Steve PMHDid you know that piano players are among the most widely studied in the search for changes in brain structure due to music playing? Scientists have found that pianists born left or right-handed may not have a dominant hand as they often strengthen the weaker hand to match the dominant hand during piano playing. Their brain registers a more symmetrical central sulcus than everyone else.
Learning to play the piano may seem daunting for any beginner, especially if you’re looking for online courses. Luckily, there exist ways such as Pianote that allow you to learn piano using video lessons with virtual instructors. Pianote makes your piano lessons easier, fun, and affordable, but is it worth your time and money?
In this post, you will learn what Pianote is all about, its history, features, pros, and cons to help you determine whether this online piano learning experience is a worthy investment.
Ready? Let’s get started!
Pianote Overview
Pianote is an online-based platform dedicated exclusively to teaching piano. The platform uses hundreds of step-by-step lessons for beginners and intermediate students. It also takes the piano course a step further by having instructors demonstrate each lesson through videos throughout your learning journey.
Rather than teaching one thing at a time and making you practice over and over, Pianote uses a different approach that allows you to progress rapidly and develop a more robust understanding of the instrument.
You can watch the pre-recorded lessons during your free time and learn at your own pace. Pianote also offers practice plans with real teachers demonstrating in live lessons. Unlike other piano courses, Pianote does not require you to download and install sophisticated software or have a USB cable for your keyboard.
All you need is the internet and a browser. The site is optimized for mobile and desktop approaches, and it’s very easy to maneuver with a polished modern feel.
The platform is subscription-based and has several membership options to select from. They offer a 90-day money-back guarantee if you are not satisfied with the course. You can also check their ten free video lessons before making any commitments.
History of Pianote
Jared Falk—the creator of the most popular online drumming lessons program, Drumeo created Pianote in December 2016. Since it’s launch, the program has gained many followers and users, primarily due to its well-structured curriculum that connects both modern and traditional ways of learning.
The platform has focused on hiring extremely experienced piano instructors like Lisa Witt. She is one of the leading instructors you will be interacting with during your course. Over the last few years, the platform has grown with some of their lessons available on YouTube.
How Does It Work?
Your first step to joining Pianote is reviewing their website and paying the membership fee. You can watch their ten free video lessons or check their YouTube channel to get a glimpse of what to expect.
However, it’s essential to understand that what you get for free is different from what you get when you become a member. For instance, there are free training packs for members aimed at helping you with new strategies and techniques to play the piano better and more efficiently.
You can decide to go for month-to-month or the annual payment option. Once you pay your subscription, you will get full access to Pianote’s full curriculum. You need to have an internet connection, a computer, phone, or tablet to access the website, a digital keyboard or piano, and a way to record yourself playing.
You will receive a personalized video from one of the instructors–Lisa, who will also welcome you to the program. She will also recommend that you start using the ‘how to use Pianote’ course.
During the orientation, the program will provide you with a practice plan to help you go through the videos and progress-tracking with the possibility to attend weekly live lessons and many other features which we will discuss in this review.
Who is Pianote for?
While it is safe to say that Pianote is great for teens and adults, it is also quite friendly to beginners and experienced pianists. Pianote allows veterans to purchase lessons or packages they need to work on, such as the advanced levels. It also works well for kids looking to learn piano independently, making the platform friendly for all ages.
Overall, Pianote works best for beginners and intermediate players. That’s because these two groups stand to gain the most from the course.
Intermediate-level piano players have a lot of tips and skills to pick up from the site. If you feel you’re beyond advanced, you might not have a lot to learn.
Students learn the core skills that every piano player needs and begin using the skills to play real songs. Teachers make the lessons vibrant, fun, and engaging for all levels of students. Pianote also aims to expand its content to help advanced piano players benefit more in the future.
What Makes Pianote Unique?
Pianote has a professional team of instructors to guide you through the learning process. You understand a concept better when you watch someone explain what they’re doing.
It’s much easier to follow and more rewarding than the experience you get from simply following a list of instructions. While learning from an app is convenient and efficient, having a real teacher explaining and answering questions gives an element of human touch and connection.
