The piano is one of the most popular and versatile instruments you can learn to play. It shares much of its design with a keyboard and is a good starting place for anyone interested in playing music. The percussion instrument forms the basis of many classical pieces, as well as being an integral part of popular music.
On top of that, it's a handy new skill to learn, can reduce stress, and even inspire creativity. Ready to dive in? Be sure to get a set of keys in front of you and check out the best sites for learning the piano online. If you're new to this instrument, these free online piano lessons will be a great place to get started.
1. Piano Lessons
Piano Lessons is a resource from the teachers at Pianote, offering online piano lessons. While Pianote charges a fee for you to learn piano online, Piano Lessons is entirely free.
The site combines guided online tutorials with instructional YouTube videos from its teachers to get you started. If you're just getting started on your journey, then Piano Lessons is the ideal place to begin. The free online piano lessons are pitched at beginners and incorporate elements of music theory too.
It even offers free live piano lessons on its social media channels. Note that Piano Lessons is aimed at beginners. So if you find the Piano Lessons content helpful, and if your budget allows, it may be worth subscribing to the full Pianote service to continue your practice.
2. Pianu
For many people, their favorite artist is the reason they want to start playing music. It makes sense, then, that you'd want to learn to play your favorite songs too. Pianu offers online piano lessons, but its free catalog of song tutorials should get you playing along with your favorite popular songs in no time.
The Guitar Hero game series influenced many services, and the same interface is available here. The sheet music is displayed above a virtual keyboard. Highlighted boxes speed towards the relevant keys to let you know what you need to play. This would be a fun game in its own right, but the inclusion of sheet music helps you to learn what it is you're playing.
It also provides an easy visual aid for translating the keys, and the time you have to press them, into transcribed music. Keeping your tablet or smartphone near your piano isn't always practical, though.
So, you may want to consider using the top sites to find and print free sheet music as well. There's also a free-to-access Fundamentals course, which guides you through the early stages of piano playing.
3. Skoove
Instead of reading instructions and tutorials, you may prefer a more interactive form of learning. That's where Skoove comes in. This freemium service is compatible with PC, macOS, iPhone, and iPad. Skoove guides would-be pianists through its lessons, offering real-time feedback.
This is a useful feature, as it enables you to adjust your playing as you go. Additionally, Skoove can operate in an acoustic mode, so you can use your own keyboard or piano, and the software will listen out for your playing. If you don't have the instrument yourself, you can use the Skoove virtual keyboard instead.
There are two tiers: Skoove Basic and Skoove Premium. While the premium service costs $9.99 per month, Skoove Basic is freely available. The Basic tier only allows you access to 25 lessons and a limited number of song tutorials, but if you're just getting started, this is the best way to learn piano online.
If you're more interested in learning the piano from your phone, you can check out our guides on learning piano from different Android and iPhone apps.
4. flowkey
If you enjoyed the interactive nature of Skoove, then you'll get the same feeling in flowkey. The service is similar to that offered by Skoove, although its free online piano lessons are more restrictive. One of flowkey's standout features is its catalog of popular song tutorials.
Although not every song is available, you'll be able to find a tune to suit your ear and use flowkey to learn how to play it. These guides and the app's other tutorials step you through the music theory as well. If you play string instruments, then you can learn your favorite songs with the best free guitar sites.
The free edition of flowkey contains eight song tutorials and limited courses. However, if you find flowkey works for you, then you can upgrade to flowkey Premium from $9.99 per month. You can use flowkey online or via the accompanying Android and iOS apps.
5. TakeLessons
Individual study works for some people. However, others may prefer a more social group experience. For those aspiring piano players, TakeLessons is a great way to learn to play the piano online.
Each class is taught live, so there are no pre-recorded sessions. Thanks to the two-way streaming service, you can play along with others in the class and get feedback on your performance. TakeLessons offers classes in three categories: Basics, Technique, and Performance.
While you can join these live group learning sessions, TakeLessons has courses for a wide range of subjects outside piano playing too. The free account grants you access to a limited number of sessions and courses.
But if you have other interests as well, you may consider subscribing to TakeLessons Premium. This costs $19.99 per month, but grants you access to the full range of courses and lessons, as well as individual face-to-face sessions with instructors.
6. Piano Nanny
PianoNanny is another learning website with basic, intermediate, and advanced-level lessons. The piano lessons online are about 35 minutes long, and there are almost a dozen lessons in each section.
There are three categories of learning levels on the website's homepage. Hover the cursor over your targeted category and pick the lesson you want to continue with. Initially, all lessons are text and image-based, but moving forward you will learn to use audio files as well.
In addition to lessons, there are quizzes you can take to gauge how well you are learning. To help you showcase your skills, PianoNanny also offers Golden Star award certificates in PDF format.
7. HearandPlay
If you prefer learning by ear, then you might want to consider learning through the Hear and Play platform.
This online piano learning platform is most suitable for learners who already understand the basics, so if you are a beginner, you might find the course material a bit overwhelming. To begin, a wide variety of courses, books, CDs, and DVDs are available on the website. You can learn with the help of course materials, videos, song tutorials, and its famous ear-training software.
There is no free trial option for piano lessons on the website, but if you're interested in checking out its learning materials, you can visit the Hear and Play YouTube channel, which has plenty of videos to get a feel of what it offers.
Learn to Play Piano Online
The piano is one of the most versatile instruments you can learn, not least because it gives you a strong footing in musical theory. These sites are a great place to get started learning piano online without breaking the bank, too.
That said, you may end up deciding that the piano isn't the right instrument for you. In that case, consider the musical skills you can learn online for free instead.
