# Piano Apprentice — user reviews > 99 indexed App Store user reviews of Piano Apprentice by ION Audio, rated 3.40/5 from 17 ratings. - Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/piano-apprentice/id456471024/reviews - App overview in markdown: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/piano-apprentice/id456471024.md - Rating breakdown: 5★ 8 · 4★ 2 · 3★ 1 · 2★ 0 · 1★ 6 ## What do users think of Piano Apprentice? Overall sentiment: mixed **Pros** - 👨‍🏫 Excellent instructor (Piano Guy) with patient, friendly teaching style - 🎹 Works well with ION keyboard and other MIDI keyboards - 📚 Sheet music feature helps with music reading - 🆓 Free app with no paywall for core content - 🎯 Effective for beginners learning basic songs quickly - 💡 Innovative concept with keyboard key illumination - 🎵 Good selection of familiar, recognizable songs **Cons** - 🐛 Video playback controls broken - cannot rewind/fast-forward - 📥 Frequent download failures and missing content - ⚡ App crashes and compatibility issues with newer iOS versions - 🎬 No video display in lessons (audio only) - ⌨️ Keyboard keys unresponsive or not lighting up - 🔊 No headphone jack on keyboard hardware - ⏱️ Instructor plays too fast for beginners - 📱 Requires iPad/iPhone to be plugged in to use keyboard - 🎵 Very limited song library (only 15-16 songs) - ❌ No pause/resume functionality in tutorials - 🔧 Lacks comprehensive piano fundamentals instruction **Commonly reported bugs** - Video seek/scrub functionality resets to beginning on iOS 6.1+ - Lessons fail to download or download incomplete - Video displays blank screen with audio only - Keys not lighting up during playback - App fails to update or gets stuck on update screen - Content vanishes after app closure - Keyboard unresponsive without app connection - Playback controls broken on iPad 2 and newer iOS versions - Sheet music playback has same seek issues as video - Download pending indefinitely without completion **Most requested features** - Add more songs to the library - Implement proper video scrubbing/seek functionality - Slow down instructor playback speed - Add pause and rewind controls for videos - Include left-hand chord notation in sheet music - Add chord training and music theory lessons - Implement adjustable tempo/BPM controls - Add different difficulty levels for beginners vs advanced - Include note labeling on sheet music - Add voice-over identifying note names - Provide downloadable content for offline use - Create in-app song purchase options - Add headphone jack to keyboard - Extend keyboard to full octave range ## Newest reviews (12 of 99) ### 2/5 — Lesson all fail to download in 2024 *2024-06-27, version 2.0* Maybe no support for this app anymore ? ### 4/5 — Video doesn’t play (lessons) after iOS update *2021-02-18, version 2.0* After applying 14.4 the video screen is blank on the lessons. You can hear the audio. Would love to get the update ### 2/5 — Stardust *2017-02-06, version 1.5* Wow, is this a brand new version of the original song, I would thing Hoagy would be less than happy to hear it..... ### 3/5 — Need to be able to pause/ forward *2015-08-01, version 1.5* This is a nice app, when used with the keyboard. However, it would be much better if you could forward / or rewind sections, it becomes particularly frustrating when you have to listen to piano guy over and over just to get the part you are trying to learn. Please update the app :) ### 4/5 — Very helpful for beginners *2014-11-16, version 1.5* Good app and guides you through but like others said, please update to allow us to pause and rewind the video to a certain section. To watch a nearly 3 minute video of talking when we just want a 10 second section is frustrating. Add that and will up to 5 stars. Please please. ### 2/5 — It's ok *2014-09-18, version 1.5* Pretty cool app if you're not really wanting to learn how to play...it would be nice to actually have piano lessons, as in how to play, and not just how to play the selected songs in the app. Hopefully there is an app I can use this keyboard with that will help me learn to play. ### 2/5 — Cannot pause and resume *2013-11-19, version 1.5* So promising..... But as others have said, you cannot slide the player back to the tricky bit you are trying to learn, you have to start from the beginning on the videos. This is a definite bug! Otherwise 5 stars but can only give review on what we have. We're on iOS 7 ### 3/5 — not good *2013-09-24, version 1.5* the piano apprentice has not move to slide on the piano performance. ### 2/5 — Good app *2013-09-08, version 1.5* Good app except that I cannot skip forward or back in the videos without having to start the whole video over. Fix and ill give 5 stars. ### 3/5 — Looks like i'm the only one *2013-07-14, version 1.5* Boots up nice and fast on my Ipod Touch 2nd gen with iOS 4.2.1, but all of the songs, or videos, whatever they are don't play. For example- I tap Lessons-Ode to Joy-Preview- then i get a white screen with a back button on top. Looks like a nice app, please fix it. ### 5/5 — Great *2013-04-15, version 1.5* I think this is the best app ever for teaching piano😃😃. ### 2/5 — Poor video controls *2013-04-14, version 1.5* Please fix the video features to allow to move to any part of the video without starting from the beginning again. ## Most critical reviews (10 lowest-rated) ### 1/5 — No more video *2023-05-07, version 2.0* You ah e to listen and guess for yourself. I still like the sheet music. I even use it for my recorder. ### 1/5 — Needs Update *2021-04-18, version 2.0* App does not function properly. Tutorials have sound but no video, there is no connection with the piano ### 1/5 — No video only audio ☹️ *2020-11-01, version 2.0* App was great on my iPhone. Purchased and iPad but after the most recent updates to iOS, app launches fine but when you click to watch any videos, you can only get audio. Keys also not responding. Need an update ASAP to fix this. App can’t be used if there is no video. ### 1/5 — Fine..... *2018-01-09, version 2.0* No way to change ANY settings!!!! You can't make the note last longer, you can't change the key size, and the sheet music shows NO left hand chords!!!!!! AND I REALLY DON'T WANNA WATCH A BORING TUTORIAL!!!!!!! SHALL I ADD THAT NO PHONE TODAY WILL FIT THE PLUG ANYMORE CAUSE THEY NO LONGER MAKE PLUGS THAT WAY ANYMORE!!!!!!!!!!