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The Best Apps and Services for Learning How to Play an Instrument

The Best Apps and Services for Learning How to Play an Instrument
Softonic Editorial Team

Softonic Editorial Team

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It’s happened to all of us at least once. After listening to some great song or hearing someone play an instrument like a pro, you get bitten by the music bug. Your next step: run out to a musical instrument shop and purchase a guitar, violin or keyboard. You’re beyond excited… until you realize that you have no idea how to play it, and you’re far too busy with work or school to even think of signing up for classes!

This realization probably tempered your enthusiasm, causing you to stash that brand-new instrument away in a closet. But it doesn’t have to be like that. Now you can learn how to play an instrument like a real virtuoso, because you have a hidden ace up your sleeve: apps and online services!

In today’s article, we’re going to share a roundup of our favorite apps and websites for learning how to play an instrument in a simple, convenient way. Getting your start in the world of music has never been easier!

Apps for learning how to play instruments

Now that phones and tablets are so widespread, there’s an extraordinary selection of apps you can use to start learning any instrument. Below are the ones we like most.

Garageband

Garageband is known as Apple’s star program that anyone can use to compose music. In fact, Rihanna used this app to compose her hit song “Umbrella.”

But Garageband is far more than a composing program: it’s also an excellent app you can use to learn any instrument. You’ll have access to a veritable orchestra of virtual instruments on it, so you can practice and enjoy all your favorites.

Garageband’s only drawback is that the app doesn’t offer tutorials to teach you how to play. It simply lets you use your selected instrument so you don’t have to go out to a store and buy it. Another potentially disappointing aspect for many users is the fact that it’s only available for devices with macOS and iOS.

You can download Garageband quickly and easily below.

Garageband DOWNLOAD
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Simply Piano

Do you own a piano? Have you always wanted to learn how to play it like a professional? Then you have to check out Simply Piano! By using this free app, you’ll start to understand the basics of this instrument in just a few hours, and you’ll even start playing your first songs on it.

Simply Piano is easy to use: just place your mobile device beside your piano and follow the different tutorials on the app. It has finger exercises, sheet music categorized by level of difficulty, and of course, everything you need to be able to read music like a pro.

One truly interesting feature of Simply Piano is that the app can listen to you play the piano and give you feedback and tips on how to improve. What’s more, it’s completely free!

You can download Simply Piano quickly and easily below.

Simply Piano DOWNLOAD
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Yousician

Want to learn how to play the guitar, the bass, or the ukulele? Are you a frustrated singer who has no time to take voice lessons? Then you’ll love Yousician!

This wonderful app will teach you how to master these fantastic string instruments through step-by-step tutorials for levels ranging from beginner to advanced. Furthermore, the app offers more than 1,500 exercises and challenges so you can practice and polish your skills every day.

One of the most interesting aspects of Yousician is that, in addition to tutorials, the app includes musical theory classes. That way you can learn the fundamentals of harmony and compose your own songs. Oh, and don’t forget that it’s completely free. You have no excuse not to play the ukulele the next time you’re at a party with friends!

You can download Yousician quickly and safely below.

Yousician DOWNLOAD
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Uberchord

Uberchord is an excellent resource for anyone who wants to learn how to play an electric guitar. Many people say it’s like having a real-life guitar teacher on their iPhone.

The app offers tutorials and classes on the chords, the tempo and how to read music. They are categorized by difficulty, making it easy to learn how to play the guitar at your own pace.

One of the most interesting aspects of Uberchord is that the app can listen to you play a song and give instant feedback. That way you can gradually adapt the way you play the guitar, and you’ll improve before you even know it.

You can download Uberchord for free below.

Uberchord DOWNLOAD
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Perfect Piano

Perfect Piano is an excellent app for learning how to play the piano. It’s capable of displaying all the keys on a piano and even emulating a full keyboard when you put several mobile devices together.

Perfect Piano has several modes designed to help you learn to play this instrument. “Learn to Play” mode features interesting lessons and tutorials you can use to learn the basics of the piano and different songs to practice with.

What’s more, it has Multiplayer Game mode, so you can play different songs alone or, if you prefer, with another aspiring piano virtuoso. There’s no better way of playing an instrument than having a blast with it.

You can download Perfect Piano for free below.

Perfect Piano DOWNLOAD
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Learn Musical Instruments

Learn Musical Instruments is an app designed to teach you how to play musical instruments as fast as possible. Here you’ll find piano, guitar, ukulele, trumpet, drum and violin classes. It has everything you can imagine and more!

One of the strengths of Learn Musical Instruments, aside from its variety, is how easy its tutorials are to follow. They are categorized by level (beginner, intermediate and advanced), so regardless of whether you have previous knowledge, you’ll always learn something new.

Another interesting feature: Learn Musical Instruments can listen to you play your instrument and correct you in real time. That way you’ll feel as if you had a real-life music teacher on your phone.

You can download Learn Musical Instruments for free below.

Learn Musical Instruments DOWNLOAD
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Online resources to learn a musical instrument

While apps are incredibly versatile, since you can use them anywhere on your mobile device, not everyone will find them useful for learning an instrument. If you’re the kind of person who prefers to sit in front of your desktop monitor, we have a good selection of online resources to learn how to play an instrument.

JustinGuitar

JustinGuitar is a comprehensive website for anyone who aspires to master the guitar. You can enjoy more than 900 guitar lessons taught by Justin himself. They range from the most basic concepts (how to read music, identify and play chords, etc.) to the tricks of a true professional.

One really useful aspect of JustinGuitar is that, unlike what we find on other websites, each lesson is  accompanied by a video. That way you won’t get lost during the lesson, you’ll learn quickly, and the subject matter will stick. In addition, the website has a useful mobile app to get the most out of your classes.

You can visit the JustinGuitar website here and download the app below.

JustinGuitar DOWNLOAD
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Hoffman Academy

Hoffman Academy is a website that offers piano classes for children, and ultimately for anyone who is new on this instrument. Here you’ll find more than 100 free lessons to learn the basics of how to play the piano, starting with how to recognize the keys or understand rhythm.

Once you master all the songs on the website, in theory, you can keep learning on your own. That said, if the method works for you, the site offers a Premium service (paid) that you can use to continue your classes.

You can visit the Hoffman Academy website by clicking here.

Fiddlerman

If you want to learn how to play the violin, definitely check out Fiddlerman.com. This comprehensive site offers completely free violin lessons in the form of easy-to-follow videos.

If you’ve never played the violin before, the idea of learning through online lessons might be a bit intimidating. Don’t worry, because the lessons on Fiddlerman start at the absolute beginner level, in other words, they cover topics such as how to hold a violin and how to use the bow correctly.

You can visit the Fiddlerman website by clicking here.

Drum Lessons by Drumeo

Drum Lessons is a useful website where you’ll find countless videos to teach you how to play the drums.  They are offered for free by some of the teachers at Drumeo, a prestigious drum school with online classes.

On Drum Lessons, you’ll find basic videos for beginners and ones to help you begin to play the drums with a good rhythm. If you like the results, be sure to check out Drumeo to access the rest of the online classes.

You can visit Drum Lessons by clicking here.

We hope you liked our selection of apps and online resources to help you learn how to play an instrument. What’s your favorite instrument? Tell us about it in the comments section!

Softonic Editorial Team

Softonic Editorial Team

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