Music2me is a simple, web-based music tutorial program designed to teach you the practical and theoretical skills required to learn the piano.
1. Costs $10 per month
2. Six minute sessions available
3. Accessed via web browser
The company, which is based in Germany, has hosted 45,000+ students online since it was launched in 2011. It has now expanded to English-speaking countries and the lessons are clever, concise and simple to follow. There are over 200 video tutorials per course, ranging from absolute beginner to advanced skills.
Music2Me is probably one of the best online piano courses for busy learners, as it breaks sessions down into manageable chunks. It’s also a reasonably priced option, with lessons starting at $10 a month.
However, it doesn’t quite pack in all of the best features available in some of the more expensive options. And it also doesn’t come with an app, so you can only find these piano lessons via the website
Music2Me review: Lessons and features
One of the biggest hesitations for adults wanting to learn an instrument is the assumption they won’t have time to invest in lessons and practice. But Music2Me is cleverly constructed with short, bite-sized tutorials, each lasting an average of six minutes. This means you can squeeze in a little practice between meetings or around household obligations relatively easily, making the program very appealing for those short on time.
Lessons are accessed online through the music2me.com website – there’s no app available for this platform, unfortunately. We tested out the beginner program, ‘first steps on the piano’, which consists of 35 videos to work through, offering advice on seating position, posture and hand placement.
The first section of lessons took us through note values, teaching us how to combine and read whole notes, half notes and quarter notes. Following this, the second lesson focused on finger numbering and other notes on the keyboard.
If we had one small complaint about the beginner course, it would be that this particular lesson order seems counterintuitive. We felt that finger numbering should come sooner in the lesson plan – it's the first thing taught by sites such as Playground Sessions, and it feels odd to start playing before you learn where to place your digits. On the flip side of that, it is great that you get to jump straight onto the keyboard and start making music (or rather, noise), which gets you off to an enjoyable start.
The course incorporates some music theory, such as articulations, scales and note reading. Playing techniques are explained at the beginning of each video and then demonstrated with a clear, easy to follow graphic for the remainder of the tutorial. In our experience, the visuals were very simple to follow, with a large keyboard animation showing the tutor’s hands as well as the denoted key highlighted in colour, labelled with the correct note.
There is a handy feature called ‘practice mode’, which, when selected, repeats the exercise until you are ready to move on. If you return to a lesson after a break, there is an option to jump to a specific chapter within the tutorial. Our strategy was to repeat some of the more difficult exercises until we felt confident enough to continue and the ‘repeat chapter’ option made this very easy to do, without the need to go back to the menu and scroll.
On tutorial 14 of the beginner course, things start to become more fun with an opportunity to play a recognisable song – nothing fancy, just the sound of Big Ben’s Chimes. It’s a clever idea, allowing you to play a familiar set of notes with only a basic skill required. It came at just the right time to provide a renewed enthusiasm for learning.
Module two guides you through musical notation and how to use your new skills to become a confident piano player. The later, more difficult courses deal with more complicated playing techniques, incorporating popular songs and movie themes into the tutorials.
Music2Me review: Experience
This online piano course is visually clear, simple and easy to follow, but the voiceover is slightly boring. While we weren’t looking for anecdotes or jokes during lessons, the execution is very business-like. After a while it began feeling like a sat nav voiceover guiding us through the piano journey (“turn left for major and minor scales” etc). This made the experience a little tiresome, meaning younger children might lose interest quickly.
However, if you’re an adult looking to learn as quickly and efficiently as possible, this course should tick a lot of boxes for the affordable price. We were pleased with our progress and estimate that by practicing three times a week, it would take an absolute beginner less than a year to play a recognisable song, reading from sheet music.
The platform doesn’t have all the features included in pricier options. There’s no app here, which would be a nice addition. It’s also lacking any MIDI-compatible features - so while you can assess your own progress manually, there isn’t an option to see how many correct and incorrect notes you’re hitting in a session. Other platforms, like Simply Piano, also have ‘listening’ features that can assess your accuracy by tapping into your in-built microphone, which was something we couldn’t find while testing Music2Me.
Music2Me review: Pricing and Tech Support
To enrol in the piano school with Music2me, there is a monthly subscription of $15. Sign up for 12-months of access and the price is $120, making the cost a cool $10 a month, which is excellent value. There are broader, more sophisticated offerings out there, but if you have your own keyboard this course is ideal for beginners or those wishing to refresh their knowledge.
Guitar lessons are included for free during the trial and there is a discounted combo price if you sign up for both the guitar and piano courses. If you have one family member hoping to hit the ivories and the other set on strumming, it makes ridiculously good value for money.
There is a Live Chat and an email method for contacting the team with any issues but the course is very straightforward, so it’s unlikely a user would encounter many issues. The team also welcomes feedback and contributions from users will serve to improve the platform in the future. At present, there is no app download for this course, which would be a good addition.
Music2Me: Should you get a Music2Me subscription?
Younger children or teenagers might get bored easily with the monotone voiceovers and simple visuals, but the tutorials are ideal for an adult beginner who wants to learn without any unnecessary ‘bells and whistles’ (no pun intended).
For someone with a busy day-to-day life, the short video tutorials make it easy to slip away for piano practice around family and work commitments. You can move at your own pace, dipping in and out when you have the time.
For those on a budget, it’s a very inexpensive platform to learn the piano in a bite-sized, digestible way, without needing lots of spare time to master the skill.