Whether you pay for the monthly or annual subscription, you can purchase individual parts of the course if you have a specific target on the piano. You can also buy Pianote Foundations, an older but more in-depth curriculum.
There is currently no lifetime membership. It was sold out, therefore not available to customers indefinitely.
Pianote is also quite user-friendly and can be used on multiple devices. Regardless of the device you’re using, you will always find a menu bar to guide you through the course. The menu is organized, showing lessons, video lists, and songs.
Pianote allows you to choose and learn the course at your own pace, and you don’t have to strictly follow the itinerary. You can access and watch videos anytime you want while focusing on a technique you like or the songs you prefer.
Pianote also gives you a chance to attend online live lessons where you ask questions and interact with fellow students. It is also safe to say that Pianote takes care of the basic theory, reading, and practical techniques, and new content is consistently added every week.
The Main Features of Pianote
Before making any payments, it’s critical that you review the main features of Pianote and decide whether it works for you or not. Here are the main features of Pianote.
Teachers
Pianote has invested heavily in professional instructors to help you perfect your piano playing skills. A great example is Lisa Witt, who perfected her piano skills through the Royal Conservatory of Music. Lisa has been teaching piano for over 16 years, and many people say they feel her sincere enthusiasm, dedication to music, and in-depth knowledge.
Other teachers are similarly skilled and inspiring. For instance, Kenner Werner, who has been teaching for 54 years, has enough experience to help beginners, intermediate and experienced piano students. Jay Oliver, who has worked with Celine Dion, Sheryl Crow, and other big names, is also part of the Pianote team.
Other piano teachers you will come across in the videos and lessons include Cassi Falk, Jordan Leibel, Nate Bosch, Sam Vesely, Jonathan Tobin, and Brett Ziegler.
The Curriculum—Learning Paths
The foundation learning path is probably the most crucial and valuable component of Pianote. You choose your learning path at the very beginning, which consists of ten levels with ten lessons, each designed to establish basic techniques and skills as a pianist.
The first level introduces you to the piano and rolls through details like core skills, chords, sight-reading, and improvisation. During each lesson, you will watch one or more teachers walk you through the details of the lesson.
During these lessons, your screen displays hand positions, sheet music, and an overhead view of the keyboard. After watching the videos, you can move to the Practice Along Mode, where you can play along at your selected speed. It comes with a two-preset speed, but there are settings for volume, speed, metronome, and transposition.
You can also loop sections for extra practice and bring the onscreen keyboard to show where the notes are.
While you will be learning how to play the piano one step at a time with the necessary theoretical background, your progress will be systematic with optimal results. The Pianote program helps you read sheet music rather than memorize the right chords. That way, you can get a printable or downloadable sheet of any song and successfully play it by yourself.
As you progress, you can practice different music styles and learn various improvisational techniques. Pianote allows students to compose their own music. The rest of the levels help you perfect your skills.
Reviews and Live Lessons
We’ve already mentioned that Pianote offers all students a chance to attend weekly live sessions. This is the closest you can get to a real-life teacher. While the lesson is not one-on-one, there is a question and answer opportunity where students submit questions for teachers to answer on the spot.
During a live lesson, teachers spend 20 to 40 minutes teaching a song from sheet music. Students can follow and ask questions about the material. Every lesson is archived to help students check whether their questions have been answered.
Another useful feature of Pianote is student reviews. This feature allows you to record yourself while playing piano and submit it to the teachers for review.
In your submission, you can write a short description of your expectations and piano goals. During the live lessons, the teacher can play the video live and provide each student with critical feedback to help them strengthen their skills.
Chords and Scales
If you have some basic knowledge of the piano, you probably already know the importance of chords and scales to musical success and development. Pianote helps you learn the basics about chords and scales and how to use them.
Instead of looking at a screen and reading the music, you can watch video lessons and read sheet music for each scale and chord progression. The videos are available to you anytime during your subscription.
