Simply Piano uses the latest music recognition software to give you instant feedback. Here are our top tips to give you the best experience possible with our recognition engine.

1. CONNECT HEADPHONES TO YOUR MOBILE DEVICE

If you’re using an acoustic piano or a keyboard without a MIDI connection, we highly recommend using headphones connected to your device while playing the app. This will prevent your microphone from picking up the background music from the app and improve note recognition accuracy.

2. USE MIDI TO CONNECT YOUR KEYBOARD AND MOBILE DEVICE

If you are using a keyboard, we highly recommend using a MIDI connection to improve the accuracy of your note recognition. MIDI provides a direct connection from your keyboard to your device. While MIDI use is not necessary, it can avoid issues with note recognition, particularly when you get to playing more advanced music.

Here is a basic guide for setting up MIDI:

1. Setting up a MIDI connection for Apple devices 
2. Setting up a MIDI connection for Android devices

3. INCREASE KEYBOARD VOLUME, MINIMIZE BACKGROUND NOISE

Another way to improve note recognition is reducing the app volume and playing loudly by pressing the keys harder or turning up the volume (if you have a keyboard). Make sure your piano is tuned to concert pitch (A = 440 hz). If you have a keyboard, you may be surprised; many keyboards can also be tuned in different ways, so check your user manual to tune your keyboard if the tuning seems off.

Practicing in a room with little to no distracting noise, such as other music or noise from outside, will help the app recognize what you’re playing better. If you usually have a case on your device, we also recommend removing it to make sure your microphone is uncovered.

HAVE FUN AND LET US KNOW IF WE CAN HELP

We are very excited for you to begin your piano journey with us! We are more than happy to help with any questions or concerns you have. Just send us an email at support@joytunes.com. Enjoy!

The post 3 Ways to Improve Note Recognition in Simply Piano appeared first on Learn to Play an Instrument with step-by-step lessons | Simply Blog.

While learning with a teacher is a great option, it’s not always an alternative. It can be expensive and can be more time than you’re able to commit. However, that doesn’t mean you can’t be more serious about playing the piano. You can find the best solution for you, and make sure to optimize your learning. If you’re trying to decide what way works best for you, check out this guide and find the best method for you to become a musical pro!

The Academic Route:  Piano Lessons

Studying with a qualified teacher is one of the best options!

Nothing beats a good teacher in terms of formalizing your education. Instructors can help you master technique as well as good posture and other musical fundamentals. Depending on your location and your desired level of expertise, the cost of piano lessons can vary between 30 and 70 dollars.

You can also take group lessons, which are great for beginners. It can be great to work with other musicians at your level to help you grow together. Group lessons can cost slightly less than private lessons, between 25 and 50 dollars. However, the most important thing to keep in mind is that you should find the right teacher for you and your skill level.

The Mobile Way: Apps

If you’re not afraid of technology, try out a great iOS pieano learning app, Simply Piano.

Thanks to our awesome mobile technology today, learning things on the go is an easy option for those with less time on their hands. Apps can be a great way to learn a whole variety of music-related skills that make the difference when starting on the piano. There are great apps to learn musical notation such as Music Tutor (which has a free, ad-supported version for iOS) or Note Perfect (for iOS). You can also find great tools for ear training, and great apps to learn popular songs and improve your playing skills. The best thing about apps is that they are quick and much lighter on your wallet when you look at this relative to the cost of piano lessons.

The Online Way: Sites and Video

Hit the World Wide Web and learn from tutorials on your own.

If you’re more into learning on your own and do not have the budget to support the cost of piano lessons, then the internet is the place for you. For those who feel they are better suited to self-learning, they can find a wide variety of different options. There are online learning tools that help with notation, such as musictheory.net, which also helps you with ear training and other important fundamentals. If you’re a more visual learner, then you can find a great treasure trove of content on YouTube, which features a ton of great lessons and tutorials that can help you master invaluable skills.

Find the best path for your piano learning journey! 