😫😤😡 ### 1/5 — Really bad app *2017-01-03, version 1.5* I bought the ion keyboard with the anticipation that I would be able to learn to play lots of songs but there is only 16 in the app! And the piano man is American when they could provide an English accent! And there's no pause and rewind for heavens sake surely it wouldn't be that difficult to make these changes seems like another big company just want to take your money and run I won't buy anything of Ion again that's for sure but I bet they don't care and won't bother contacting me! So much for customer care!also they don't update the app which is really bad because there's no extra songs and you cant pause the song and skip back! An absolute waste of money buying the keyboard and I contacted the USA app designers and heard nothing back at all a total waste of space and utterly disappointed ### 1/5 — Dumb , stupidest game ever *2014-01-05, version 1.5* Bad in the way that there is so much bad lessons and not a lot of songs . ### 1/5 — Boo *2013-11-07, version 1.5* No wonder ion piano master keyboard never saw major release ### 1/5 — Great product let down by a lousy app *2013-05-01, version 1.5* The instructor plays too fast, the app doesn't let you pause, there are not many songs and you have to download them each time you log in. Buy the keyboard and buy a good piano book to teach yourself. ### 1/5 — Way too HARD *2013-04-13, version 1.5* So I got this app with the mini keyboard from ion as I wanted to learn how to play basic piano. I spent about 45mins trying to nail the first song but the tutorial is done way to quick, is doesn't show you in pieces how to learn the song, he just plays the whole song at normal pace from start to finish..... I think this app needs to re-look at the way it try's to teach you how to learn how to play because it was too hard and too fast for me to pick it up.... I wouldn't bother with this app until they can structure it differently, until a major update go else where. ### 1/5 — Not for Beginners & No headphone jack! *2013-03-10, version 1.5* This app is good, but it is not for beginners. The rewind/forward feature needs to be fixed for the new OS. (Every time you try to move to a section of the video it moves back to the very beginning.) Slower keywork and slower progression of lessons would be helpful for true beginners--things move way too fast for true piano novices. Maybe differentiate the lessons so that they match student levels- from people who have never touched a piano on up? Finally, the piano does not have the advertised headphone jack. ## Most praised reviews (10 highest-rated) ### 5/5 — Piano Guy and ION made best App ever!!! *2020-05-15, version 2.0* Piano Guy is wonderful and helps me learn to play the Piano! He is the Teacher in the App. This App works with the little portable piano, very small and affordable. Great App! Highly recommended! ### 5/5 — Excellent that can be used on any midi piano *2016-11-21, version 1.5* This app was my first venture into learning piano and I think it is excellent. I've been able to play all songs both following the excellent videos by Scott "Piano Guy" and the sheet music. I started withe iON Piano Apprentice (small size is excellent for taking it with you) but then migrated to the Yamaha EZ220 where the sheet music part of the app works (no audio for the tutorials, but by this time I don't need them). Point to note is that the Piano Guy teaches "lead sheet" style playing with left hand chords and right hand melody - as opposed to Garage Band (also free) which is really left hand root and right hand chord. It plays on older iPODs an PADs and is free so nothing to lose. Regarding the iON Piano - it has its limitations but is compact and can work with other iTune apps that for teaching music notation. ### 5/5 — Excellant *2014-11-02, version 1.5* Thanks a lot to makers of this app, but I am waiting for updates and more songs and training options :) ### 5/5 — Excellent app for learning to play a piano *2014-08-21, version 1.5* Scott has a unique and very friendly way to convey his learning and this app is of excellent value and well worthwhile using ### 5/5 — Great App *2014-07-14, version 1.5* This app changed my LIFE!!!!! The Piano Guy is amazing. Thanks to him I found a love playing the piano. I learned everything I know from him and his videos. Thanks Piano Guy!!!! ### 5/5 — AWSOME APP *2013-10-28, version 1.5* This a very great app it is very easy to learn the songs but can it have some more songs pls? ### 5/5 — Great! *2013-10-04, version 1.5* Awesome app ### 5/5 — :O whoa *2013-09-02, version 1.5* I'm a 11 year old and I love piano thank you for this app but put more songs please I love music it's my life I hope you could support us little ones ### 5/5 — Love It *2013-08-27, version 1.5* We love this app. I am learning how to play the piano and read music at the same time. I cannot afford piano lessons for all five of my children but can definitely afford to pay you for more apps. Please write some more apps with more songs. I'd be willing to pay per song. ### 5/5 — My 11-year-old son is learning. *2013-05-29* I bought the piano with a Groupon for $50 and my son has been playing and practicing a few days a week. He already has several songs memorized. It's intimidating when you start, but with a little practice it gets easier. It definitely needs more songs, though. --- *Data collected daily from the US App Store and indexed by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/). User reviews are verbatim App Store reviews. Ratings, prices and chart positions refresh continuously; this snapshot is from 2026-08-23.*