Dive into the digital age of melody with the best apps to learn how to play musical instruments and start your journey from silent notes to rocking beats with a tap.
Brought to you by Insiderbits, this list is your roadmap to a world of sound. Each app was carefully selected by us to give you an outlet for fun and effective learning.
Why just listen to music when you create it? Step into a realm where every tap and swipe brings you closer to your own symphony. Let’s strike a chord together!
Related: Guitartuna: the Ultimate App to Tune Your Guitar Strings to Perfection!
Ultimate Guitar: Chords & Tabs
Ultimate Guitar: Chords & Tabs is the perfect app for anyone eager to learn how to play musical instruments – guitar, bass, or ukulele – offering over one million songs.
The app works offline, allowing you to practice anywhere. You can also customize your experience, from left-handed mode to building personal tab collections.
With Ultimate Guitar, you edit chords and tabs, making sure they match your skill level. Plus, memory-refreshing videos add ease to your practice sessions.
Interactive features make learning more engaging, while the vast chord library and useful tools like the tuner and metronome ensure you’re always in tune and on the beat.
| Pricing: | The free version offers a wide variety of lessons, but to gain full access, you need a paid subscription. The monthly plan costs $9.99. |
| Available For: | Android and iOS. |
| Features | 1M+ songs to explore on different instruments, video lessons, customizable playlists, left-handed mode, offline mode, interactive tabs, metronome, transposition, built-in tuner, “simplify” mode, social integration, and much more. |
4.4/5
Real Drum: electronic drums
Start drumming with the Real Drum app – your key to learn how to play musical instruments without buying a real drum kit. Tap away and feel the beat right from your device!
No prior drumming knowledge? No sweat! Real Drum simplifies your learning process with 60 easy tutorials and 33 fun loops to jam with.
Customize for a unique drumming space! With personalized pads, your own sounds, and new kits each week, your beats will resonate with originality and style.
Enjoy the freedom to practice anywhere! The app eliminates the need for bulky equipment, allowing quiet practice, easy recording, and sharing of your rhythmic melodies.
| Pricing: | Free with ads, which you can remove for $1.99 a month. There are monthly and yearly subscriptions available for additional content, costing $3,90 and $14.99, respectively. |
| Available For: | Android and iOS. |
| Features | Customizable kits, multitouch features, studio-quality sound, 60+ rhythm sessions and tutorials, recording mode, 33 loops to play along with, and more. |
4.4/5
Simply Piano: Learn Piano Fast
How about diving into a beautiful melody with Simply Piano? This app makes it delightful to learn to play musical instruments, specifically the piano and the keyboard.
Even if you have no experience, the app has you covered. With a variety of songs and courses, you learn the essentials, from reading music to two-handed playing.
Simply Piano isn’t just about following notes. With personalized 5-minute workouts, you progress quickly. It adapts to your skill level, ensuring successful practice sessions.
No keyboard? That’s okay, too. The app’s Touch Courses turn your mobile device into a virtual piano! Plus, receive instant feedback as you play, refining your skills in real time.
| Pricing: | The free version gives access to two courses, while the paid subscription unlocks them all. There are plans starting at $19.99 per month up to $149.99 per year. |
| Available For: | Android and iOS. |
| Features | Thousands of songs to learn from, adaptable courses for different tastes and playing levels, customizable pace, daily 5-minute lessons, instant feedback, and more. |
4.5/5
Related: Free piano course – Learn with this app
Yousician: Learn Guitar
Yousician is the perfect companion to learn to play musical instruments like guitar, and bass, or perfect your singing. It’s your personal music teacher, making learning interactive and fun!
Beginners can find a lot of value in Yousician. With tailored tutorials and instant feedback, the app listens to your play, guiding your strings or vocals in perfect harmony.
You can learn chords, melodies, or even music theory at a comfortable pace, and the app turns practice into a game. With challenges and progress tracking, motivation stays high.
Its library features 10,000+ lessons and beloved songs, and Yousician’s technology allows for real-time listening as you play your instrument or sing, providing immediate guidance.
| Pricing: | Free lessons are available, but full access is behind a premium subscription. Prices start at $19.99 monthly, up to $119.99 per year. |
| Available For: | Android and iOS. |
| Features | HQ video lessons, instant feedback, thousands of songs to learn from, simple tutorials, music theory lessons, course levels, daily exercises, and much more. |
4.3/5
Real Bass: bass guitar
Step into the groove with Real Bass, the ultimate app that turns your device into a bass guitar. It’s perfect to learn to play musical instruments, offering an authentic experience.
Real Bass creates rich, studio-quality sounds, simulating a real instrument. Dive into 100 lessons, improving your skills as you journey from beginner rhythms to complex grooves.
Keep your practice sessions lively with interactive play-along loops. Record your sessions, share your progress, and celebrate your growing bassist skills with the world.
Real Bass breaks the boundaries of traditional learning, offering a musical playground for all ages. Improve intelligence through music, understand chords, and grasp notes easily.
| Pricing: | Free, but ad-supported. You can remove ads for $1,99 a month and subscribe for full lessons. The monthly plan is $3,90, while the yearly subscription costs $14.99. |
| Available For: | Android and iOS. |
| Features | Over 100 lessons with studio-like audio quality, multitouch, 4 or 5 string lessons, recording mode, social media integration, loops to play along with, MIDI support, and more. |
4.3/5
Chordify – Instant Song chords
Chordify is ideal for those wanting to learn how to play musical instruments. This app simplifies your musical journey, turning any song into chords for guitar, piano, or ukulele.
Explore a vast song catalog, finding chords for any track you desire. The app’s animated views make learning instruments both fun and effective for people of all ages.