The post This Is How Much Piano Lessons Should Cost You in 2016 appeared first on Learn to Play an Instrument with step-by-step lessons | Simply Blog.

Think it can’t be done? Think again. It’s easier than ever to learn an instrument on your own thanks to all the apps available. Learn how to play the piano, drums, guitar, or any other instrument all on your own! Up for the challenge? Let’s check out the best instruments to learn on your own.

Side note: What is the easiest instrument to learn? That depends on you. We can’t tell you the easiest one for you, but we can show you the easiest instruments to learn on iPad and let you choose the one that best fits your style.

Learn Piano on iPad

Apps to learn piano are everywhere, making it a great choice for learning on your iPad Pro. The keyboard display makes practicing a breeze, and cool features like circular keyboards and synthesizers give you an extra edge over traditional players. Make sure you find a good app – one that is well-established and reputable – because there are plenty of free piano tutorials that just throw together nonsense without ever teaching you anything. Try out Simply Piano for an unbeatable experience.

There are also piano apps that let you practice on your own piano and critique your actual progress with “listening” features that only an iPad has. Play a G chord on your piano instead of a C chord? Some apps will hear your error and provide feedback so you can improve your technique and still.

See Also: Can I Really Learn To Play An Instrument On My Own?

Learn to Play the Guitar

The guitar is also one of the easiest instruments to learn. You’ll need to hold it in both hands and you prop your iPad up. You can stream guitar lessons directly on your iPad, learning basics like how to hold a guitar and play those first few chords, to how to really rock it like AC/DC. TrueFire’s Guitar Lab is a great example of a quality guitar app this gives you standard notation, music text, and other tools to become an expert at riffing.

[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LO60IXOqtjQ[/embedyt]

Learn to Beatbox

That’s right, beatboxing has arrived on the iPad scene, and you’ll find that it’s easier than ever to look fly while you dish out some of the coolest mixes, sounds, and jams with your new beatboxing skills, compliments of the iPad! Check out Korg’s iELECTRIBE for beatboxing tutorials.

Going the iPad route for instrument learning is a smart move, and developers are making it easier than ever to learn instruments on your own via this digital medium. With photo-realistic graphics, touch screens, and crystal-clear sound cards for optimal performance, an iPad tutor is the easiest way to learn how to play an instrument – or how to learn basket weaving or juggling or practically anything else you set your DIY-mind to do.

And now that you have an iPad Pro, it’s a lot cheaper to learn to play piano app-style than it ever has been in the past!

Learn to make music today with a little help from your new favorite toy. 

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#10 Weirdest Piano: Hello Little Monsters

One of Lady Gaga’s weirdest pianos

#9 Weirdest Piano: Playing in Bed

Being bed ridden in 1935 was no excuse for not practicing as this piano bed shows. Now, we’re totally mobile but that doesn’t mean we wouldn’t love to play songs from the comfort of our own comfy mattress.

#8 Weirdest Piano: Move Over Liberache

Everyone has a friend that is obsessed with sparkly, glittery things or everything Liberache. Here is the perfect piano for that friend that just can’t help bedazzling everything they own.

#7 Weirdest Piano: The High Roller

Can you imagine this Schimmel Pegasus Goquin masterpiece of futuristic heaven sitting in your living room? Since it is uber sleek and painted with Ferrari Rosso Red you shouldn’t be surprised that is costs over $400,000 dollars.

#6 Weirdest Piano: No More Straight Lines

Sometimes those typical straight pianos just aren’t enough. This round one reminds us of a volume knob and you’d certainly need to crank up your energy to run around this piano.

#5 Weirdest Piano: So hot It’s On Fire! 

This piano is blazing! Famous Japanese pianist Yosuke Yamashita, in fireproof gear, plays the piano for 10 minutes in this firey performance peice!

#4 Weirdest Piano: The Animal Lover

While we love all things cute and furry just as much as the next person, this special pig tops our list of animals that do it all. And, no piggy wasn’t harmed when a genius built this piano.

