OKTAV vs. Flowkey vs. Tomplay vs. MuseScore: The Best Piano Lesson Providers Online

What is OKTAV?

OKTAV is your gateway to the world of piano music, allowing you to learn and play from the comfort of your own home! Tailored to your personal preferences and skills, OKTAV combines the largest sheet music library for piano (20,000+ piano arrangements) with a broad variety of piano learning options (100+ video courses for beginners and more).

Whether you're a beginner or a seasoned player, OKTAV offers you a lifetime's supply of sheet music in over 14 genres including Classical, Jazz, Pop, and more. OKTAV allows you to always find music that inspires and challenges you. It will help you build your repertoire - whether you prefer to print sheet music or you'd like to save your favorites digitally. In addition to the web platform, OKTAV offers its own iOS sheet music app.

If you want to focus on learning & improving, you'll also find everything you require: Step-by-step video courses in 3 languages (English, German, French) guide absolute beginners taking the first few steps on their instruments. More advanced players or restarters find other courses catering to their needs. If you'd like to deep-dive into a particular piece, you can just take a tutorial where a detailed explanation will break the piece down for you and make it accessible. You'll also find method books and worksheets.

OKTAV is not merely a sheet music archive but your partner in your musical journey. Several subscription options allow you to choose the one that suits your needs best. No matter if you prefer monthly subscriptions or commit for a year, you always gain full access to sheet music, interactive scores, and all learning material. A free trial week allows you to discover everything OKTAV offers without any risk! With OKTAV, you invest in your musical future. Revel in the liberty of playing your favorite pieces whenever you want, because everywhere and anytime you have it at your fingertips.

What is Flowkey?

Flowkey offers an interactive piano learning system for songs. For this purpose, it has developed a special feature: Wait mode. In Wait Mode, the app will only continue if you play every note - because the app is listening to you via your device's microphone. For more precise feedback, Flowkey also supports connecting via MIDI.

With the Wait Mode, beginners can practice reading notes while learning songs. Flowkey requires no prior knowledge which is one of the advantages. One disadvantage is, that the rolling scores display mode is the only option - you cannot print or display the entire piece of sheet music. The user interface is really beginner-friendly and it's easy to just setup and go within minutes.

The Flowkey app is available in different subscriptions that provide full access to all courses and lessons. It also offers a free trial version to try out the features before purchasing.

What is Tomplay?

Tomplay is a digital sheet music provider from Switzerland with a wide range of products for various instruments (including the piano). The total range is 40,000 individual pieces of sheet music. However, only a fraction of these arrangements are for piano.

Tomplay's special feature, in addition to its sheet music, is accompaniment - you play your instrument or croon your song while a full orchestra, jazz band, string ensemble, etc. accompanies you. Playing together with an accompaniment track provides a very nice musical experience, especially for orchestral instruments. Useful: You can adjust the playback tempo without compromising the quality of the soundtrack. You can also record yourself while you're playing and analyze your recordings.

For many musicians, Tomplay offers a variety of sheet music in genres such as pop, rock, jazz, and classical music, which can be used both on the web or in your apps. The free trial period stretches over 14 days.

What is MuseScore?

MuseScore is part of the Muse Group and was created around the open-source music notation program of the same name. While composers, songwriters, and editors can publish their sheet music there, musicians looking for sheet music for a large variety of instruments will also find what they are looking for. The MuseScore learning product also offers courses for various instruments.

The huge variety of options is also one of the disadvantages - everything is shown unfiltered, e.g. even if you have indicated that you want to learn piano and want to find piano sheet music you are shown guitar courses and tabs.

Upload pieces, rate them, give feedback, join the community, take a guitar course, learn ukulele or counterpoint - a lot of choices and options to work through if you just want to start playing the piano.

The subscription options for MuseScore products are just as varied and therefore you need time and patience for a thorough reading of the small print - to understand the difference between Pro+, Pro, Lite, and all other options that might apply.

Sheet Music at OKTAV, Flowkey, Tomplay, and MuseScore

OKTAV - a Sheet Music Paradise

Some piano players refer to OKTAV as a piano sheet music paradise. Subscribers get unlimited access to over 20,000 pieces of sheet music, especially, and only, for piano. All pieces are licensed through renowned partners, ensuring legal use. All arrangements can also be smartly organized in lists. You can even upload your own sheets of music and apply the very handy OKTAV sheet music player to them.

