10 Apps for Learning Music That Are Totally Worth Your Time

Jan 30, 2019

Learning to play an instrument is a process that takes a lot of time. Between lessons, practicing, and heaps of performance experience, learning music takes a commitment. But thanks to the speed of technology, making that commitment has never been easier. YouTube can be an amazing place to start, providing tons of tutorials and lessons, most of which with no fees at all. But if you want to move beyond the simple videos on YouTube, the App Store has plenty of goodies to help.

We’ve got 10 of the best apps listed here.

GarageBand

GarageBand has been around for a while, and it’s mostly thought of as Apple’s way of letting you easily record music on your iPhone or iPad – but it’s really more than that. It also gives you a handful of virtual instruments at your fingertips everywhere you go, making it a pretty well equipped music creation studio. Now, while there aren’t really any specific lessons here, this app is fantastic for those time you want to have an impromptu jam session.

Simply Piano

This app has got a lot going on. Simply set your phone or tablet down at your piano or keyboard and start playing; the app will recognize the song and give you some instant feedback. Don’t have a piano? The app’s got one of those. It also offers tons of fun songs, and a giant set of courses designed for a variety of ages, experience levels and musical tastes. It’s even great for people who have never even sat down in front of a piano.

Yousician

Yousician is a bit of a more versatile app, providing lessons for the piano, guitar, bass, and ukulele. This nice little app gives you easy to follow, step by step tutorials that guide you from the most basic fundamentals all the way up to the more advanced techniques. Offering well over 1,500 missions and exercises, specific lessons on music theory, and weekly competitions with millions of others in weekly challenges for a spot on the leaderboard, you’ll always be coming back to this app for more.,

Uberchord

Although this app is only for one specific instrument, the guitar, it’s also like having your own personal guitar teacher right in your pocket. Like some of the other apps on this list, Uberchord listens to you play and adapts to your musical needs, giving you personalized advice and tips for improving. A number of wonderfully handcrafted courses are included in the app, which teach you the necessary fundamentals and techniques using well known popular songs. Uberchord also offers new content every week, and has a nice little song trainer that helps you learn specific tunes.

SingTrue

Do you love to sing, but don’t think you have any real talent for it? Then SingTrue was design for you. With over 30 interactive exercises this app helps you train your voice so you can sing with confidence and ease. Tapping into your phone’s microphone, SingTrue analyzes your singing and gives you instant personal feedback. Beginners will be surprised at how great their voice really is!

Voice Training

This one is similar to SingTrue, but works with a bit more detail, probably because it was designed in collaboration with an actual professional singing teacher, and is meant to simulate the real-world experience of teacher-led singing classes where a piano is used as a guide for pitch. While Voice Training listens to your singing voice, it shows you what pitch you’re currently hitting, as well as the note you should be hitting. The app offers a series of vocal exercises designed to help you expand your vocal range by relaxing your voice, and singing games to challenge you and keep you sharp.

Tiny Piano

This app is sort of like the game Guitar Hero, except it’s been designed for the piano, and is a bit more educational than the rock and roll video game. As a fun starting place for those who wish to learn the piano, Tiny Piano offers (as its name implies) an itty-bitty piano on the screen, over 400 songs to choose from, and the interesting feature of controlling the tempo, allowing you to start at a slower pace and build up to the speed each song is meant to be performed at. With such a wide range of options to play with Tiny Piano is a little app that can give you a giant sense of satisfaction in no time at all.

Piano Free

To start with, this digital piano app allows you to choose from a few different kinds of piano, like the grand, or fortepiano, as well as the violin, harpsichord, accordion, organ, and guitar. Using free songs written by musicians for both beginners and more experienced musicians, the app teaches various chords, how to read sheet music, and more. Piano Free also offers a bunch of mini games that help you start playing the piano without any lessons at all.

Easy Music

This one is aimed a little more towards young children, but actually works amazingly well as a starting point for anyone looking to learn music. Starting with the most basic of musical instruction, Easy Music helps you learn to recognize notes, pitches, rhythm, and melody, all while having a lot of fun. Since it’s geared towards a younger crowd, it tends to be pretty simplistic stuff, but it’s a fantastic tool for helping you through any trouble you might be having understanding some of the theory behind learning an instrument.

Justin Guitar Beginner Song Course

One of the newer apps on this list, Justin Guitar Beginner Song Course is fun for both complete beginners and those who are a little more confident in their abilities. The app provides a great, step by step course designed to teach you chords, strumming, and just about everything else you’ll need to know when learning to play the guitar. The app also includes over 200 songs to choose from, instructional videos, and FourChords guitar karaoke, which helps keep the learning even and not too difficult.

Of course, as great as these apps can be, nothing really compares to the experience and expertise of a music teacher and playing music with others. We offer a variety of classes, lessons, ensembles, and camps. Check out our programs here.