If you’re just starting out and using the on-screen keyboard, you’ll learn only the basics. A big part of learning an instrument is building up muscle memory so that your fingers know what to do, and that takes a real instrument. The good news is that GarageBand can connect a MIDI keyboard to your iOS device. A MIDI keyboard is an electronic keyboard that has MIDI IN and MIDI OUT ports. MIDI, which stands for musical instrument digital interface, communicates what is played on the instrument to a device such as an iPhone or iPad. This means you can connect a MIDI keyboard to your iPad and use GarageBand to produce the sounds. A lot of great MIDI keyboards are available, including keyboards with only 29 keys. These smaller keyboards can be great for practicing while away from home. The app is broken into a series of chapters that focus on a specific skill. These chapters start with playing middle C, slowly bring in new notes, and eventually add the left hand into the mix. The piano lessons are scored on a one- to three-star basis, so your child can go over a lesson multiple times to improve their score. Because the lessons flow into each other, Piano Maestro can become addictive, even for someone who already knows the basics. Piano Maestro uses the iOS device microphone to listen in on your playing, but it also supports a MIDI keyboard you connect to an iPad or iPhone. Go through the first lessons at no cost to get a feel for the app before you purchase a subscription, which starts at $9.99 per month. This app is also great for music educators, with many teacher-management features and a Facebook community where you can share ideas. If you’re serious about learning music, the sheet music option may sound daunting, but you’ll be better for it in the long run. If you just want to sit down at the piano and play songs, the more game-like colored notes are a good shortcut. One area where Yousician shines is determining your current skill level through a quick test. It may not pinpoint your skills perfectly, but it can find out where you’re weakest and take you to the point in the lesson plan where you should begin. Beyond being geared more toward adults, one big difference between Yousician and Piano Maestro is the multiple paths you can take in Yousician. Instead of linear chapters, you can go down three paths:
A classical path where you learn more about reading music and playing in the classical style.A knowledge path that focuses on music theory.A pop path that focuses on rock, blues, funk, and other styles of music.
Download and try out Yousician for free, then after the free trial period, you’ll be charged for a premium subscription. There’s a lot to be said about this method. Similar to reading sheet music, you learn to see the relationship between the notes and predict where they’ll land based on the relation to the previous note. Synthesia can also slow down the music, so you can learn at a more relaxed pace. The Synthesia app comes with more than 20 free songs that you can try out with the app. After you unlock the app with the in-app purchase, you gain access to more than 130 additional songs, mostly classical and traditional. Add new songs by importing MIDI files. Synthesia is a great way to get started; you don’t need to import MIDI files or purchase the expanded library to learn songs using the Synthesia method. Thousands of videos on YouTube are simply Synthesia versions of songs. This means you can set your iPad or iPhone on a music stand, launch the YouTube app, and search for the song you want to learn by adding “Synthesia” to the search string. The YouTube videos don’t have the same controls to slow down the lesson, although some videos are uploaded at a slower rate, specifically for people who want to learn the song. YouTube won’t let you hook in a MIDI keyboard and keep track of how well you performed the song, but access to so many songs more than makes up for this limitation. Musicnotes supports traditional piano sheet music as well as C-instrument music, which generally includes the melody in traditional form, with the chords noted above the melody. If you play guitar, Musicnotes also supports guitar tablature. The app comes with more than 4,000 sheet music options, 100 videos, and games; you can also download many popular songs for around $4. Want the real thing but still need an iPad backup? Buy The ONE Smart Piano or The ONE Smart Piano Pro, which at $1,500 and $2,000, respectively, have a much nicer presentation but don’t offer much more than the $300 Light Keyboard other than the feel of weighted keys under your fingers. The best part about these keyboards is their support for MIDI. Use them with the other apps on this list, including using the keyboard in conjunction with GarageBand. Connect the keyboard to a PC and use software such as Native Instruments Komplete, which is a popular package among studio musicians. If you’d rather download and go, Pro Metronome offers all the basic features you need to get started at no extra charge, including changing tempo and time signatures.