If you wish, you can browse a huge selection of chart lists for exactly your skill level (new pieces, editor's picks, most popular pieces of various genres...). These playlists are reminiscent of Netflix or Spotify and many piano players love to discover new music within their skill range.

If you click on a piece of music, the sheet music player opens and allows you to...

• view digital sheet music adapted to your end device
• play-along, bar by bar, to MIDI files enabling you to see AND hear your sheet music
• choose between the two performance display modes "Scrolling" and "Page-turning"
• use the "Falling Notes" mode that shows you which key to press in an animated style
• activate a "parts" feature that shows you the structure of the song
• see (or add your own) annotations and fingerings
• print your favorite pieces
• document your progress
• practice with the versatile in-app metronome

Flowkey - Entry-Level Song-Learning

Flowkey offers you around 1,500 songs, many of which are available in several difficulty levels. The special Wait Mode is a fun, engaging, beginner-friendly way to learn songs on the piano and quickly impress friends and family with your new skill. Flowkey does not offer guidance from piano teachers, and only a few basic piano and music reading lessons.

If you are looking for actual multi-performance-level sheet music or a nice accompaniment when learning the piano, the other providers are probably better suited.

Tomplay - 26 Instruments & Backing Tracks

Tomplay provides access to a large sheet music library for 26 instruments including backing tracks via its subscription. The piano literature is also interactive and elaborately set to music. Despite the considerable overall number of scores and tracks, you'll find fewer notes specifically for piano. Compared to Flowkey, Tomplay does not offer a Wait Mode. Instead, it offers sheet music for a wide range of instruments and complete sets of sheet music.

Although Tomplay offers arrangements in several levels of difficulty, unlike OKTAV, they are not personalized via profile settings. Tomplay's specialty, the backing tracks, are easy to use - both your piano part and the orchestral or band accompaniment can easily be switched on and off, and you'll be counted in if you want. The notes themselves have a classic appearance but include a playhead that shows your position within the notes. Turning pages is also automatically synchronized with the accompaniment tracks.

More details:

• Accompaniment speed can be adjusted without changing the pitch, and you can adjust it in volume and by switching individual voices on and off.
• Fingerings are optionally displayed, as is a keyboard on which the keys to be played are marked.
• You can record yourself and the backing track
• You can make your own annotations

MuseScore Sheet Music - a Plethora of Options

MuseScore advertises that it offers 1 million scores. However, this does not refer exclusively to piano literature. In addition to scores for numerous other instruments, it also includes many user-generated scores. There are official and other (e.g. simplified) arrangements, which are roughly divided into "Beginner" or "Pro".

More details:

• You can change both the tempo and the key in the app and, for example, play the Canon in D thus also in C.
• You can also rate, split, loop, and save in the setlist.

Piano Learning with OKTAV, Flowkey, Tomplay, and MuseScore

OKTAV - Video Courses & Songs

OKTAV offers a wide range of options for learning the piano step by step. It is perfect for absolute beginners just starting out, as well as advanced pianists looking to enhance their skills.

You decide which of the 5 approaches you choose (or use them all!):

1. Learn with courses. OKTAV has developed its own teaching method and offers courses but also cooperates with renowned piano teachers worldwide. In English-speaking countries, for example, partners include Graham Fitch, Lord Vinheteiro or Charles Szczepanek. This allows you to browse and find exactly the teachers, courses, and piano schools that inspire you.
2. Play songs with tutorials. Song tutorials work like video courses but focus on one specific song or piece. With the help of a teacher, you learn it step by step.
3. Work with interactive sheet music. Many modes and options in the sheet music itself empower you to learn the piece you want to learn. Press "Play" and listen to the sheet music's MIDI to find out exactly how to play. Right hand alone? Left hand alone? Tricky rhythm? Listen to all facets of the piece - and play along. Not sure which key to press? Switch to Falling Notes and have a look. Want to learn the structure of a piece? Switch the "parts" mode on.
4. Study method books. From Czerny to Hanon, you'll find a huge selection of piano learning literature as well as modern piano books containing timeless and proven learning methods. Work through them with your teacher or on your own.
5. Play OKTAV recommendations. A smart algorithm knows which piece you want to play next, based on all the pieces you've played before, and your skill level. Trust OKTAV and discover motivating new music that you'll love to play.

Flowkey - Loops & Wait Mode

This app's focus is clearly on practicing songs and sight reading. 8 courses in the Flowkey course area teach absolute beginners the basics in short lessons.

