Guides

Short how-tos for everything in Pianolingo. Questions about a piece? Ask the coach in the player.

Getting started

Find a piece, hear it, and play your first notes.

Open the Library and search by title, composer or arranger, or hum the tune.
Choose a score and press Play. The sheet music and the falling notes move together.
Press Listen first. Then try Wait for me: the music waits until you play the right note.
If you are new, take the placement session in Practice so Pianolingo can suggest pieces at your level.

Views, tempo, loops, hands, metronome and the keyboard.

Switch between sheet and falling notes, sheet only, falling notes only, or keyboard with the buttons at the top.
Type a measure number to start from there, or tap a measure in the sheet.
Slow the tempo down with the slider or the 50% and 75% buttons. The pitch stays the same.
Loop a few measures to practise a hard spot. Turn on the metronome and a count-in to keep time.
In the hands panel you can mute a hand, play one hand quietly, or practise one hand at a time.
Sound settings let you choose the acoustic or digital piano and set the piano and metronome volumes separately.

Listen, Wait for me and Play along, and what your results mean.

Listen plays the piece while you follow. Nothing is graded.
Wait for me stops at each note until you play it, so you can learn the notes at your own speed.
Play along keeps going at the tempo you chose and marks each note on time, early, late, missed or wrong.
After an attempt you see your accuracy, the measures that need work, and one thing to try next. Press Loop hardest to practise those measures.
Record an attempt with the microphone to be scored on a real piano. This is an estimate: if the result says it could not hear you clearly, try again closer to the piano.

Connect a MIDI keyboard or use your computer keys.

Connect a MIDI keyboard by USB, press Connect a MIDI keyboard in the Practice panel, and allow access when the browser asks. Chrome and Edge support this; Safari does not.
No piano nearby? Turn on Use my computer keyboard. The Z row starts at C3 and the Q row at C4. The keys just above each row (S, D, G… and 2, 3, 5…) play the black notes. Use the up and down arrows to change the octave and Space for the pedal.
You can also tap or click the keys on the screen.

Import a recording and get a playable score.

In My music, press Add music. Choose an audio file, paste a direct link to one, or record with the microphone.
Pick up to three minutes to analyse and choose what it is: solo piano, a song with chords, a single melody, or separate instruments.
Everything is analysed on your device. Only Separate instruments uploads the chosen part, and only after you agree; it is deleted from our server once the parts are on your device.
Separate instruments needs a separation service. Where it is not available, Pianolingo says so and offers a quick three-band split instead.
Then set up the rhythm: listen with the click and keep it, tap along, or type the tempo. This is what puts the barlines in the right place.
Recording with the click gives exact barlines from the start, because Pianolingo knows where every beat is.
MusicXML and MIDI files can be added too. They open straight in the player.

Correct a transcription in the piano roll.

Open a piece in My music and press Edit.
Drag notes to move them and drag their right edge to change their length. Use Draw notes to add new ones and Delete to remove them.
Choose left or right hand for selected notes, or let Split hands do it for the whole piece.
Drag a barline in the ruler if a bar starts in the wrong place, or use Fix rhythm to change the tempo, time signature or first downbeat. The notes do not need to be transcribed again.
Undo and redo work for every change. Export MusicXML for notation programs, or MIDI either lined up to bars or exactly as played.

Ask for a score and vote for others.

Search first: the song may already be in the Library or requested by someone else.
If not, send a request with the title and performer or composer. Then vote for the requests you want most.
On a regular schedule the most-voted requests are selected to be arranged. Selected and published requests move to their own tabs, and you get a message when one you voted for is published.

Learn to read notes quickly.

Note reading games show a note on the staff or a key on the keyboard. Answer before the time runs out.
Correct answers earn coins, and a streak earns a bonus. Coins count towards the weekly ranking and the current competition.
Prefer to practise without scores? Turn on Hide games, coins and rankings in Settings.

Share plans, goals and attempts.

Your teacher gives you an invite code. Enter it under Practice, My teachers.
Your teacher can then see your plan and progress, set goals, suggest a practice schedule and comment on attempts you choose to share.
Teachers apply from the Teacher page. You can disconnect from a teacher at any time.

Free and paid plans, renewals and help.

Free accounts can play previews of premium scores and every free score in full. Paid plans unlock full scores, downloads, more transcriptions and more assistant messages.
Paid plans can be bought only where payments are set up. If they are not, the Plans page says so and shows the prices for information only.
You choose how long to subscribe for. Unused time is credited when you upgrade, and you can turn automatic renewal off at any time.
If a purchase did not unlock your plan, use the recovery code from your receipt under Account, or contact support.