To learn a song on piano online, open the Piano coach, add the song as a recording or a MIDI file, and press Play. The notes fall onto the keys at the speed you pick, coloured by hand with finger numbers on the next ones, and every take you play on a MIDI keyboard or your computer keyboard is scored. Loop one section at a time, slow it down, then raise the speed as your score climbs. The Piano coach is free, runs in your browser and needs no account. No piano at all? The Air piano turns your desk into keys through your camera.

What do you need?

• A MIDI keyboard, connected to your computer. Web MIDI works in Chrome and Edge. Without one, your computer keyboard's home row plays from middle C, which is enough to learn a right-hand tune.
• The song as a MIDI file (.mid, .midi or .kar) or as a recording (MP3, WAV or M4A). No song yet? Ode to Joy is built in, both hands, to try the coach on.
• A camera if you want the coach to watch your hands. It is optional.

How to add a song

1. Open the Piano coach.
2. Drop a file on the coach, or open the song menu in the bar and press Add a song.
3. A MIDI file is ready at once. A recording shows as Transcribing while it is turned into piano notes in your browser, with its progress on screen. It plays when it is done.
4. The coach splits the notes between your hands. A MIDI file with one channel per hand keeps them as they are; anything else is split where your hands move least.
5. It also cuts the song into sections at its pauses and names them by letter, so a repeat reads as one: "A A B A".

A recording works best with the piano up front. If it can't be turned into notes, the coach says so: add a clearer recording, or the song's MIDI file.

How to practise a song with the Piano coach

1. Pick the song in the song menu. Songs you have played sit under Learning with your best score; the rest under Next up.
2. Choose your hands with L and R in the bar. A hand you switch off plays along on its own, so you can learn the right hand over the left.
3. Set the speed in the bar: from 50% to 125%. Slower stretches the song and keeps every note in step.
4. Press a section in the strip above the screen to loop it from its start. Press it again to let the song run on.
5. Press Play, or Space, and play along. The keys light what sounds now and what comes next, with a finger number on the next note of each hand: 1 is the thumb, 5 the little finger.
6. Stuck on a passage? In settings (the sliders button), turn on Wait for me at each note. The song stops at each note until you play it.

When the take ends, it is scored: a note counts when you press the right key within a fifth of a second of its time, measured in real time, so a slower speed doesn't make it easier to hit late. Your takes and scores stay in this browser.

Waterfall, Mirror and Space: the three views

Switch views at the top of the coach.

• Waterfall: the notes fall onto an on-screen keyboard, coloured by hand. The best view to start a song.
• Mirror: the notes fall onto your own keys, through your camera. Press Turn on camera, then Line up the camera with your keys in settings. Find the keys fits the outline from the picture, or you drag its four corners, and you pick your keyboard's size. Your hands are traced over the picture.
• Space: the song laid out in 3D with a take over it. Notes you hit are filled, missed ones outlined, and stray notes stand out. With the camera on, your hands' trail rises from where they were. Pick a take in the take menu and drag to turn the view.

Connect a MIDI keyboard

Open settings and press Connect a MIDI keyboard, then allow MIDI when the browser asks. The keyboard's name shows once it is found, and it reconnects on its own next time. A keyboard with no speakers of its own can sound through your computer: turn on Play it through the speakers, and pick the sound in the bar.

If the browser blocks MIDI, allow it in the site settings and connect again. If the browser has no MIDI at all, open the Piano coach in Chrome or Edge.

Can you learn piano without a piano?

Yes, to start. The Air piano draws two octaves of keys on your desk through your camera. Tap a finger down and the key under it plays, harder for louder, held while your finger rests.

1. Open the Air piano and press Turn on camera. A laptop's front camera looking at the desk works.
2. The setup walks you through five steps: check the camera, show where the keys are, rest your fingers on the desk for two seconds, tap each lit key, and you are ready to play. It tunes itself to your taps.
3. Play. Slide a finger toward the screen for the black keys. The arrows in the bar move the keys an octave lower or higher, and you can pick the sound.

For real keys under your fingers, press Print a paper keyboard in How to play. It saves a PDF of two octaves at near real size on one landscape sheet, A4 or Letter, and the setup fits its outline to the print. In poor light the Air piano says Move into the light; with a hand half out of view, Keep your fingertips in view. With the camera off, tap the keys on screen or use your computer's home row. Nothing of the picture leaves your browser.

The Air piano teaches where the notes are. Touch and pedalling need a real keyboard, and the Piano coach.

A practice routine that works

The Piano coach sets a goal of 15 minutes a day, shown as a ring in the bar. Practise every day rather than for an hour once a week.

• One section, one hand, slow. Loop a section, switch off one hand, and start at 60-70%. Use Wait for me at each note for the first few passes.
• Raise the speed in small steps. When a section scores high two or three times in a row, move it up one step, 10% at a time, toward 100%.
• Then put it together. Both hands at a slower speed, then the next section, then two sections in a row.
• When it gets easy, take the help away. Turn off waiting, play at full speed, then try 110% or 125% so 100% feels relaxed.
• When it falls apart, go back a step. Lower the speed or return to one hand. That is practice, not failure.

What does progress look like?

Your best score shows beside each song in the song menu, and each take is kept with its score and speed. In Space, compare takes: the missed notes cluster in the bars you still need to slow down, and that cluster shrinks take by take. Progress is the same score at a higher speed, then the same speed with both hands, then the whole song without looping.

Want to know the key or the chords of the song first? See how to find the key of a song. To train the ear that helps you play by ear, try the Ear trainer.

The Piano coach and the Air piano are included with Aden. When you start writing your own songs, sign up at aden.space to keep tracks, versions and feedback in one place.

FAQ

How can I learn a song on piano online for free?

Use Aden's Piano coach. Add the song as a MIDI file or a recording, slow it down, loop a section and play along on a MIDI keyboard or your computer keyboard. It is free, runs in your browser and needs no account.

Can I learn piano without a piano?

You can start. The Air piano uses your camera to put two octaves of keys on your desk, or on a paper keyboard you print. It teaches where the notes are and how a tune moves under your hands. For touch and technique you will want a keyboard later.

How do I learn a piano song from a recording?

Add the recording to the Piano coach. It turns the piano part into notes in your browser, splits them between your hands and cuts the song into sections. A recording with the piano up front works best; if you have the MIDI file, that is exact.

Can I connect a MIDI keyboard to a website?

Yes, in browsers with Web MIDI, such as Chrome and Edge. In the Piano coach, open settings, press Connect a MIDI keyboard and allow MIDI when the browser asks.

How long should I practise piano each day?

The Piano coach sets 15 minutes a day. Spent on one section at a time, that is enough for steady progress on a short song. More time helps, but practising every day matters more than long sessions.

Are my songs uploaded?

No. Songs, takes and scores stay in your browser. A recording is turned into notes on your own computer.