Is flowkey a good way to learn?

[adultlearner]

It turns out that with my recent purchase of a DGX-660, I did get a free 3 month subscription of flowkey, which I wasn't aware of. Strangely it was not advertised on the product description, and it was never mentioned by the dealer either. So I just thought the promotion was over... Anyways, before I activate the subscription, I'm testing out on one of the free songs to get a feel how it works. If I get it right, flowkey is not making the whole piece of music you are learning available in a printable format ever, right? I've been taught that before playing/learning a new song, have a good at look at the whole piece, and make notes where you feel needed, and maybe sing by the notes for a couple of times if you can... With some "manual" work around, one can have a look of the piece of the music you are about to play on flowkey, but apparently this idea of knowing your music before playing is not something flowkey is encouraging? So in the "wait mode" which i suppose is the first step of learning, right off the bat, you are given a few measures to play and as long as you play the notes right (never mind the rhythm even), the music sheet rolls on, otherwise it's stuck waiting.

I wonder how folks here who have experience with flowkey feel about it? Is a good way to pick up piano/keyboard? Anything you have figured out to make the learning more productive?

 

[Biggles]

I also got the free three month subscription when I bought my P121.

As it is the subscription only starts when you register with Flowkey and not when you register your DGX.

As one who likes something for nothing I subscribed and diligently worked through the full course which I completed within the three months.

The App is split into different modes and there is a host of songs and pieces of music that can be learned and control can be play along, or wait mode. There are different ability levels for the songs and some have versions for all abilities.

The Tutorials are also in sections and it teaches you to play a small section, right handed, then left, then both. As the tutorials progress the left hand actions become more involved and in the Chord Accompanyment section the left handed patterns become more complex by way of timing.

Sign up and spend 20 minutes or so a day working through the available courses, you will finish the whole taught element within the three months if you stick at it.

As it is the last two modules is just scales and since scales are boring it is not surprising that they are located at the end of the tutorials.

Downsides.
You cannot download and print any of the exercises or music.
If you want to practice same a short piece that was part of the tutorial it is not clear how you can avoid the lead up exercises and just play the last section.

Positives
Its free
It works well
Wait mode lets you play at your pace since it waits for you to play the right notes
Learning a song gives you the ability to play it at various speeds and you can also enable wait left, wait right or wait both. This is very handy and for me it replicates how I learn a song, slow and accurate, then build up speed.

Hope this helps.

 

[adultlearner]

So I have tried out the flowkey for about a month now. As a beginner in the true meaning, I can report back my impression FWIW. First of all, I like/love those songs you can learn. They are arranged for learners of different levels, many songs with multiple versions of arrangements. That said, too bad it's not downloadable. You are stuck with one line at a time, and must follow through line by line until - you remember the whole thing, or go find something else to play. In other words, the songs you learn are not designed to be part of your repertoire! They are all just "exercises". What a waste!

The course itself is simple enough, but the songs to practice that knowledge is not so much. I find myself quickly overwhelmed, and have to practice a song embedded in the course for hours if not days to have a good grasp of it. While the melody is simple, the left hand can be very challenging for beginners. It's getting tedious and silly to repeat the video over and over to follow through. So the idea of not ever downloading any sheet music is just stupid.

I will try to get the most out of the three month free trial, but I won't subscribe to it.

 

[adultlearner]

And the app (on ipad) is not totally bug free. Sometimes it just doesn't pick up the key strokes (I have the bluetooth connection), and can get stuck.

 

[Biggles]

If you have the Apple Camera Adaptor you could connect it to your iPad.

I found it OK when wired, with no lock ups.