#3 Weirdest Piano: For All the Girly Girls

It’s no secret that Lady Gaga is all about the show and we know we’ve already shown you one of her crazy pianos but this one is for every girl who loves her heels!

#2 Weirdest Piano: Get Inside

Round pianos and keyboards seem to be a bit of a trend and this one is perfect for anyone who wants to be inside of one. Slide on into the loop and spin around as you play.

And the #1 Weirdest Piano: The Piano Bar

Now this crazy invention gives a whole new meaning to the term “piano bar” because it will actually dispense a custom made cocktail depending on what and how you play! How will your piano drink taste? We have no idea but we’re totally willing to find out!

The post The Top 10 Weirdest Pianos Ever Built appeared first on Learn to Play an Instrument with step-by-step lessons | Simply Blog.

Our enthusiasm was even greater when we watched Apple’s September Watch Event. We saw that this watch is going to be big, and we knew we wanted to be part of it.

In November, Apple released WatchKit, which allowed developers like us to start designing extensions for their iPhone apps that will run on the Apple Watch.

We immediately started brainstorming about the different ways we can use the watch to make practicing and learning music more fun and effective.

We had lots of cool ideas, but for several reasons – it wasn’t that easy for us to turn the ideas into reality.

First, this primal version of the development kit had a lot of limitations. For instance: no access to the sensors of the watch (e.g. no ability to use the Taptic Engine to provide haptic feedback), only works with an iPhone (therefore we couldn’t create a watch extension for Piano Maestro, which is currently iPad only), and more.

These limitations caused many of these ideas to become unfeasible.

Second, and more importantly – we were so busy with our other apps, we simply couldn’t find the free time and start the development of a watch app.

Months passed, then came another Apple Watch Event in March. In addition to a big reminder of what’s about to come, and a great motivation boost, we also got a release date and understood the timeline. Suddenly reality hit us in the face. If we wanted to make a musical watch app, we had to act fast.

Shortly after the March event, came our quarterly “JoyTunes Ninja Week”.

Ninja Week is a tradition we have once every 3-4 months at JoyTunes. It aims to tackle exactly the second problem I mentioned earlier: because of the endless list of day-to-day tasks we have to deal with – there’s simply no time to get to some really cool tasks, whose immediate business value isn’t clear.

The rules are simple:

1. You can do whatever you want: develop a complete new feature, a proof-of-concept, improve infrastructure, create a new app, learn a new technology, build something cool for the office, etc.
   Anything goes – as long as you think you’ll finish it by the end of ninja week.
2. Every day at 18:00 we all eat our daily Pizza / Sushi/ Hummus and get an extra burst of motivation.

So, as you probably guessed already, during this ninja week I chose to finally sit down and develop an app for the Apple Watch.

Initially I thought this would only be a junk app that will be only relevant for learning. After toying with some concepts and ideas, I decided a proof of concept of a metronome app could be something I could create relatively quickly, and have the potential of actually being cool and useful.

I recruited help from our super-talented designer, Oded Bengigi, who immediately stepped up and created a truly awesome metronome animation based on a glowing JoyTunes logo:

Use the metronome app right from your Apple Watch!

Check out the Metronome in action here!

From there, the road to build a watch extension displaying the animation was quite fast. We created a Metronome app that we felt was so beautiful it’s definitely worth investing some additional time to perfect and deliver. So by the time ninja week was over – we had a nice product, and the goal was to release it to the App Store along with the first apps to ever be released for the Apple Watch!

Challenges arose. We initially thought of the product as a standalone metronome that would feel super cool on your watch alone, but finally came to the realization it’s not quite possible.

First reason for this are the mentioned technical limitations. In addition to not being able to use the Taptic Engine which felt a natural fit to our case, playing a tick sound from the watch was also not possible. You have to do it from your iPhone.

Also, in order to conserve battery – an app on the watch stays active only for a few seconds if you don’t interact with it. Hence, getting the beat just by looking at the watch was also not quite possible.

