Back in 2013, I wrote a book called The iPad Piano Studio: Unlocking the Power of Apps.

It was risky to include my favorite apps because they can come and go like the wind.

To my surprise and delight, most of the apps mentioned in The iPad Piano Studio book are available, and I still use most of them regularly.

Below is an alphabetical listing of apps mentioned in my book, divided into three categories based on how much I use them.

▶️ Used Regularly

Decide Now (Decision Maker)

Decide Now allows you to create an infinite number of wheels with choices. Students spin to see who will perform first at a group lesson or to determine what key for a transposition challenge. Get 50 Ways to Use Decide Now for heaps of ideas on how this app can transform your lessons with this versatile app.

Drop Box (Cloud Storage)

The idea of storing or saving documents in a cloud was novel to me back in 2012 and now I’m hooked. Drop Box used to be my main invisible storage shelf but now I mostly use Google Drive. Choosing at least of these options is necessary to access files across devices.

Flashnote Derby (Pitch Recognition)

Although I have many favorite pitch recognition apps, this was the first one I discovered, and it continues to be a winner. Learn more here.

ForScore (Score Reader)

Most of my church service scores are loaded into ForScore. The app integrates the use of my BlueTooth pedal for hands-free page turning.

Garage Band (Digital Audio Workstation)

This powerhouse app generates drum loops and backing tracks and I find it handy for exporting WAV and MIDI files to MP3s.

iMovie (Video Editor)

Although I’ve used iMovie for years, recently, I have turned to using Clipchamp.

iReal Pro (Backing Track Generator)

If you instruct your students to read and play from lead sheets, then you need this app as it generates lead sheets. After desired chords are entered or a chart is downloaded from the global-sized iReal Pro forum you can choose from countless styles. This app is perfect for improving the groove of rookie AND pro improvisers alike. Follow this link to see how I use it to groove theory.

Kindle (Digital Reader)

It’s handy to access my digital books on my iPad with the Kindle app. However, my Kindle device resides on my nightstand because I prefer the smaller size.

Rhythm Lab (Rhythm Reading Drills)

The app allows you to create student accounts and offers rhythm reading drills for every level and most time signatures you can imagine. Because you can connect it to a MIDI keyboard, players can improvise melodies as they read the rhythms.

Musicnotes (Sheet Music Store and Reader)

Order music from Musicnotes and use the app to view the scores on your iPad. You can also import other PDFs and organize them in the app.

Tenuto/MusicTheory Lessons (Tutorials and Drills )

Here’s the companion app to one of my favorite apps, Tenuto. Theory Lessons offers pocket-sized animated music lessons. They cover a broad spectrum of concepts from the staff and clef signs to Neapolitan chords.

TurboScan (Scan Sheet Music and Documents)

TurboScan turns your iPad into a multipage scanner for documents, receipts, notes, whiteboards, and other text. With TurboScan, you can quickly scan your documents and store or email them as multipage PDF or JPEG files.

YouTube (Video Storage and Library)

The convenience of setting up your own channel equips you with a quick way to share videos that are normally huge files. I use my channel to share videos of my products and sheet music, and I also have unlisted playlists for each of my students. When a piece is performance-ready, I record students playing on my Yamaha Grand named Bella and upload the video to their growing playlist. It’s a huge treat to student families as they watch their budding musicians develop their skills when I send them links to the playlist.

I frequently use QR Codes in tandem with YouTube videos. After generating a QR code linked to a video of student performance in Canva or Avery Templates, I adhere the code to Christmas cards, ornaments, and graduation cards.

• Christmas Cards

• Christmas Ornaments

▶️ Used Occasionally

AnyTune (Slow Downer)

This app will slow down ANY tune in your iTunes library. I don’t use it as much now but when I need to slow down an mp3, this is my go-to app.

Keynote (Presentation Slides)

Since I’ve become a loyal Canva fan, I don’t turn to Keynote as often as I used to.

Notability (Note Taking)

An excellent alternative to printing worksheets. Load PDFs into this app, and students can complete worksheets or tests on the app instead of on paper. Learn more here.

Octavian Pro (Theory Reference)

I thought the Octavian Basics app was no longer available, and to my surprise, it has a big sister called Octavian Pro. I must have forgotten about it and recently found it on my iPad buried under too many other apps! It’s an excellent app for students who want a reference when completing theory assignments.

▶️ Rarely Used but Still Available

Beatwave (Looper)

Confession: either I forgot about this one, or this is an entirely different app. I look forward to exploring it.

Evernote (Organizer)

Some may argue that this is the best note-taking app ever, but I default to the Notes app on my Apple devices and have found this native app to be extremely versatile and convenient.

Home Concert Xtreme (Intelligent Playalong)

HCX provides an interactive play-along environment using MIDI files. It’s time to unlock the power of this app again!

Notion (Score Notation)

A free music composition tool for iOS, iPadOS® and macOS and more.

Show Me Interactive Whiteboard (Whiteboard)

Although this is a fabulous app, the studio essential—the Hal Leonard All-Purpose Music Flash Cards is my default over a white board app.

The Orchestra (Instruments and Repertoire of the Orchestra)

The Orchestra features eight works representing three centuries of symphonic music. The app allows real-time selection of multiple video and audio tracks, along with an automatically synchronized score and dynamic graphical note-by-note visualization of each piece as it is played.

Square (Credit Card Reader)

With the ease of online payments via My Music Staff, Zelle or Venmo, I have not pulled out my Square in years.

▶️ Apps No Longer Available

My Rhythm

Moose Studio

Note Squish

NoteStar

Steinway Metronome

Curious about some of the videos created or collected to go with The iPad Piano Studio book?
Click on the button below.