From reading your first sheet of music to understanding the periods of music history — these guides cover the essential topics every piano learner needs. Each one is written with concrete examples so you can practice right away using the public domain scores in the BeatNote library.
These guides were written so you can start piano on your own — not as articles you read once and forget, but as manuals you keep open next to your sheet music while you work through them. If you're a beginner, read them in order from the top — reading sheet music → key signatures → the practice plan — and if you're already playing pieces, jump straight to whichever topic interests you.
Every guide links to real pieces in the sheet music library, so you can go straight from theory to an actual score and see it in action. For instance, after reading the key signature guide you can pick a piece with four sharps from the library and compare two works in the same key side by side.
From the staff, clefs, time signatures, and key signatures to note values and dynamics — the core concepts that get you through your first page.
TheoryWhy does one piece have three sharps and another five flats? How to organize every key signature at a glance with the Circle of Fifths.
PracticeA 4-week plan to complete your first piece with just 30 minutes a day. Covers fingering, pedaling, and metronome work.
Music HistoryWhy a Bach fugue and a Chopin nocturne sound like different worlds: the key stylistic differences between the eras.
LicensingHow freely can you actually use out-of-copyright classical scores? An overview of Mutopia, IMSLP, CPDL, and other major sources.
PracticeThe metronome method that actually works: start at 50% of the marked BPM. Gradual acceleration, subdivisions, and knowing when to turn the metronome off.
TechniqueWhat the sustain, soft, and sostenuto pedals each do, plus the fundamentals of legato pedaling — and how pedal use changed across the eras.
TechniqueWhy everything falls apart when you combine hands all at once. A 5-step method that joins two bars at a time, plus 4 tools for when you get stuck.
TechniqueHow those little numbers (1–5) above the notes are decided. How to mark fingering in your own pieces, plus common scale fingering patterns.
RepertoireFrom Bach's inventions to Satie's Gymnopédie: what each piece teaches you and how long it typically takes to learn.
InstrumentsFive criteria for a choice you won't regret, with recommendations by budget and the most common beginner mistakes.
Not at all. "Key Signatures Explained" and "The Periods of Classical Music" go deep enough to be useful to intermediate players too — even if you're already playing pieces, they'll help you put your repertoire into its historical context.
Yes. Each guide ends with links to related pieces, and in the sheet music library you can filter by difficulty, era, and composer to pick pieces yourself.
Most of it comes from the non-profit Mutopia Project, under free licenses (CC BY-SA or Public Domain). The source and license are noted at the bottom of each piece's page. See the "Public Domain Sheet Music Guide" for details.
The BeatNote editor is itself a learning tool. You can open any piece from the library and follow it note by note, or isolate a difficult passage and practice it slowly in play-along mode.