Best Online Piano Course Now Revealed:
InDepth 3 Course Review!

So you're looking for the best online piano course for your money right? I think this article should easily cover it...

As a beginner pianist and after spending hours researching this very same decision myself only 4 months back, I was inspired to write this article and publish it online to help people just like you to also uncover the best online piano course...

...because there is nothing worse than picking the wrong product and frustrating yourself with an even steeper learning curve, right?

So I actually ended up buying several courses. I admit I asked for a refund on some of them because I simply didn't need all these online piano courses on my PC, but this allowed me to see into each piano course in depth and come to a balanced conclusion on the best course.

Sidenote: Before I get started, I'd like to say a quick thankyou to the people who have been emailing me after reading this review and buying the #1 piano course that I recommend. It seems my number one choice was more than just my own professional opinion after all! I really do appreciate that! (If you'd like to email me, you can at nick (dot) brighton (at) hotmail.com)

 

So, in ascending order, please enjoy my review of the best online piano course money can buy...

Runners Up...

Piano Coach Pro Review (3rd place)

Launched several months ago, Piano Coach Pro is advertised as a comprehensive video piano course. On their sales page, they loudly announce that now... "You don't need to go to music school! Learn how to play piano like a pro right now"

We regret to inform those that may be interested in Piano Coach Pro that this piano course is not exactly as advertised, and poor use of your money. Considering this course is one of the cheapest we've reviewed, that's saying an awful lot. For more information, be sure to read our full review.

Piano Coach Pro is a spin-off of Instrument Master Pro, which was created by Jamie Lewis who seems to have gone by the name Jay Dynasty, which was associated with the dismal music learning sites, Instrument Master Pro and Music Master Pro.

Features

From Piano Coach Pro's main site, they list some of the features their course provides.

Piano Coach Pro says: "200 lessons, 18 Video lessons, 20 audio lessons, Exclusive Jam tracks, exercises, scales, chords, and step by step instructions for all stages. In addition to the exclusive system, you will be given 1000+ scales and arpeggios"

In actuality,all you get is approximately 30 minutes of piano video lessons in the member's area, and one short .pdf on piano theory. The site also guarantees regular updates. We haven't seen one addition as of yet. We have no other way of interpreting this than a not so obvious scam.

The main component of this course, the videos were recorded at an ultra-low resolution which means that they are very small on your screen. They actually look like they were shot by a webcam, and unfortunately the quality of the teaching is about the same. The videos, are haphazardly thrown together on the video download page with no apparent order. Needless to say, the course material included in this course gets a D- for quality. Realize we're not trying to be negative here, but are just reporting it as it is.

The actual video lessons touch on various topics including: common chords, ear training, major arpeggios, and some aspects of rhythm.

Piano Coach Pro currently contains the following:

   1. 10 short Piano Instructional Videos (Quicktime format)
   2. 1 .pdf on Music Theory
   3. 4 piano scales and chord diagrams

One of the few pluses of this course is that you do get access to other courses Jamie Lewis has assembled recently. These courses are on the guitar and violin, and are of similar quality as Piano Coach Pro. This bonus probably won't be helpful the majority of people out there, but it's there nonetheless. In lieu of proper jam tracks, you are given access to Beats365.com which is also owned by Jamie Lewis.

Support/Warranty

Piano Coach Pro has a single email address available for you to contact if you want to talk to someone about the course or run into any issues. We have yet to hear back to them about a question we submitted.

Piano Coach Pro fortunately comes with a 30-day guarantee, which is the standard for most downloadable learning products.

Setup/Compatibility

No issues as videos are in quicktime format and therefore are compatible with both PCs and Macs.
Price

Sure, Piano Coach Pro is a cheap course. However in this instance, you get what you pay for... actually much less in this case.
Conclusion

Conclusion

There is no reason to bother with Piano Coach Pro as the lesson quality and quantity are amateurish at best. If you want a good downloadable piano course, take a look at our top choice in that category, Rocket Piano.

Piano by Pattern Review (2nd place)

Created for complete beginners, Piano by Pattern was authored by pianist Albert Edge. This course specializes in teaching piano students the basics of learning to play piano by ear. We found it did a decent job of doing this.

Having said that while we believe that piano by pattern works ok for those who only want to know the bare bones of learning the piano by ear, it didn't do too terribly well in our estimation as anything resembling a complete learning piano package. However, this is probably not what it set out to do in the first place.
 
Features

Piano by Pattern comes with the following material:

   1. 9 main Video Lessons
   2. 4 additional Training Video Lessons
   3. Free Video Bonus: Secrets to Explosive Songwriting
   4. Free eBook Bonus: Read Music Now

The Piano by Pattern basically consists of 14 flash video tutorials which will show you the basics of learning piano by ear. You are given the option to download all of the videos at once in the member's download area, which was a much appreciated touch. The videos were created using Camtasia's screen capturing software, which we thought was very innovative. With these tutorials you can clearly see what piano keys and chords he is playing at any given time.

In the first video in the set that we looked at, we were disappointed to see that after only a couple minutes, the audio and video got derailed and became very badly out of synch. There was also an annoying scratching sound playing constantly going of in the background. Fortunately, we were pleased to find that none of the other thirteen videos had these problems.

