Flowkey Review – The Pros And Cons

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About the Course

Flowkey is a great app that people can turn to if they are considering learning the piano. Specifically, Flowkey is a multi-platform app that learners can use to learn the piano and to expand their repertoire of songs. It is designed to work so that you don’t need to hire a teacher, including tools and features to adjust to your learning style.

Flowkey is one of the newest entrants to this market and is showing signs of being extremely popular. One of the reasons for this is you can learn specific songs while also learning to play the piano. Indeed, the app makes it very easy to start playing songs – much easier compared with other apps. Flowkey teaches students the foundations of piano playing, step by step, which students apply and learn through the songs.

But, Flowkey isn’t necessarily just for beginners. Because the app teaches students to learn particular songs, it is accessible for players of any level who are looking to learn songs on the piano. One cool feature is that you can select your ability level to suit the songs that you are learning.

Flowkey has hundreds of songs of different genres, and it updates its catalog of songs all the time. You can sign up to learn on Flowkey for free – which gives you access to learn 8 songs – although there is a subscription after the trial period. You can download the app to your tablet, PC, or phone, and then you are ready to get going.

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Who Is This Course For?

Anyone can use this app, although it is particularly well-tailored to the needs of beginners. It makes the process very simple so that learners can learn while naturally playing songs.

Flowkey offers a comprehensive course of key skills you need to master in order to play the piano. These include modules that teach you the basics of piano playing, how to play with both hands, master and improvise with chords, and to read music. Features such as Wait Mode, Slow Motion, Loop Function and Select a Hand allow the learners to work at their own pace and arrange their learning as if a teacher was adjusting to their needs.

But, Flowkey is really accessible for piano players of varying abilities. It is set up so that you can learn new songs. Its Discover feature enables students to search for songs, sorted by difficulty level. If you are good enough that you feel you don’t need lessons, but want to keep expanding your catalog of songs, this app will work well for you.

Similarly, Flowkey is good for people who do not want to fork out money on a teacher, would struggle to fit a lesson into their schedule or just don’t feel comfortable doing that at the moment. Flowkey is more affordable than hiring a tutor, and you can jump onto the app at any time that suits you.

man playing colorful piano

Why You Should Enroll

In addition to everything you have read already – Flowkey is a great way to learn the piano, or to just learn new songs – it is extremely easy to use and navigate.

After you have downloaded or installed the app, students are asked some simple questions about their ability, general musical connection, and preferred genres, among other questions. This enables the app to plot your learning journey, whether you are picking up the piano for the first time, or just looking to expand your repertoire.

Students should enroll because almost everything about Flowkey is simple and convenient. It is an extremely accessible app.

Advantages of Flowkey

  • Learning to play properly

This advantage may seem at first reading a little obvious. But piano folks often criticize YouTube tutorials because people who learn from them pick up odd techniques and weird fingering patterns. Often, students just learn to play, but they don’t learn technique.

That isn’t the case with Flowkey, though. Students choose the part of the music they want to work on and the music loops over that section while the student learns.

  • Huge catalog of songs which is always updating
  • Accessible to players of all abilities
  • Easy to use and navigate
  • Wide range of different features enabling users to adapt their learning to their own pace and needs
  • Free trial with access to 8 songs
  • Affordable subscription
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Disadvantages of Flowkey

  • Need to subscribe to access all of its songs.  It’s a common problem with these courses.
    • You may prefer Hear and Play’s Song Tutor Software which lets you turn any midi file into a lesson.
    • If you just want to pay once and forget it, you could look into PianoForAll or Rocket Piano as alternatives
  • Could do a better job of teaching sheet music (although Flowkey is apparently working on new courses to improve this)
    • Piano Marvel offers more advance testing and tracking of how well your sight reading is progressing
  • A bit basic for very advanced players.  Playground Sessions or Piano Encyclopedia are better for more advanced players
  • No metronome feature to help students keep time, a noteworthy oversight
  • Skoove offers a more clear learning path than Flowkey if you prefer more direction
  • Piano Wizard is better for parents with young children.
  • As with all online learning, learning technique and posture is more difficult than with immediate feedback (in-person)

If any of these is a deal breaker, you can check out our buyers guide to find a course more suited to you.

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Verdict

Flowkey is as good as you’ll get when it comes to apps for learning songs on the piano. It is very easy to navigate and to get started playing the piano. You won’t be overwhelmed by anything the app throws at you, and you learn in an easily understandable way.

For beginners this is brilliant. It makes learning fun and, rather than learning through games or odd songs as you would with a teacher, you get straight into learning to play the songs you like. It teaches you good technique and proper fingering, so you shouldn’t develop bad habits. Learning on Flowkey, you can experience many of the benefits you’d gain from a teacher, although without the immediate personalization.

It may not be a perfect substitute, but it’s about as close as you can get!  Get started today, and you’ll playing your favorite songs in no time!

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