How Thomas, Annabelle and Marion learned their first songs with flowkey
Playing the first song by heart within three days
- Name: Thomas
- Age: 38 Years
- City: Hannover, Germany
- Level: Beginner
- Experience: None
Had you ever played the piano before using flowkey?
No, I had never played an instrument before. My wife did buy me a gift certificate for a piano lesson for my birthday once, but I haven’t used it yet.
How did you find out about flowkey?
Even though I had never played the piano before, I had wanted to learn for a long time. And I asked myself: how can I do that? Where do I start? What makes sense for me? Then I looked for answers online. I tried one or two things but they didn’t work for me. And then a coworker told me about flowkey and I was impressed right away.
Why did you look online for learning opportunities?
I definitely wanted to find an option where I could learn at home, without a teacher. After all, even if I’m supposed to go to a teacher once a week, I have to “do the homework” and practice on my own anyway. And since I have very little knowledge of reading music, I was looking for a way to learn without outside help.
Why does flowkey work for you?
Unlike other online options, I don’t always need to jump back and forth to find a spot in the video. I find that really frustrating. With flowkey, I can just set up a loop and practice in a continuous loop. Flowkey is clear and well laid-out and it’s easy for me to see which key I’m supposed to play. I can practice when and how I want and on my own time. I also feel a sense of achievement quickly with flowkey, since it doesn’t take long until you can play a short song.
What has given you the biggest sense of achievement so far with flowkey?
I signed up on a Monday and practiced two hours right away because I was excited. The next day I sat down at the piano again and kept practicing. By Thursday I could play the beginner version of “Counting Stars” from memory. I would have never expected that, since I had never played the piano before. That kind of achievement motivates you, of course.
What are your next goals on the piano?
I would just like to keep learning more songs so that at some point I can maybe play about twenty songs and improve when it comes to reading music. Playing the piano is really a nice hobby, it allows me to switch off and just enjoy myself. And flowkey helps me do that.
Being successful without reading sheet music
- Name: Annabelle
- Age: 23 Years
- City: Paris, France
- Level: Beginner
- Experience: None
Had you ever played the piano before using flowkey?
No, never. This is the first time I’m actually learning a piece. I learned to read music a bit in school, but that was a long time ago and it was just the basics.
How did you find out about flowkey?
My boyfriend plays the piano, so that’s how I found out about it. He told me about flowkey and showed me the app. I liked the design from the start, and then I just tried it out. Ever since, I’ve been working hard at playing the piano.
Why does flowkey work for you?
I find flowkey great because I don’t need to know how to read sheet music but I can still learn pieces. I also feel like it’s going very fast, even for me as a beginner. The song selection is fantastic and I’m already excited for when I can eventually play the more challenging songs too. It’s also important for me to be able to arrange the timing for myself and be independent. On top of my studies and my job, I don’t want to be committed to extra appointments in my free time.
How do you learn a song with flowkey?
First I just listen to the piece. That way I know how the melody sounds in the piano version. Then I start learning a small section. To do this I pick a section which sounds manageable to me and start practicing it with my right hand in Wait mode. Then I add the left hand. Once I can sort of play through the section, then I move on to the next section.
What was the first song you learned and how long did it take?
The first song I learned all the way through was the simple version of the Tetris theme. The melody is great even for beginners since it’s very simple and everyone knows it. It took about three days for me to be able to play the song properly. Over those three days, I practiced about 30 minutes a day. Now I’m in the process of increasing the tempo and playing in time. It’s really a lot of fun for me.
What has given you the biggest sense of achievement so far with flowkey?
For me, that was the moment I could actually play Tetris the whole way through for the first time without looking at the app. I was totally excited because it went much faster than I thought it would.
What are your next goals on the piano?
Next I’d like to learn a Christmas song and surprise my family with it on Christmas Eve. I particularly like “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer”; I’m going to start on that soon.
Start learning to play piano at any age
- Name: Marion
- Age: 66 Jahre
- City: Essen, Germany
- Level: Intermediate
- Experience: Some
Had you ever played the piano before using flowkey?
I always wanted to play the piano, but I wasn’t allowed to learn as a child. Before flowkey, I took a few lessons with a piano teacher. But then when he moved away, I couldn’t find any who offered comparable prices, so I stopped taking lessons.
How did you find out about flowkey?
Even when I stopped going to the teacher, I wanted to fulfill my dream of playing the piano anyway, so I looked online to see if I could find simple sheet music that would help me learn on my own. I looked everywhere to find more information about learning to play the piano, and that’s when I stumbled onto flowkey.
Why did you look online for learning opportunities?
Since I couldn’t find any suitable teachers in my area after my piano teacher moved away, it seemed logical to me to look online for other options.
Why does flowkey work for you?
When I looked on your website and read that the app would listen to me and that I would get feedback based on pitch recognition, I found that exciting. I thought to myself, “That’s really brilliant. Even as an ‘eternal beginner’, I can monitor myself and teach myself songs.” I can read sheet music a bit, but I still often need to “count off” the notes. It’s hard to make significant progress like that, and you can forget about actually making music. Not to even mention enjoying the music. With flowkey, I see right away which key I have to play and make much faster progress and can enjoy the music.
I’m a spontaneous person and I don’t like to limit myself. flowkey is ideal in that way. I can choose something from any genre I like, depending on what I’m in the mood for. It’s perfect for night owls like me, since you can practice with headphones at night. With flowkey I have the freedom to practice when I want and play whatever I feel like playing at the moment. I would not have his level of freedom with a teacher. What more could you ask for! As far as I’m concerned, flowkey is the piano lesson of the future.
What has given you the biggest sense of achievement so far with flowkey?
For me, flowkey has really been an unbelievably great experience overall because it suits me perfectly. I can finally learn what I wasn’t allowed to learn as a child. flowkey is the best I could have hoped for, even at a later age. I have fun with the music and I’ve already learned a few songs like the theme from Swan Lake, both the simple and advanced versions.
What are your next goals on the piano?
I’m certainly not going to become a concert pianist, but at some point I would love to be able to play a few more challenging classical pieces fluently, sonatas ideally, and then also play them in front of other people.