You can go back to review them and work on the ones that give you the most trouble. Pianote has a whole section for scales and chords that comes with video lessons and sheet music for one-octave scales and triads in 14 keys.
However, it’s a little disappointing that the program excludes many chords and scales exercises like the arpeggios and two-octave scales that are often found in other piano courses. At the moment, this section seems underdeveloped and might not be the best for students looking to polish on chords and scales.
Packs and Boot Camps
Pianote boasts of providing a semester-like university course. According to Lisa Witt, Pianote courses, particularly the Foundation Learning Paths, are like weekend workshops with a focus on topic. You can filter courses by level, subject and instructor.
Packs and boot camps allow you to focus on specific techniques and improve them. The available packs include 500 songs in 500 days, Faster Fingers, and Sight-Reading Made Simple.
Boot camps are similar to packs but a little more specific. They help you polish up your piano skills with a targeted focus.
In your student Focus section, you will also find quick tips to describe elements of playing the piano to bang more quality to sound like portraying emotion through your playing. Course topics mainly lean on contemporary music.
Songs
The songs tab provides a song library of about 80 songs. Most of these songs are at the early levels, and more are added every week. Pianote doesn’t have the richest song library, which means it might not have all your favorite songs.
On the other hand, it’s worth appreciating that the choice is not limited to pop songs. The most populated genres are ballad, rock, and pop.
If you want to check whether a certain song is among the 80, you simply need to sort based on artist, style, or level. Each song comes with a video tutorial, chord chart, and sheet music, but not all have the practice along feature.
You’ll likely find that you know almost all the songs and some popular hits from various musicians and some TV delights, such as Game of Thrones.
Community Forums
Another great feature of Pianote is the availability of open forums. The platform is continually building a strong community where students have some sense of belonging.
The community aims to keep students’ enthusiasm, so they don’t lose interest in their lessons halfway through the course. By keeping the members engaged, motivated, and involved, the piano team can guide the students until they achieve their goals.
The program allows students to comment and share their experiences with the community and each other, and instructors respond and take action where necessary. In the community, you can introduce yourself and let others know your goals in the course and how they can help you achieve them.
Pros
- Access to teachers
- Personalized content for students
- User-friendly
- Playback settings and Practice Along feature
- Quality content, methodical course, and useful resources
- Freedom to choose
- Fun and engaging teachers
Cons
- The song library is limited
- It doesn’t provide much content for advanced students
- No one-on-one lesson or immediate feedback
- Does not explain complex musical ideas clearly in the course
FAQs
1. Does Pianote offer a free trial?
Yes. There is a 30-day free trial and a 90-day money-back guarantee if you’re not satisfied with the program.
2. How many courses are there on Pianote for beginners?
Pianote comes with a ten-level course that mainly focuses on theory, technique, and exercises. The lessons build on previous concepts as you level up, and each level ends with a new song to practice your new skill.
3. When can I learn piano on Pianote?
It depends on how you personally feel you learn best. The course allows you to learn at your own pace based on your schedule and personal preference.
4. What do I need to get started on Pianote?
You need an internet connection, computer, smartphone, or tablet to access the site, a digital keyboard or piano, and a way to record yourself playing.
Conclusion
Pianote is a simple video-based platform, but it has managed to be so much more than just a library of video lessons and songs. The teachers play a massive role in creating a near-live classroom where students can connect with their teachers for effective learning. They explain and show how a skill is performed, a feature that is lacking on most online courses.
However, the scales & chords and song sections are still sparse, which limits learners who want to advance their skills. Many features are still new, and the platform plans to add more advanced content in the future. With these additions, we expect that the program will keep growing and getting better.
It’s also worth noting that Pianote won’t turn you into a piano master but rather teaches basic concepts and skills to scale up as a pianist. The amount of time you put into the lessons and practice will be the deciding factor.
Therefore, after going through the curriculum, methodology and reviews by Pianote students, we can confidently state that Pianote is worth the investment. If we were to rate it, we would give it an 8/10 as it is one of the best online piano courses in the market currently.
If you think Pianote fits your piano lesson needs, feel free to check it out and try it today.
