Skoove employs a smart and accurate AI algorithm to teach and improve your piano playing skills. It live-listens every keystroke and instantly notifies a mistake. While there are some flaws, it is a comprehensive learning tool, especially for beginners and intermediates.
Pros
- Minimal and clean UI
- Accurate note recognition
- Helpful tutorials with AI listening
- Well built, step-by-step lessons plan
- 400+ songs to learn
- Limited free lessons
Cons
- Can’t play within the app
- Can’t add personal music sheets
- Expensive monthly plan
Price: Starts at $19.99 | Download
Playing the piano or keyboard can be very therapeutic. But unfortunately, learning to play one is not so simple. However, you can always have the Skoove app by your side to simplify the piano learning process.
But why Skoove? Because it leverages AI to teach and improve your piano skills. How? Read the review to know more.
Step-by-step piano lessons with Skoove
Skoove is a unique iOS app and web platform offering interactive piano and keyboard lessons. The AI almost doubles as a real-life teacher. Moreover, this is the first piano-learning app to offer a dedicated app for M1 devices.
Firstly, it teaches you piano step-by-step, aka one key at a time. And then, listens to you and corrects mistakes like a personal teacher. Besides, you get similar features on the app’s desktop version too, including looping, improved pitch detection, tempo, and more.
Let AI help you improve
Skoove doesn’t let you play piano or keyboard within the app. Instead, it invites you to play the instrument while it carefully listens. The smart AI almost correctly recognizes the notes you played in real-time and points out mistakes if any.
Additionally, the AI slowly and steadily comprehends your strengths and weaknesses and accordingly builds up the next lesson plan.
But what’s cool is that Skoove recognized the right and wrong notes instantly and went blue and red accordingly.
I also love that as the music/sheet moves on, the on-screen hand position also changes. The idea is to teach you the correct finger placements to play the piece perfectly. Quite like a real teacher, I must say.
Lessons for everyone
Another interesting feature of Skoove is that it’ll help piano players regardless of their learning stage. It houses various courses (Piano lesson plans) that’ll help, including:
- Beginners to understand the basics,
- Intermediates to practice, and
- Pros to perfect their skill set.
There are also courses on reading sheet music, building chords and scales, learning about harmonies, arrangements, etc. As a mix between beginner and intermediate (I haven’t played a keyboard in years), I really appreciate the structure of these lessons.
Once you select a song, there are a few options. You can start with getting to know the song, learn the keys, and then once you’re all caught up, play with the song. The interface of all three sections is quite similar so that you won’t have a problem sailing through.
You also get some control in individual lessons, such as pauses, plays, restart, etc. But most importantly, it allows you to temper the tempo to bring precision to every note. And thanks to a looping feature, you can create a loop of the tricky section until you nail it.
Practice until you become a pro
Skoove offers over 400 lessons and thousands of instructional videos. The app has it all, from chart hits by John Legend, Adele, Coldplay, etc., to classical pieces by Beethoven, Mozart, Bach, and more.
There are even categories like advanced pop, blues and boogie-woogie, Christmas songs, Queen songs, and Florian Christl songs. You can either stick to one genre or switch between them with a tap.
Skoove also allows you to connect your digital keyboards/pianos via USB MIDI or Bluetooth MIDI to your iPhone or play an acoustic piano while it listens. So, it’s a win-win situation for any and every kind of piano/keyboard player.
Since I don’t have a piano or keyboard handy right now, I played the piece via a virtual piano player. Interestingly my office fellas joined me in the exercise, because who doesn’t like playing some music.
Should you groove with Skoove?
Let’s start with a confession; I am no musician or piano expert. However, I am a music lover who likes to tinker with keyboards and apps. So, I guess it gives me enough authority to praise or critique the Skoove app.
The Skoove app is really simple; its AI works flawlessly in detecting the notes and suggests appropriate next lessons. Moreover, you get a personalized learning experience similar to tutoring classes. I also love that there are various songs to choose from, so I can skip a lesson plan and do some fun on my own.
Although the app claims to be BFFs with beginners, it doesn’t start the lessons with basic Do Re Me. And that’s pretty surprising; after all, the beginning should be from the beginning, no?
I also think the app should have a built-in piano/keyboard to practice, allowing users to practice even when traveling or when they don’t have instruments handy. But that’s just maybe a me-thing to demand more from an app! You should go ahead and give it a shot.
Price:
- 1 Month – $19.99
- 3 Month – $39.99
- 12 Month – $119.99
