Note & Disclaimer: Free piano lessons online are never a substitute for private lessons with a live teacher, especially if your child plans to pursue piano playing beyond the basics. They are, however, perfect for those children (and adults!) who would simply like to try the piano to see if it’s an instrument they are truly interested in playing before spending a fortune on private lessons.
When my daughter decided that she wanted to learn to play piano I honestly thought that it would last a few days and then she would decide she didn’t like it as much as she thought she would, much like with her recorder lessons. To my surprise, she really enjoyed the keyboard and has excelled at playing!
Having been trained in the basics of piano playing myself, I had a pretty good idea of the things that needed to be taught to a beginner. I went through two or three free online programs before settling on the one that we decided to use. We are still using that program today, nearly 2 years later!
Hopefully this list, and the descriptions of each, will save you a bit of time if you’re in search of free piano lessons that will be a good fit for your family.
Hoffman Academy
Hoffman Academy is probably the most popular online piano instruction for kids. It has been given fabulous reviews from families all over the world. It is a very well put together program and the teacher seems to really have a passion for his work.
Unfortunately, my kids weren’t impressed so we moved on. We are a strange brood in the Nerddom though and seem to be the only people on the planet that don't like the program. That being said, be sure to try it for yourself. Don't just take our opinion as the end all be all.
You can sign up for their newsletter and receive the 1st lesson completely free. If you choose to continue, you can sign up for the Basic program for free, which includes all of the video lessons. If you want access to online games and printable materials you’ll have to pay a monthly fee. You can see the packages, what’s included in each, and the cost here.
Piano Lessons for Children
Piano Lessons for Children is another popular program. The teacher, Maria Miller (creator of Math Mammoth curriculum), has provided 22 introductory lessons that you can access completely free.
The videos are very well done, showing both the teacher and her hands on the keyboard during the lesson. There is also plenty of explanation, links to printable sheet music and more.
Our only complaint with the program was that it was difficult to understand the teacher sometimes. My daughter was getting really frustrated having to pause and re-listen to the video in order to decipher what the teacher was saying.
Online Piano and Violin Tutor
After struggling through the above programs for a few days each, we finally settled on Alison, the Online Piano and Violin Tutor, and we’ve been there since. This is quality content made by a professional piano teacher. She has created an entire series of 40 teaching videos, complete with books that you can purchase to go along with the lessons. The entire course is fab.u.lous!
I highly, highly recommend this program!
You don’t HAVE to have the books to learn piano. The videos do an ample job of teaching and showing what you should be practicing between videos. However, they are a great compliment to the program and go through some concepts that either aren’t mentioned in the videos, or are skimmed over briefly. At $13 per book the cost is very minimal compared to private lessons. You’ll get roughly 10 lessons from each book. We spent a week on each lesson, so that’s $1.30 per week. Totally doable!
We’ll be starting up her violin lessons soon! Very excited!!
There are so many other free online piano programs and lessons available. A quick Google search will provide quite a list. These are the ones that we've personally used.
Have you used and recommend a program not mentioned here? Please let us know about it in the comments!
I REALY LOVE THIS PIANO GAME IT IS GOOD FOR KIDS!