
| Best For Young Children | ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ | Monthly: $97 One-time Payment (only if you liked the first 30 days) Lifetime: $347 One Time Payment | Click Here For A Free Trial |