Learning piano requires a strong personal investment.
It is a long and difficult process.
The best piano learning app can't replace a real piano teacher. Using an app is not enough to learn piano and can lead you to bad habits.
That said practice is good.
Practicing scales is one of the best ways to learn Piano and this is why we built PianoML.
Each week, a new scale is to be practiced. Every day, a set of different exercises. Don't forget to always use a metronome when practicing.
We also wanted a tool that could load any score as you can find them easily on the World Wide Web
We support MusicXML because it is the modern, universal language of digital sheet music.
Serious musicians, composers, and teachers already use notation software (MuseScore, Finale, Sibelius, Dorico, etc.) every day. MusicXML lets them — and you — move complete, richly detailed scores (notes, rhythms, dynamics, articulations, fingerings, repeats, and more) between programs without losing anything important. By reading MusicXML natively, PianoML respects and connects to the entire professional ecosystem: you can start a piece in your favorite editor, refine it, then bring it straight into PianoML for guided, interactive practice. No re-entering notes by hand, no lost musical intent — just seamless flow from creation to learning.
We support MIDI because it captures the living performance, not just the page.
Millions of MIDI files exist online — from simple melodies to full arrangements — and people record them directly from digital pianos and keyboards every day. MIDI brings the exact timing, phrasing, and touch (velocity) of a real performance, which is incredibly valuable for learning feel, groove, and expression. It lets you practice along with realistic playback, slow down tricky sections without changing pitch, or even follow a recorded interpretation while building your own. MIDI opens the door to popular songs, backing tracks, ensemble play-along, and your own recordings — things that pure notation often can't convey. We included it so PianoML can meet you where you already are: exploring, jamming, and learning by ear as well as by eye.
We support PDF (with built-in OMR) because the vast majority of sheet music online and in your bookshelf is still trapped in images or scans.
When you search the web, IMSLP, public domain libraries, or your own collection, you usually find PDFs — scanned old editions, publisher files, photos of printed pages. Without OMR (Optical Music Recognition), those scores stay static: you can look at them, but not interact, follow along, slow down, or get feedback. By adding intelligent OMR, we turn those everyday PDFs into living, playable material inside PianoML. You can take almost any piece you already love or discover — even rare or historical editions — and instantly make it part of your structured practice. No need to retype, no waiting for someone else to digitize it. This removes the biggest barrier between inspiration and daily practice.
In short, we didn't add these formats just to check boxes.
We added them because learning piano works best when it's personal, flexible, and connected to the real musical world — your favorite pieces, your existing tools, your own discoveries. Start with our weekly scales to build technique and discipline… then bring in any score that moves you, in whatever format you find it. That’s how motivation stays alive and progress becomes unstoppable.