At a guess, I would have to say that Pianote is probably one of the biggest online piano teaching platforms. They have been around for years now and if you have ever googled ‘how to learn to play the piano’, you would have at least seen their ads.
Over the years I have seen quite a few of their videos on YouTube and while it is not the way I would teach, their methods are reasonably good. I personally don’t like how little they emphasize reading the music, but that might be the very thing that attracts you to watch some of their videos.
I like that fact that they have a huge number of free YouTube videos. It is nice that Pianote is giving away plenty of content for free. I think that if you were someone that was returning to playing the piano after many a year hiatus and you haven’t forgotten everything you previously learned, then the free stuff on YouTube would be enough for you to get playing again.
Pianote doesn’t just have a YouTube channel, they have their own subscription for their website. The cost can be either annually or monthly and there is a trial period of 7 days. Even though I have never seen their paid videos, I have seen enough of their YouTube videos that I can safely say that their material would be of a good quality.
I have also done a little research and I have found quite a number of good reviews. They have been around sdince 2008, which implies that they have to be doing something correct , if they have been around for that long.
Pianote claim that their method is unique, but so do most online content creators. Their method is a method primarily geared towards people who want to play modern music. If you want to learn classical piano, then Pianote would not be my first option.
Probably what makes Pianote so successful is the fun and engaging videos. They are also very encouraging. Apparently Pianote has a really active community of students and instructors that allow for subscribers to interact, obtain feedback and generally get encouragement for their increasing skills. This element might sound like a nice add-on, but feedback and encouragement are important, especially if you are a beginner.
I think that the paid version of Pianote would be an excellent starting point for those beginners who want to play modern music. The paid version would also be good for those who are at an intermediate level. If you are not a beginner and are in need of a bit of a refresher, then I think that you can’t go wrong with Pianote’s You Tube channel.