Playing a musical instrument is one of the most rewarding activities. You’re never too young or too old to learn any instrument if you have the will. Thanks to modern technology, anyone can start learning without pricy lessons with a personal teacher or having to attend music school for several years. Now you don’t even have to watch YouTube tutorials or take online classes – there are tons of applications and services available. We’ve compiled a list of the best ones that will help with the very beginning steps and take your skills to the advanced level.

musicLabe

Devices: iOS, Android

Price: Free, in-app purchases

This mobile application for learning and creating music is also an instrument in its own right. It comes in a unique design based on the harmonization of the Circle of Fifths and the Movable-do solfège method. It’s a pleasure to use and easy to navigate between features and settings. musicLabe is packed with handy functions that cover all needs of any beginning musician – scales that you can pitch with a simple swipe, also a tutorial, high-quality instruments, loop achievements and more. It enables you to seamlessly get into music theory, improvise, compose your own music pieces on the fly, record and share them with others. With musicLabe you learn right in the process of playing.

Drum School

Devices: macOS, iOS, Android

Price: Free trial, $11.99

This application walks you through the basics of drumming, no experience in reading music notation is required. Over 300 drum grooves broken down their basic components, 166 practice lessons (rudiments, rolls, flams, drags) with hand and coordination exercises, 12 video demonstrations, variable tempo ranges, detailed descriptions and learning tips - everything you need is at your fingertips. Drum School provides easy access to a huge library of high-quality drum loops you can play along and use as a reference. It also covers a variety of styles, from rock, metal and punk to blues, hip hop, house, bossa nova and many more.

GuitarTuna

Devices: iOS, Android

Price: Free, in-app purchases

This application was created by guitarists for guitarists. It has over 100 tunings (standard, drop tunings, open tunings, half step down, etc.) for guitar, bass, ukulele, violin, cello, and 10 more string instruments. GuitarTuna helps to improve skills in tabs, chords, riffs and increase the picking speed. The audio recognition algorithm detects the guitar sounds and displays which notes it registers. Metronome, chord library, chromatic tuner, learning games – these and other features of the application can take to the guitar pro level.

Simply Piano

Devices: iOS, Android

Price: Free, in-app purchases

This is one of the most popular applications for learning piano due to its efficiency and extensive information given in a fun, accessible way. It covers the piano playing basics step-by-step, guiding you through the learning journey from reading sheet music to confidently playing with both hands. Simply Piano gives 5-minute workouts personalized for each user depending on their skill level. It allows you to slow down audio material so that you can learn and play at your own pace. You don’t need to have the actual instrument at home – Simply Piano provides the virtual one. This application alone covers 2 years of in-person piano learning courses.

Tonestro

Devices: iOS, Android

Price: Free, in-app purchases

This application can teach you how to play brass and woodwind instruments in no time. It works like a music tutor that helps you learn and gives feedback on pitch and rhythm. Built-in tuner, metronome, fingering charts, music theory lessons, exercises – everything needed for proper music education. With Tonestro you can learn to play trumpet, clarinet, flute, saxophone, trombone, French horn, tuba, recorder and euphonium. It has a large sheet music library that covers all music genres. Weekly competitive challenges with musicians from around help improve the skills and reach new levels of mastery.

Yousician

Devices: Windows/macOS, iOS, Android

Price: Free trial, subscription from $19.99/month

This application provides a personalized learning process for those who want to play the piano, guitar, bass, ukulele, as well as get vocal training. It has a built-in instrument tuner, on-screen instrument player, singing mode, regular challenges for fun, practice, and competition with others. The sound detection feature allows Yousician to accurately evaluate your playing skills and point out what should be improved. Experienced music tutors issue notes and targets weekly to encourage you to constantly get better. The application is suitable for beginners, advanced players, and professionals alike.

LALAL.AI

Devices: Web, cross-platform

Price: Free, paid options from $10

This online service can be used for vocal and instrument practice, as well as for ear training. Suitable for more experienced learners, LALAL.AI helps to get vocals, instrumental and separate instruments from any song and even video. You can use it to cut out a vocal part, background music, drums, bass, piano, synthesizer, electric and acoustic guitars to then utilize the extracted tracks to train your ear, practice playing an instrument, and make song covers. The results can be downloaded in the same quality and format as the original file, requiring no additional conversion.

VoxTrain

Devices: Web, iOS, Android

Price: Subscription, $8.99/month

This application can replace a vocal teacher as it gives everything required for understanding your voice and improving singing with the use of breathing, tone and control. It guides you through from the very beginning steps by using interactive tools. Informative content, video instructions, exercises and real-time feedback allow you to gradually improve your skills and broaden your knowledge of singing. VoxTrain can take you from the basics all the way to the advanced level in 18 weeks.

Perfect Ear

Devices: iOS, Android

Price: Free, in-app purchases

This application aims at anyone who wants to improve their ear training, beginners and professionals alike. It also offers rhythm training, solfège lessons, note reading and music theory lessons. With the help of Perfect Ear, you can practice intervals, chords and scales, learn how to recognize rhythm durations and read sheet music. The application includes a pitch trainer, note singing trainer, scale dictionary and tons of exercises that will help you become a better musician.

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