These piano games run on the same piano as the rest of the site, with a recorded grand piano sound, so every note you press sounds like a real instrument. The game at the top of this page is the falling notes game: pick a song, watch the notes fall toward the keyboard, and press each key as its note arrives. Below it are three more games: the note reading game, interval ear training and the perfect pitch test.
The falling notes game
Each falling bar is one note. Its position shows which key to press, and its length shows how long the note lasts, so a tall bar is a long note and a short bar a quick one. The gold line at the bottom of the falling area is where the notes meet the keys.
Two settings change how the game plays:
- Wait for me. With this ticked, the song stops at each note until you press the right key, and the key you need glows green. Nothing is scored against the clock, so it is the way to learn a new song. Wrong keys are counted, and the result tells you how many there were.
- Speed. Slow plays the song at 60 percent of its normal tempo and Medium at 80 percent. Full is the tempo the song pages use.
With Wait for me unticked, the song keeps moving. Press each key when its note reaches the line: within about a third of a second counts as a hit, and within about an eighth of a second as right on time. Notes you miss turn red and fall past. At the end you see how many notes you hit out of the whole song.
Songs to start with
The songs come from the easy piano songs on this site, from very easy nursery rhymes to intermediate classical themes. For a first game, try Hot Cross Buns, which uses only three keys, or Mary Had a Little Lamb, which uses four. Twinkle Twinkle Little Star and Jingle Bells come next. Für Elise and Canon in D move faster and cover more of the keyboard.
If you want to see the notes as sheet music before you play, each song page shows the melody on a staff with the letter name under every note, and its Listen button plays the song so you know how it goes.
Three more games
- Note reading game. A note appears, as a letter name or on the treble or bass clef staff, and you press its key. Twenty notes make a round, and your best time is kept on this device. It is quick daily practice for reading music.
- Interval ear training. Two notes play, and you name the distance between them: a major 3rd, a perfect 5th and so on. Start with five basic intervals, then all twelve, played apart or together.
- Perfect pitch test. You hear ten random notes, one at a time, with no reference note, and name each one on the keyboard. It shows how well you can recognize notes by ear alone.
Playing with your computer keyboard
The letter rows of a computer keyboard play piano keys. The bottom letter row, Z through the slash key, plays the white keys starting on C, with S, D, G, H, J, L and the semicolon for the black keys between them. The top letter row, Q through the right bracket, plays the next octave up, with the number row for its black keys. Playing with two hands on the computer keys is often faster than clicking, especially in the falling notes game.
Tips for a better score
- Learn it slowly first. Play a new song with Wait for me on until you know where each note goes, then turn it off.
- Watch the next note, not the current one. By the time a note reaches the line, your finger should already be over its key.
- Keep your hand in one place. Most easy songs sit under five fingers, so rest one finger on each key and move only when the song does.
Free, private and nothing to install
The games are free and run entirely in your browser. There is no account, nothing to download, and no score is sent anywhere: the note reading game keeps your best time only in this browser. For more ways to practice, the lessons cover hand position, finger numbers and reading sheet music step by step.
Frequently asked questions
Are these piano games free?
Yes. All three games are free to play in your browser, with no download, no account and no limit on how often you play.
Do I need a real piano or keyboard?
No. You can play with a mouse, by tapping the keys on a touch screen, or with your computer keyboard, where the bottom and top letter rows are two octaves of piano keys. A USB MIDI keyboard also works in browsers that support Web MIDI.
Can I play on a phone?
Yes. Turn the phone sideways for wider keys, and use the Lower and Higher buttons under the keyboard to show other octaves, because touching the keys plays them instead of scrolling.
Which songs are in the falling notes game?
Every song on the site: nursery rhymes such as Twinkle Twinkle Little Star and Mary Had a Little Lamb, carols such as Jingle Bells, and classical themes such as Ode to Joy and Für Elise. All of them are in the public domain.
How is the score counted?
With Wait for me off, a note counts as hit when you press its key within about a third of a second of the moment it reaches the keys, and as right on time within about an eighth of a second. With Wait for me on, the game counts wrong keys instead.
Are the games good for children?
They were made with beginners in mind. The very easy songs use a handful of neighboring white keys, and Wait for me lets a child take as long as they need for each note.