Simply Piano is a gamified self-learning app. Virgoul connects you with real teachers for structured, personalised lessons. They serve different learning styles and goals.
Simply Piano and Virgoul both aim to help people learn piano — but they are fundamentally different products serving different needs.
Simply Piano is a mobile app by JoyTunes. It uses your phone's microphone to listen to you play and provides gamified, level-based feedback. You follow a structured curriculum at your own pace. There is no human teacher involved. It's subscription-based ($19.99/month) and designed for self-directed learners who want to learn songs quickly without scheduling lessons.
Virgoul is a platform that connects students with verified, qualified piano teachers for live, personalised instruction. Lessons happen in real time — you and your teacher, one-to-one or in small groups. The teacher adapts to your pace, goals, and weaknesses. There's no fixed curriculum — your teacher builds one around you.
Key differences:
| Factor | Simply Piano | Virgoul | |--------|-------------|--------| | Instruction type | AI/app-guided | Live human teacher | | Personalisation | Fixed curriculum | Tailored to you | | Interaction | None | Real-time feedback | | Price | ~$20/month flat | Per-lesson or package | | Flexibility | Any time, self-paced | Scheduled sessions | | Best for | Casual beginners wanting songs | Serious learners wanting real progress |
When Simply Piano wins: you're a complete casual learner, you want to play a few songs for fun, you don't want to commit to lessons, or you prefer learning entirely on your own schedule.
When Virgoul wins: you have real musical goals (grades, performance, teaching), you've hit a plateau with apps, you want someone to actually hear and correct your technique, or you learn better with accountability and human interaction.
Find a piano teacher on Virgoul who matches your goals, schedule, and budget — with real-time feedback that no app can replicate.
Join VirgoulFor casual learners who want to play simple songs for fun, Simply Piano works. For anyone with real musical goals — exams, performance, becoming a teacher themselves — it cannot replace the personalised feedback and technique correction of a qualified teacher.
Yes. Beginner students benefit most from human instruction because habits — good and bad — form fastest in the early stages. A teacher on Virgoul can prevent technical problems (posture, hand position) that apps cannot detect and that become hard to undo later.
Simply Piano has a lower monthly flat rate (~$20). Virgoul lessons vary by teacher but are competitive with private lesson market rates. At the entry level, Simply Piano is cheaper — but the learning outcomes for motivated students are significantly better with a real teacher.