← Back to all articles

Stop using apps to learn piano.

Learning apps, such as Duolingo, Simply Piano and others have become more prevalent in recent years. They gamify the 'learning process', turning it into a quest for XP and encouraging speed over depth of understanding. Users of these apps perform repetitive tasks of increasing complexity which, so the app promoters claim, will improve their competence in the field. Duolingo was the first, but like Tinder for dating, once one app adopted the model successfully, everyone else started doing it. And so after Duolingo, which began as a tool for language learning, but has since branched out into maths, chess, and even music, we have gamified piano learning apps. In this article, we will examine why this is a bad thing.

Quickly learnt, quickly forgotten

It is an old adage that what is learnt quick is just as quickly forgotten. And this is one of the chief pitfalls of gamified apps for learning piano. In ordinary piano lessons, the teacher will first illustrate a fundamental concept or technique and then consolidate that principle with a series of exercises; gradually, the student will master one simple concept and, when ready, move onto the next. The incentive structure in such lessons encourages steady progress based on a firm grasp of the skills being taught. Only when a student is truly ready will they move on to the next topic. The reward for the student is that after their hard work, they can finally learn something knew.

The incentive structure of piano learning apps is entirely different. It priotises quick progress and instant gratification. The learner is rewarded for completing as many levels as they can as quickly as they can whether they truly understand what has been "taught" in the previous level or not. They generally consist of a series of repetitive exercises at each level, which may or may not be moving the technical level of the student forward; such exercises are there to be completed with the greatest possible expediency for the maximisation of high scores. It is no surprise, then, that students following this model may simply fail to retain any of the knowledge they acquired during their frantic quest for points.

Piano learning apps do not teach good technique

The second problem with such apps is that their users do not acquire good technique. Whilst it may seem unimportant to the beginner when they first start to learn, lacking a strong technical foundation can hamper even a telented pianists progress in the more advanced stages of learning. Lacking the appropriate posture when sitting at the piano can cause strains and injuries as can tension in the hands whilst playing. Development technical foundations in a musical instrument takes constant correction and reminders from an experienced teacher. Any piano teacher will understand the experience of correcting a young student's slouching wrists only to see them drop again a moment later.

With gamified apps, the most any student will learn is the basic mechanics of pressing the right notes in the right order. This may satisfy the absolute beginner, but as they achieve more proficiency and their ambitions grow, the lack of proper technique will seriously hinder further progress.

Learning apps distort the purpose of education

This last heading may seem abstract, but it is quite practical. Why do we learn? The answer, if you use a music learning app, is to complete the levels in the app. The piano becomes an extension of a mobile game rather than a musical instrument to be mastered. The app reduces education to a banal brain training exercise, stripping it of nuance, and of any social, cultural, or musical purpose. When we learn a piece of music on the piano, we study it methodically, not merely to play the notes, but to interpret it and to learn to realise the intentions of the composer; we work through and master its particular technical challenges and then we aim to perfect it. This process is entirely alien to gamified learning apps.

For more information on what real, live, lessons should be like, find out here.

Author: Michael Hegarty