Simply Piano: Learn Piano Fast

Review by eFreeware

Most piano apps ask you to follow along with a video and hope for the best. Simply Piano takes a different route: it listens to what you play and reacts to it. That single idea shapes everything else about the app, and it is the reason a free download with a 4.6 average across roughly 990,000 ratings has held its ground in a crowded category since its release in February 2017.

The pitch is straightforward. You put your phone or tablet on your piano or keyboard, and the app follows your playing through the device's microphone or a MIDI connection. Lessons are broken into short steps, and the song library gives you material to apply them to. The developer describes the approach as fast and easy, built around five-minute practice sessions.

Who is this for? I'd point first at adults who have never played and want a structured entry point that does not feel like a chore, and at people returning to an instrument they dropped years ago. Families are clearly in view too, since the app supports multiple profiles under one account. If you already read music fluently and want a tool for advanced repertoire, the shape of the app is different from that.

Lessons that respond to your playing

The core loop is lesson, feedback, repeat. The app walks you through courses step by step, starting from the basics of reading sheet music and building toward playing with both hands. It listens to every note and reports back in real time, so you find out where you went wrong while the passage is still in your fingers rather than at the end of a session.

What appeals to me here is the pacing. The developer promises you can make progress on five-minute practice sessions, and the app includes personalized five-minute workouts built around that idea. Short sessions lower the barrier to sitting down at all, which matters more for beginners than long, ambitious practice blocks that never happen.

The courses are described as designed by musicians and teachers, and the developer's background is in music education apps used by teachers. That shows in the progression from single notes to two-handed playing and in the technique-focused tutorials. It is not a reference tool for someone who already knows their way around a keyboard; it is a guided path for someone building the skill from the start.

A song library that carries the teaching

Songs are the engine of the app, not a bonus. The library runs past 5,000 titles, mixing pop material such as Imagine, Chandelier, All of Me and Counting Stars with classical pieces by Bach, Beethoven and Mozart. That spread matters because learners stay motivated when the piece in front of them is one they actually want to hear.

A recent update added control over how you work through library songs: you can slow the music down until a passage feels manageable, then bring it back to tempo. For anyone who has stalled on a section that moves faster than their hands, that is a meaningful addition. New courses and songs arrive monthly, according to the developer, so the library is not static.

The free tier offers video lessons and songs that teach the basics. Full access to the courses and the complete library sits behind a Premium subscription, which the developer sells with a seven-day free trial. Premium also includes access to Simply Guitar, which is worth noting if anyone else in your household is drawn to strings rather than keys.

No piano? The touch courses

One detail I like is the answer to the obvious objection. If there is no keyboard in the house, the Touch Courses turn the device itself into an on-screen keyboard using 3D Touch. It is a way to try the method before deciding whether to buy an instrument, and it keeps the app usable for someone who is curious but not yet committed.

That said, the app's main design assumes a real keyboard or piano. The microphone listening and MIDI connection are how the feedback works, and those are built around an instrument you play with your hands. The touch option reads as a supplement for trying things out rather than a replacement for the real thing.

The app runs on both smartphones and tablets. It is rated for all ages, with no ads and no external links. That combination is why it turns up in households with children learning an instrument alongside adults doing the same.

Setting up and what you need

Getting started is deliberately light. You download the app, set up a profile, and place your device on or near your piano or keyboard. From there the app leads you through the lessons in order, so there is no need to plan a curriculum yourself or decide which piece to tackle next.

The app uses your device's microphone or a MIDI connection if your keyboard supports one. Beyond that, you need something to play. The app works with any keyboard or piano, which means an inexpensive starter keyboard is enough to begin; the lessons do not depend on a particular model or brand.

Profiles are worth mentioning for shared households. Up to five people can learn under a single account and plan, each with their own progress. That structure suits a family where one subscription covers several learners rather than everyone starting from scratch separately.

Where the cost and the fit land

The app is free to download and carries no ads, but the full experience depends on a Premium subscription. The developer offers a seven-day free trial and notes that subscriptions auto-renew unless turned off at least 24 hours before the period ends, and that cancelation is possible during the trial but not during an active subscription period. Those terms are worth reading before you start the clock on the trial.

So the practical question is whether the subscription is worth paying for. If you practice most days, even briefly, the structure and the feedback loop are the kind of thing that keeps a beginner moving. If your practice is sporadic, the value depends entirely on how often you open it.

As for fit, I'd expect the app to work best for beginners and for players with some experience who want to fill gaps in technique and reading. It suits all ages and playing levels, and the multiple profiles and touch courses support that breadth. Someone preparing for graded exams or hunting for advanced repertoire will find the app oriented elsewhere.

A steady first step for new players

Simply Piano has the marks of a mature product: a large install base, a high average rating from a very large number of ratings, a library in the thousands and a track record going back to 2017. It also won Google Play's Best Apps of 2019 award, along with other recognition from education and music bodies.

My recommendation is for beginners who want a guided route from the first note to recognizable songs, and for families who want one plan covering several learners. The five-minute workout structure and the real-time feedback are what make that route sustainable, and the song library gives you reasons to keep going.

If you already play well and your goal is polishing advanced pieces, the app's teaching-first design is not aimed at you. For everyone starting out, the free download and the seven-day trial make it easy to find out whether the method clicks before committing to a subscription.

What's new in version 7.33.4

Learn library songs at your own pace, slow down the music till you get it right.