Gear
Gear guides
Short, honest buying guides for the small number of things a learner actually needs. We are not a gear review site, and most of these pages spend as much space on what not to buy as on what to buy.
Our bias, stated up front: for a learner, the instrument and a metronome are worth spending money on, and almost nothing else is. Accessories rarely fix a problem that practice would not fix faster.
The guides
- Best digital pianos for learners — Why the action matters more than the key count.
- Best metronomes for practice — App, handheld, wearable, or mechanical.
- Best music theory books — Textbooks versus trade books, and which you need.
- Best ear training apps — Functional training versus isolated intervals.
These pages contain affiliate links, marked where they appear, and our affiliate disclosure sets out exactly how that works. We do not accept payment for placement and we do not rank by commission rate.
Some links in this article are affiliate links to Musical U, Pianote, ArtistWorks, Yousician, or Amazon Associates. If you subscribe or buy after clicking, we may earn a small commission at no additional cost to you. Affiliate revenue helps us keep the interactive tools and the essays free. It does not change what we recommend. Full policy at /affiliate-disclosure/.