These days, the iPad is pretty commonplace.  I have one, my students have them, they’re everywhere!  I got my first iPad free as a hand-me-down from my generous sister and began to r
eally use it in my teaching when I started teaching in two locations.  Having an iPad simplified what I had to bring with me, I no longer needed a separate metronome, CD accompaniments, flashcards, and more!  We’ve made lists of best piano apps before, but of course apps are always changing and new ones come out everyday, so today I’m going to give you a list of the apps I use most in my teaching.  Honestly, I don’t really use my iPad outside of lessons, but it is really a helpful tool for teaching.  Here’s my most used apps:

1. SproutBeat: I love this app!  So easy to use, convenient and fun for students.  I can pull up a worksheet for any concept in seconds and it seems more fun when it’s on the iPad and not on plain old paper.  SproutBeat has recently had a major update and moved to membership subscription model, but it is definitely worth the cost.
2. PianoMaestro:  This app also recently moved to a subscription model after being totally free for teachers for nearly two years.  The JoyTunes team has put a lot of work into this app and the music library here is extensive.  I use this mostly for sight-reading practice for my students.
3. Rhythm Swing:  A fairly new app, this is a reasonable one-time purchase.  This is great for helping students practice rhythms and I love that I don’t have to tell them they messed up, the app does, no arguing with that!  I also like that the learn to start in time with a count off.  I usually use this app in “Practice” mode because the game seems to waste too much time, but every once in awhile I’ll let a student play the actual game.
4. Tenuto:  Also a one-time purchase, this app is great for quizzing key names, intervals, note names, and more.  It has quickly replace many of my flashcard sets and I love that you can customize which intervals, notes, etc. to quiz.
5. Note Rush:  This is also a fairly new app that is reasonably priced and so useful!  This app quizzes notes, but you don’t just answer with a note name you actually have to play the correct key on the piano.  It is such a great bridge between knowing the note names and actually being able to play the keys.  This notes quizzed are not totally customizable but the preset levels usually work well for me.

So there you have it!  It was actually hard for me to choose just five, but I think those are the ones I really use the most.  I also love Piano Learning Games, SuperMetronome Groovebox, Flashnote Derby, and Practice+.  Did I leave off any great apps that I need to know about?

Author: Spring

Spring Seals, NCTM, teaches 60 piano students ranging from age 3 to 70 in Fort Worth, Texas. She also serves as the Director of Certification for TMTA. She is passionate about helping teachers become more effective in their studios through professional development, new resources, and fresh ideas.