We therefore decided to shift the direction of the app a bit.

We decided to invest more into the iPhone app, creating a fully blown metronome iPhone app we are truly proud of. Then, the watch extension behaves as the perfect companion for this app – it can control the iPhone metronome  – start it, stop it, change the BPM and the time signature (using selection or dictation) – all while displaying a super slick animation loop that makes everything feel magical and fun.

I am personally really proud of what we made, especially since it all began with a fun ninja task, and we were able to deliver a fully blown app in less than a month.

Of course, this is not the end. We are planning many new features and additions in upcoming releases, and we can only cross our fingers that Apple will be so kind as to release a better WatchKit soon. This will allow us to make an even cooler native metronome app on the watch, and possibly many other apps that will improve the way you practice and learn music all around the world.

We are super excited about this. Hope you are too!

Have you tried out our Metronome app yet on your Apple Watch or iPhone? Let us know what you think!

The post New Apple Watch, New JoyTunes App – The Making Of. appeared first on Learn to Play an Instrument with step-by-step lessons | Simply Blog.

Don't worry, we were humane about it all.

• The Fast Forward and Rewind feature should now work like a charm. Zip around in the song like a bee buzzes around the flowers.
• We squashed that pesky bug that caused the app to crash when loading (that was especially for you Brazilians).
• You can say goodbye to that annoying little bug that prevented the app badge from clearing after opening the app because we squished him too.

Now, on to the awesome stuff! Here's a look at what's new in this Piano Maestro Update:

Run out and buy some new printer ink because you can now print and share over 600 pieces of sheet music from within the app for FREE! This means your non-iPad students can take these pages home and continue to practice the same songs.

Print out sheet music

It’s now easier than ever to find exercises by “key” and “hand”.  Check out the improved search feature in the Exercise Library. Less time searching means more time playing!

Wow! Searching is so easy!

There is now one convenient place for you to manage the content on the app. In the settings screen, you can download tons of songs ahead of time so you can play them in the forest, or wherever else you may go that doesn’t have WiFi.

Manage content in one convenient place

Our incredibly dedicated team is already hard at work building awesome new features for the next update. Stay tuned!

The post A Gift For You: Piano Maestro Update 3.3 is Here! appeared first on Learn to Play an Instrument with step-by-step lessons | Simply Blog.

As a piano teacher, recitals are my favorite time of year. I love watching beginning students gain confidence. I love watching older students excited to show off their new song they can’t get enough of. I love watching parents’ faces, sometimes with smiles, sometimes with tears, thinking, “That’s my child!” But most of all I love the energy in the room as the recital ends and we all visit with each other. I see young students looking up at the older students, saying, “I wish I could play that,” while the older students think, “I remember when I played that…I guess I have learned a lot.” This common bond – sharing this recital together – perpetuates a desire to learn more.

However, there is usually a group who leaves the recital, silently thinking, “I could never do that.” This group, usually adults, may think they are too old to learn new things. Music seems so beautiful and complicated; they think it is outside their realm of abilities. Using Piano Maestro in a recital setting can change that. With the right set up, you can show everyone it’s not as hard as they think.

Before the Recital

To set up Piano Maestro for a recital, you’ll need to consider your equipment options. Projecting the iPad on a TV allows more of the audience to see what is going on. The easiest way to project an iPad onto a TV screen is via an Apple TV box. You may need additional speakers as well, so everyone can hear the background music. Any songs you plan on using during the recital should be played over WiFi once before the recital to ensure that the background music has been downloaded and is accessible when not on WiFi, and also to reduce loading time.

Apple TV allows for the simplest setup

Apple TV works with high-definition TVs with HDMI and may require a wireless network depending on the model. The Apple TV box will also need to be plugged in to a power source. You will need to enable mirroring with AirPlay to get the iPad screen to show on the TV. To do this, swipe up from the middle bottom to pull up the control menu. In the middle it will say AirDrop. If your iPad recognizes an Apple TV box nearby, you will see AirPlay as an option. Click on AirPlay and select the name of the Apple TV you would like to connect to. (Each Apple TV box should have a specific name or number assigned when used for the very first time.) Depending on your Apple TV and iPad models, you may not need WiFi to use AirPlay mirroring but both devices must have WiFi and Bluetooth turned on, even if they are not connected to any networks or devices. Click here for more details.

