The course
Free piano lessons, in order
Five lessons that take you from a wall of identical keys to reading real notes on a staff. Each one teaches a single idea, lets you practise it on a playable keyboard, and ends with a ten question quiz that tells you when you are ready to move on. Work through them in order, at whatever pace suits you. Nothing is locked.
Never touched a piano? Start with the five minute walkthrough: six tiny steps that end with you playing the opening of a real tune. It asks nothing of you and takes about five minutes.
Your quiz scores and exercise progress are saved in this browser and shown on your progress page.
How each lesson works
Every lesson is built the same way, so once you have done one you know exactly what to expect from the rest. There is no jargon, no sheet music you cannot yet read, and nothing you have to buy or sign up for.
First you read. One idea per lesson, explained in plain English, in about ten minutes. If a word needs explaining, it gets explained on the spot rather than in a glossary somewhere else.
Then you play it. A real keyboard sits inside the lesson. Keys light up in the colour of the hand you should use, with the finger number printed on them, and you follow the glow. If you would rather watch first, Hear the demo plays the whole exercise for you, keys and all, then hands it back.
Then you test yourself. Ten multiple choice questions, one at a time, four answers each. Right or wrong, you are told why, because the explanation is the part that teaches. Score ten out of ten and the lesson tells you that you are ready to move on. Score less and it suggests another read, which is advice, not a locked door.
You can play the keyboard by tapping it, by using your computer keys, or by plugging in a MIDI keyboard. Nothing needs installing and nothing needs tuning.
Who this course is for
Complete beginners. If you have never sat at a piano, never read a note, and are not sure whether the black keys even matter, you are exactly who this was written for. Everything starts from nothing.
It suits a curious ten year old and a curious sixty year old equally, because the explanations do not assume anything and the exercises are played rather than read about. Younger learners tend to move fastest through lessons one to three; adults often prefer to slow down on rhythm and reading, which is lessons four and five.
It also works as a refresher. If you played as a child and the note names have faded, the five quizzes will find your gaps in about half an hour.
You do not need a real piano to start. A phone or a laptop is enough for the first three lessons, though a keyboard with real keys makes lessons two and four feel much more natural when you get there.
How long the whole course takes
Each lesson runs about fifteen to twenty minutes: ten minutes reading, a few minutes on the keyboard exercise, and up to ten on the quiz. Five lessons is therefore an afternoon if you push, or a comfortable week at one lesson a day.
A week is the better plan. Rhythm and note reading both improve with sleep in between, and the quizzes are more useful when you take them a day after the lesson rather than three minutes after it. Nothing expires, so there is no reason to rush.
After lesson five, the natural next steps are the practice room, where you play real songs with the same glowing keys and timing feedback, and the full reading guide, which picks up the bass clef and note lengths where lesson five stops. The beginner roadmap lays out what comes after that.
Questions
About the course
Do I have to take the lessons in order?
It is the order they were written in, and each one leans on the one before, so working straight through is the fastest route. Nothing is locked though. If you already know the keyboard layout, open lesson two and start there.
Where are my quiz scores saved?
In your own browser, on the device you used, rather than on a server. That is why your progress follows you on that device and does not appear on a different one, and why clearing your browser data clears it. Nothing about your practice is uploaded anywhere.
Do I need a real piano or keyboard?
Not to start. The keyboard inside each lesson makes real sound in your browser, so a phone or laptop covers the first three lessons. Once you reach hand position and rhythm, physical keys under your fingers help a great deal, and a basic 61 key keyboard is enough for everything on this site.
What if I score badly on a quiz?
Nothing happens except a suggestion to read the lesson again and retake it. Retakes are unlimited, and each one draws a fresh ten questions from a bank of twenty, so a retake is a genuinely different test rather than the same one in a new order. Only your best score is kept.
Is the quiz timer compulsory?
No. Ten minutes for ten questions is the default because it mirrors a real theory test and keeps you focused, and it is far more time than the questions need. If a clock puts you off, tick the untimed box on the quiz start card and it will remember that choice.
Is this course suitable for children?
The site is written for adults, but the language is deliberately plain and every idea is demonstrated on a keyboard rather than described in theory, so a child of about ten upwards can follow it comfortably. Younger children usually do better with a person sitting next to them.