Chordify integrates with YouTube, transforming music into playable chords. Practice with your favorite tunes, creating a personalized library that travels with you.
With Chordify, you’re steps away from mastering the chords of global hits or your favorite local tunes. Premium features offer even more: transpose, slow down, loop, and beyond.
| Pricing: | There are plenty of free lessons available, but the paywall unlocks full access. It costs $7,99 per month and $47.90 per year. |
| Available For: | Android and iOS. |
| Features | 36,000,000 song catalog, accurate tabs & chords, animated views, cross-platform integration, chords transposition, “easy” mode, slow tempo, loop lessons, and more. |
4.5/5
Related: App for learning to play the accordion
tonestro: Learn to play Music
Are brass and woodwind instruments more of your thing? With tonestro, you can learn how to play musical instruments like the trumpet, flute, or saxophone seamlessly.
tonestro has an innovative approach, offering live feedback as you play. The app listens, assesses, and guides, highlighting your strengths and areas needing improvement.
Engagement is key in learning, and tonestro understands this well. Through its gamified structure, learners find practicing addictive and fun by competing in challenges.
Moreover, tonestro’s expansive song library keeps the learning fresh and exciting. Whether you’re into classical melodies or modern hits, there’s sheet music ready for you.
| Pricing: | Basic lessons are free, but there are plenty of subscription plans available for additional content. The monthly premium starts at $17.49 |
| Available For: | Android and iOS. |
| Features | Music theory, short lessons, daily exercises, sheet music, fingering charts, progress tracking, gamified learning, live feedback, and much more. |
4.1/5
Songsterr Guitar Tabs & Chords
Songsterr revolutionizes the way people learn to play musical instruments, offering a vast library of over 800,000 guitar, bass, and drum tabs & chords.
This app takes music learning to new heights with free, high-quality tabs coupled with realistic audio playback, allowing you to experience tracks as they were meant to be played.
Songsterr is mindful of the needs of musicians, providing tabs for multiple instruments within a song. Whether you’re a guitarist, bassist, drummer, or vocalist, the app has you covered.
The magic of Songsterr lies in its interactive tab player. Its Solo and Mute functions allow you to isolate your part or play along with a backing track, making learning more efficient.
| Pricing: | There are thousands of free lessons, but their legacy subscriptions unlock even more songs and instruments. The prices start at $4.99 a month. |
| Available For: | Android and iOS. |
| Features | Over 800,000 tabs & chords, full length playback, HQ transcription, original audio, speed control, solo and mute, offline mode, pitch shifting, loop, backing tracks, and more. |
4.6/5
Ukulele by Yousician
Ukulele by Yousician is tailored to those eager to learn how to play unusual musical instruments. This app offers real-time feedback, making learning accessible and enjoyable.
Every strum rewards you with immediate insights into your progress and timing, improving your skills intuitively. With the ukulele in your hands, playing it feels tangible and swift.
Additionally, weekly challenges infuse the learning experience with excitement, pushing you to strive and improve. Engage with interactive lessons, and advance at your own pace.
With Ukulele by Yousician, you don’t just learn; you become part of a global community, sharing the joy of music with friends and fellow enthusiasts through social integration.
| Pricing: | There are free lessons available, but they are limited. Their monthly plan costs $29.99, while the yearly subscription is $174.90. |
| Available For: | Android and iOS. |
| Features | Learning path by pro teachers, step-by-step interactive lessons, instant feedback, progress tracking, weekly challenges, and more. |
4.4/5
Violin Lessons by tonestro
Discover the joy of learning with Violin Lessons by tonestro, an innovative app that makes it pleasant to learn to play musical instruments like the violin and the fiddle.
Dive into bite-sized lessons, tailored by experts, that harmoniously blend music theory and practical skills, right from violin tabs to intricate sheet music.
Score points as you improve your craft, join weekly challenges and climb the rankings among fellow violinists. It’s not just about practice; it’s about pushing your boundaries.
Experience real-time feedback as you immerse yourself in lessons. The app listens and guides you, improving your pitch and rhythm instantly to enhance your performance.
| Pricing: | There are a few free lessons available, but for richer content, subscription plans start at $16.49 per month. |
| Available For: | Android and iOS. |
| Features | Short lessons and exercises, music theory, music notes, violin tabs, sheet music, weekly challenges, vast song catalog, live feedback, practice songs, metronome, and more. |
4.2/5
Related: Learn Violin Using This Violin Simulation App
Can you really learn to play musical instruments with an app?
Learning instruments through an app is not only possible, but it also brings a unique set of advantages that traditional classrooms may lack. Here are some of them:
- Convenience and Flexibility: Apps allow you to learn at your own pace, whenever and wherever you find time.
- Instant Feedback: Apps provide real-time feedback on your performance, pointing out off-key tunes and incorrect chords immediately.
- Extensive Resources: With an app, you have access to an immense library of songs and lessons, from classical to contemporary.
- Affordability: No need for pricey lessons with professionals. For a minimal subscription fee, or often for free, you receive comprehensive, high-quality training.
- Interactive Learning: These apps often use gamified lessons, making the learning process engaging and enjoyable.
Musical apps adapt to your lifestyle, cater to your needs, and make learning music more accessible and engaging than ever before.
While they might not replicate every aspect of in-person lessons, they are an innovative and effective approach to music education in this modern era.
Melodies unlocked: the future of music learning
Learning a new skill has never been easier, thanks to the wonders of tech. These apps defy traditional boundaries, empowering everyone to embrace the art of sound.
This curated list by Insiderbits is your ticket to a world of melodies. Perfect your skills and learn to play musical instruments with a tap or swipe!
Craving more insider tips on music magic? Explore other Insiderbits articles. Embark on new rhythmic adventures and keep the musical spark alive!
