For Parents

Our Free Piano App for Kids Makes Learning Fun

By Rebecca Carlson
Best Piano App for Kids & It's Free!

Discover why our free piano app for kids has been listed as the best

Learning to play the piano can be fun for everyone with Hoffman Academy. Our free piano app for kids, which you can use by visiting our website on any computer or mobile device, guides students from absolute beginner to confident musician who can read music, play by ear, transpose, improvise, and compose music of their own! 

Can kids learn piano with an app?

Yes, children can learn to play the piano using apps! There are so many piano learning apps available, catering to a wide range of age groups and skill levels. Most piano apps include tutorials, games, and practice exercises designed to engage and teach in a fun, interactive way.

Be sure to keep in mind that the effectiveness of learning with a piano app depends on a child’s age, motivation, and individual learning style. Also, just like with traditional in-person piano lessons, parental support is absolutely essential for a child’s success in their music learning.

Benefits of learning piano with Hoffman Academy

Hoffman Academy has been ranked as the very best piano app for kids. Here are some of the benefits of learning piano with us:

  • Comprehensive Curriculum: Our complete, well-structured curriculum is perfect for beginning through intermediate pianists. We cover music theory, note reading, ear training, technique, transposing, improvising, composing, and more. 
  • Engaging and Child-Friendly Approach: Children love Mr. Hoffman’s engaging, interactive teaching style. Clear explanations, visuals, and silly finger puppets help make learning the piano fun and enjoyable for young students.
  • Accessibility with Our Free Piano App: With Hoffman Academy, you can learn any time, from the comfort of your own home. We designed our program so that even families with busy schedules or limited access to in-person lessons can learn piano!
  • Free Content: All of our Hoffman Academy video lessons are 100% free! Not only that, many of our downloadable learning resources and reference guides to help piano students get started are free as well.
  • Clear Progression: Our curriculum is designed with a clear progression of skills in mind, ensuring that students build a solid foundation before moving on to more advanced concepts. This structured approach helps learners develop their musical abilities step by step, preparing them to advance their piano skills as far as they dream of going.
  • Focus on Technique: Proper technique is crucial for piano players to play comfortably and with precision. Hoffman Academy emphasizes good hand positioning, posture, and fingering techniques from the start.
  • Musical Diversity: Our lessons cover various musical styles, from classical to popular music, allowing students to explore a wide range of musical genres.
  • Supportive Community: Join our online community where students and parents can connect, share their progress, and seek support or advice from others who are also learning with us. We also hold virtual recitals where students from all over the world can celebrate each other’s music performances!
  • Parent Involvement: For young piano students, parent involvement is crucial for success, whether for online or in-person lessons. At Hoffman Academy, we encourage parent involvement and give you the tools to support your child’s piano learning journey.
  • An Affordable Piano App: Hoffman Academy’s free content makes it an affordable choice for everyone. We also have a premium option, which includes access to all of our sheet music, online games, and learning resources, and is still priced at much less than traditional in-person piano lessons. 

But don’t just take our word for it! Check out this review on HigherHZ, this one by The Nerdy Parent, and this one by Juice Box Homeschool.

What’s it like to learn piano with Hoffman Academy?

Most Hoffman Academy students have an account on the Hoffman Academy website. Free accounts give students access to our list of over 300 piano video lessons. Hoffman Academy lessons can also be watched directly from YouTube. Mr. Hoffman and his finger puppet crew finish off each lesson with a silly comedy sketch, so don’t forget to watch to the end for a fun surprise!

After watching a lesson, students should practice for a few days, rewatching the lesson if needed, before moving on to the next lesson. For younger students, we encourage an older practice partner to be a part of their daily practice time. This will keep them on track and help them see that making music is a fun, social activity.

For students with a premium account, lessons come with printable sheet music and music theory worksheets. Audio tracks, both for listening to help students learn the song, and also for playing along with to make practice time more fun, are available for download. Each lesson is followed by a list of daily practice activities that make sure a student is reviewing what they’ve already learned as well as working on new skills. Students can also play online games in our piano app that help them develop an understanding of the musical alphabet, improve their note reading skills, and learn rhythms.

Premium students also have access to our entire library of supplemental sheet music, music theory worksheets, and handy reference guides for scales, chords, music symbols, and more. 

How often should a child take piano lessons?

With traditional, in-person piano lessons, most students see their teacher only once a week. Hoffman Academy students are encouraged to watch two or even three video lessons per week, depending on how quickly they are able to learn the concepts in each lesson. This allows students to go at their own pace, never having to wait until next week to learn something new.

When a student is having difficulty with a lesson, they can rewatch it as many times as they need to. Or, if they find the concepts in a lesson easy for them to understand, they can move on to the next lesson as soon as they want.

How long are Hoffman Academy lessons?

Most Hoffman Academy lessons are around 10-15 minutes long. Shorter lessons help keep younger children engaged. They’re easy to fit into any kind of schedule. Each lesson presents only a few key concepts, which students should learn before they move on to the next lesson. This focused, step-by-step approach supports successful long-term learning.

How much do students need to practice with Hoffman Academy lessons?

Between lessons, students should be practicing what they’ve learned. The amount of daily practice that a student needs will increase as they advance in their piano studies. For a beginner, 10-15 minutes of practice a day is a great starting point. By the time students reach Hoffman Academy Unit 3, we recommend about 20 minutes of practice a day. From there, students can gradually work up to 30 minutes or more. 

Rather than practice for a set amount of time, we encourage students to complete a short list of practice tasks in each practice session. Students with Hoffman Academy Premium get a new list of practice tasks with each lesson, designed to help them grow new skills while reviewing what they’ve already learned.

What’s unique about Hoffman Academy’s free piano app for kids?

Hoffman Academy is the only online music learning system with a child-centered, “discovery” learning approach. Learning the piano feels like play, and kids don’t even realize how much their skills and understanding are growing along the way.

Another thing that makes Hoffman Academy stand out is a very rich curriculum that packs in so much great music to learn, plus music theory, history, improvisation, composition, and more. It’s the broadest, most comprehensive music program you can find.

Best of all, kids find our piano app fun! They love the puppets, the games, and all the creative fun elements that make Hoffman Academy a joyful way to learn the piano.

Give our free piano app for kids a try!

Ready to start your first lesson? You can watch it on our piano app and download the printable materials for free!

We also offer a 30-day money back guarantee on Hoffman Academy Premium, no questions asked. Start your piano learning journey today!

Read Next