• The dominant feature is the piano staff and the notes that "flow" (hence the name) across your screen.
• Above the staff, piano keys are played per note so you can always check which key to press for each note. Small letters appear above the keys to show you the note name. Very useful for absolute beginners!
• Operation is simple: there is a play button and a button each for the left and right hand. You can loop sections and target-practice them. Switch to Wait Mode to make sure you can read every note. In addition to a piece's regular tempo, there are two other speeds: Half tempo or a third slower.

Tomplay - Orchestra on Demand

Piano learning is not the main focus at Tomplay. The main focus is the fun of playing and using the accompanying tracks. Of course, the more you play the more you also learn! You will find learning sheet music from Czerny and others to tackle. TomSkills pieces are designed to help train a specific skill. With Delibes' "Sylvia - Valse lente", for example, you can practice hand spans and octave leaps. There is also TomTheory for learning music theory. However, be aware that only course level 1 is included free of charge, the other 8 levels must be purchased separately.

MuseScore - Navigating Instruments, Courses and the Community

Interestingly, even if you state you only want to learn piano, you probably won't see a single recommendation for piano on your first visit to the dashboard. Instead, you'll find, for example, the courses "Play Guitar Like Stevie Ray Vaughn", "18 Christmas Songs for Guitar" and "Podcast Production". It is the course button in the top bar that will take you to the course selection menu with a good, clear presentation of the courses. These are numerous and offer beginners as well as advanced piano players decent material to work on their own playing or music knowledge.

The dashboard below the recommended courses contains useful sheet music recommendations for your level and genres. And below that, you can read users' comments. MuseScore is refreshingly self-confident here - complaints about incorrect subscription models and changed subscription scopes can be read as well as comments where budding composers praise their own work.

Getting Started at OKTAV, Flowkey, Tomplay, and Musescore

OKTAV - 1 Platform, Many Options

When you start a subscription, your 7-day free trial period starts automatically. You answer a few questions about your taste in music. Then OKTAV shows you examples of sheet music and asks you whether they are too easy, too difficult, or just right. That's it. As you continue you will be presented with your first song suggestions! Or you can select pieces you like from the huge library yourself. Or browse all playlists for your skill level and taste.

Access everything OKTAV offers in the web app, including courses and tutorials via the learning plan. Load the OKTAV iOS app onto your iPad or iPhone, login, and access your sheet music library at no extra cost.

Good to know: you can print your favorite pieces (2 printouts per month with a monthly subscription, 24 printouts with an annual subscription)!

Flowkey - Share With 5 Friends

Up to 5 family members or friends can share a Flowkey account as 5 different profiles can be managed. A few test questions about goals and music preferences lie between you and the start. You won't be shown sheet music when starting out, but songs will be suggested to you based on your music preferences. You can mark your favorite pieces with a heart and listen to them right away. You can then choose a beginner or advanced version, sometimes even an expert or a professional version. The menu navigation is simple and intuitive.

Tomplay - Easy to Use, With Accompaniment

You will be asked to choose your instrument, ability and taste in music upon registering. You will then be taken to a start page with suggestions. If you open an arrangement and select "Download", you will be taken to the sheet music in the player. There you can adjust everything to your requirements - from the count-in to the speed of the backing band. The menu navigation is simple and intuitive, and the annual subscription includes some printouts.

MuseScore - Entry Hurdle Subscription Model

MuseScore advertises very inexpensive entry-level subscriptions, but what they contain can quickly become too tight. Take the MuseScore LEARN-lite subscription - will you really be satisfied taking 1 course per month, and no sheet music? Or would you also like to have access to sheet music? Or the option to take more courses? All of that will cost extra. Upselling, i.e. unlocking at additional cost, is normal at MuseScore. Flexible it is, but also complicated if you just want to play and learn the piano.

You can test MuseScore for free for 7 days or start with one of the inexpensive Lite subscriptions. But again, beware of the possibilities - some subscription options are billed weekly, some monthly, and some annually. With some, you skip the test phase and pay for the entire annual subscription upfront.

Start Playing the Piano Today!

Comparing OKTAV, Flowkey, Tomplay, and MuseScore has shown you the strengths of each platform, as well as their differences. OKTAV is a particularly broad-based piano specialist, Flowkey enables song and sight-reading training, Tomplay offers sheet music with accompaniment tracks and MuseScore offers a variety of multi-instrumental options.

Now it's up to your strengths, ambitions, and interests to try the apps that sound interesting and choose your piano journey. Have fun!