The extra bonuses are nice, but nothing extraordinary by any means.

Support

Piano by Pattern's support options are currently limited to email support. Their response time is average.

Ease of Use

The on screen video lesson format and methods that Piano by Pattern make following Albert Edge's instruction very easy. In the teaching videos, for instance, you can see exactly what notes he is playing as they light up on your screen.

Setup/Compatibility

Videos and documentation work with either PC or Mac.
Warranty

Piano by Pattern guarantees their product with a 60-day money-back guarantee.

Price

Though Piano by Pattern recently reduced their selling price from $67 to $49, we still think it's a touch expensive for just learning basic piano chords.

Conclusion

Piano by Pattern is not for those looking to become a master pianists, but is mainly for those that just want to learn enough to have a little fun on the piano. For $10 less than what Piano by Pattern charges though, you can get a complete beginner to intermediate piano course by Rocket Piano, which is much better value.

But the winner is...

The #1 rank goes to Rocket Piano! 
Click HERE To Visit Rocket Piano Today!

Rocket Piano was created by the same people who developed the internet's best selling, pioneerng Jamorama software for guitarists. With their new product for aspiring pianists, they have once again set a new standard for online self tuition. This time, bringing budding pianists up to speed in mind-meltingly fast speed.

But don't worry, you can go at your own pace. The tuition is so well delivered that you'll quickly find yourself picking up the basics and seamlessly progressing onto more advanced piano stages whilst completely bypassing the usual months of tedious repetition! 

Their teaching style is second to none and is made even more fun by learning as you go, instead of trying to digest pages of those old stuffy piano theory books! The styles taught are everthing from jazz to gospel.

Rocket Piano will take you from a completely non-musical newbie and give you the information and skill you need to become a very good intermediate pianist.

"Rocket Piano's unique teaching methods reduces the steep learning curve that can be a problem with other methods of learning the piano or keyboard."

Your Rocket Piano lessons are delivered by Ruth Searle, who has over 15 years of specialist piano experience, along with a Bachelor of Arts behind her. This woman knows what she's talking about, yet delivers the course in a way that communicates perfectly to even the most inexperienced beginner!

Rocket Piano reduces your learning curve and makes learning the piano a much more enjoyable experience with their bonus downloadable software bundle. After all, the easiest way to learn piano is by making learning fun!
 
Features

Usually, these types of courses try and lunp everything together and expect you to put all the peices together yourself. With Rocket Piano however, the skill levels are carefully divided so that you progress in logical, yet manageable steps from a ground level beginner to top flight, stunning pianist.

That means you get not one, but 3 guides...

165 page beginners piano book
65 page intermediate's book
59 page advanced pianists book

Also included in the package are the bonus styles books:

• Introduction to Jazz,
• Advanced Techniques,
• Fingering Techniques and Exercises
• Introduction to Gospel Piano

...but we're not done yet, not at all...

One of the smartest features I enjoyed with the Rocket Piano Lessons, is the professionally produced, high-quality jam tracks that you can play along with on the piano as you progress. I loved how they also added a version of each song without piano accompaniment so you can go solo with the band if you wish!

This is just like they did with their guitar software, and this type of training makes it fun, as well as effective. I coulsn't beleive how much time past by when I was ripping through the hundreds of Jam tracks each night after work. And I didn't notice, but after time I was actually incorporating new skills without knowing! That's how powerful this approach really is.

The bonus software included in the package all help you develop your musical ability, and let you have fun doing it. Click HERE To Learn More About Rocket Piano! 

Here are the software titles Included in your Rocket Piano package:

Chordinator

Teaches you how to read piano chords off the musical staff

Perfect Your Pitch Trainer Pro

Probably our favourite software bonus. Does a great job of developing and training your ear

Jayde Musica Pro

Shows how to read music effectively

Rocket Piano Metronome

Great way to keep exact time

Keycelerator

An unadvertised bonus that you'll find great for identifying music chords.

Support

For online support, Rocket Piano has both a FAQ section in their members area, as well as dedicated email support.

So, how easy is all this to pick up and learm from?

There is quite a bit of material you'll have to download to start your lessons. Still, with a decent internet connection you can be up and running in a few minutes time. All the software is intuitive, and the lesson material (.pdfs, mp3s, etc) are well organized.

Setup/Compatibility

We had no issues downloading our lessons or using the software on our Win XP test machine. All the bonus software ran perfectly. Rocket Piano also has software versions for the Mac available in the member's download area.

Warranty

Rocket Piano has a 60-day, 100% money-back guarantee. If you decide you don't like Rocket Piano for any reason, you can get you money back without a hassle.
Price

For $39.95, and for the wealth of information and learning tools contained in this software package, this is something you should definitely check out. At this price, you'll come out much farther ahead than if you'd gone with private lessons.
Conclusion

Of all the downloadable piano courses we've reviewed, we believe Rocket Piano is best. It's not very expensive, gives you way more than your money's worth, and contains all the learning material you need to become a very good pianist.