To add additional speakers, you can choose to connect them to the TV or to the iPad, though through the TV may be preferable to reduce the amount of wires around the piano. (Due to the nature of the listening software, Bluetooth or wireless speakers cannot be used with Piano Maestro at this time. However, line-in speakers via the headphone jack are a workable option as well.)

As with all technology being used in a presentation, it is best to test it out a few times to make sure you are comfortable with setting it up on the day of the recital and can work out any technical difficulties.

During the Recital

When the recital begins, you may wish to start with a demonstration of how Piano Maestro works if you have many parents in attendance who are not familiar with the app. This is the perfect opportunity to ask for a volunteer, especially someone who has no prior music knowledge for even greater effect, to come demonstrate how the app makes simple one-note songs sound engaging. I recommend using songs from Chapter 1 of Journey Mode. (The tutorial requires using more than middle C so that may not be the easiest thing to start a true beginner on.)

You will need to select which profile for this volunteer to play on. If you set up a new profile for him or her during the recital, you will be forced to play the tutorial in order to activate the acoustic piano option. For this reason, I recommend using someone else’s profile or creating a dummy profile before the recital and completing the tutorial beforehand to limit how long this demo takes.

Show the volunteer how the app is set up by choosing Journey Mode, with a quick description of this mode being structured like a leveled game, and then the song you would like him or her to play. Point out that the display shows exactly which key to play, and that the volunteer must play this key when the note hits the blue bar line. Since the audience can see what is happening via the TV screen, they can see stars being earned and the song progress.

In my spring recital where I did this demonstration, the volunteer shouted out half-way through, “Oh! This is just like guitar hero!” When this volunteer finished, the whole room exploded in applause. Everyone was excited about how someone who thought they could not play the piano just played the piano! Other tips for using Piano Maestro in your recitals:

• Because it can take time to switch iPads when using mirroring with AirPlay, it might be best to only use one iPad for the whole recital.
• Try structuring your recital so no two students using the app for their performance are back to back, or you may choose to limit each student to only one Piano Maestro song. This allows time for your recital helper to load the next song while another student performs or while the other song is performed.
• You may wish to show parents a screenshot of what the report looks like that you receive showing the studio’s weekly practice. You may also want to cut and paste part of this screenshot so only certain students who have a positive report are shown.
• Check out JoyTunes.com/resources for helpful handouts you can print for parents who want to learn more.

After the Recital

If your recital venue allows, while everyone is mingling you might consider letting other audience members try using Piano Maestro. Assign a studio helper who knows how to run the app to oversee the area so you are free to talk with students and their families.

Be sure to mingle with parents and guests after the recital to get their feedback about using Piano Maestro

With Piano Maestro fresh in everyone’s mind, this is the perfect time to check in with parents who seem hesitant to let their child use the iPad during his or her practice time, and to talk with parents who don’t seem motivated to approve the teacher connection in the app. Last but not least, take the opportunity to turn those volunteers into students by reminding them they receive full access to the app at no extra cost when they sign up for lessons with a registered teacher – and by reminding them they just spent a few minutes doing something amazing. Playing the piano is now in their realm of possibilities!

The post Performing with Piano Maestro in a Recital Setting – All You Need to Know appeared first on Learn to Play an Instrument with step-by-step lessons | Simply Blog.

Picture this: 6-year-old Henry nervously walks to the front of the room, ready to perform in his first piano recital ever. He is thinking about his 7-year-old friend Jake who just played Ode to Joy perfectly–with two hands. Henry understands he shouldn’t compare his three months of lessons to Jake’s twelve, but it’s hard not to think about how hard he’s had to work to get to this moment–playing Mary Had a Little Lamb with three fingers–and how many more lessons it will take before he can play grown-up sounding music like his friend Jake.

Now enter Piano Maestro. Same students, same amount of lessons. Henry is still nervous but can’t wait to show his family and friends how he gets to play piano and the iPad at the same time! He knows he will only use three notes and three fingers, but it will be far from boring. His performance of Glad You Came by The Wanted will be backed by a full rock band sound, complete with a full-color graphics display of his performance on the big screen so all can watch him earn a perfect-stars performance. He is confident he will do well because not only has he earned full marks while playing in his lesson with his teacher, he has also continued to achieve full marks in every practice session at home for the past two weeks. He knows his teacher feels he is ready, but more importantly, he knows he is ready. Henry can’t wait to share it with everyone!

How Piano Maestro Assists with Recital Preparation

Feedback can be the stimulus needed for progress, as well as the catalyst for building confidence.

As music teachers, one of our greatest joys is to watch our students’ eyes light up when they discover what they can do with music, when they start to realize their potential, and feel empowered to go home and show everyone what they learned. When all of these things come together it is a beautiful experience. Yet, more often than not, as the week wears on students’ old doubts and insecurities creep back in. They wish they had their teacher around right now to tell them how great they are and how far they’ve come.

Feedback can be the stimulus needed for progress, as well as the catalyst for building confidence. Providing our students with simple ways to evaluate their practice at home, to self-check their progress, can create autonomy and inspire them to work harder. When practicing with Piano Maestro, students can see via note color (green for played correctly, red for not) which notes or sections they need to work on. Score-board percentage statistics displayed after finishing a piece can highlight which area students need to focus on: “notes” or “timing.” Total star scores also show
overall progress for a piece. Viewing these feedback markers can motivate students to try to “beat their score” throughout the week, as well as confirm that they are improving. They don’t need to look wide-eyed over their shoulder at their teacher to ask, “Did I do okay?” What wonderful lessons we experience when students come prepared to discuss what they found they needed to improve on and what they did to overcome it.

What does this mean for reducing anxiety leading up to a recital performance? As pictured in the second opening example, the visual and auditory feedback the student receives confirms that they are ready to perform, just as the teacher confirmed in that week’s lesson–and this reinforcement can continue to happen right up until the last few minutes before the recital begins.

How Piano Maestro Assists with Recital Performance

When teaching lessons, we identify measures or sections of a piece students need to work on. Yet no matter how perfectly they played their piece during their lesson, things can happen in a performance that we wish didn’t happen. We are charged not only with teaching students to fix their mistakes, but also with teaching them “the show must go on.” Sometimes despite our best preparation, we need to leave the mistake behind and catch up with the beat. This is one reason ensembles and teacher duets are so valuable. However, what is the drawback to ensembles and teacher duets? They require another person to practice with.

In some cases, especially for beginners, having the accompaniments can make all the difference.

Piano Maestro’s full sounding accompaniments are available to the student at any time–no second person needed. Not only does this liven up simple songs making them more fun to play, but also it prepares the student to stay with the beat, and can help them learn to keep moving despite a mistake. For beginners in the average studio, most parents and friends attending a recital cannot tell when a performer makes a mistake, unless the performer interrupts the beat and draws attention to their mistake. Practicing with a backing track, such as those found in Piano Maestro, can help students preserve the beat during performance, thus improving their recital experience. Improved recital experience translates into less anxiety about future performances.

Using Piano Maestro as part of an actual recital can facilitate many other benefits: beginning students who get to play simple songs assisted by difficult sounding accompaniments, parents who can see the joy in their son or daughter’s face by playing those complex-sounding songs, students and parents receiving immediate feedback on performance (who doesn’t smile when stars are earned and cheering is heard!), reducing the “boring” factor in recitals with many beginning pieces, and not to be left out, current and potential clients excited to see how fun it can be to learn to play piano, often resulting in new students for years to come.

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