Dlaney's guide

Learn music fast.

I started from zero. Here is everything that actually worked: the challenge, the apps, the free tools, and the people who inspire me. Steal it all.

The 99-day challenge

One instrument. Every day. No excuses.

I am on day 68 of piano

Here is the whole trick: pick one instrument and play it every single day for 99 days. Not an hour. Ten minutes counts. The streak matters more than the session.

I started with piano because it is the most visual instrument there is. Every note is laid out in front of you, left to right, low to high. You learn where the notes live once, and that map transfers to everything else.

After piano comes drums, then guitar. Same deal each time: 99 days, every day, no zero days.

🎹 Piano: 99 days (in progress) πŸ₯ Drums: 60 days (next) 🎸 Guitar: 99 days (after that)

What progress looks like

Three players at the early and intermediate stages. This is what a few months of daily practice buys you.

90 days, 4 hours a day, from zero

A total beginner documents 90 days of practice, from first notes to a jazz arrangement. Proof of what daily practice does.

One year of piano as a 40-year-old beginner

An adult beginner's honest year-long journey. Relatable for anyone starting late, and proof it is never too late.

1 day vs 10 years of piano

The same pieces played at 1 day, 1 week, 1 month, all the way to 10 years. Hear exactly what each stage sounds like.

Simply Piano app icon

The app that leveled me up

Simply Piano

This is the app that taught me piano. It listens while you play, corrects you in real time, and turns practice into a game you actually want to win. It levels you up just a couple of percentage points every day, and those compound fast.

$25 a month. Worth every penny.

Try Simply Piano

Or start free, right now

We built MusicBot for exactly this: real sheet music, engraved note by note, transposed to all white keys, with the letter name under every note. Pick a song and play along today.

🎡 Singin' in the Rain 🎡 Amazing Grace 🎡 Ode to Joy
Open MusicBot, free

Creators who inspire me

People making incredible music and sharing the process.

β˜•

Coffee Beats

RafaΕ‚ Borowiec, music producer from Poland. Chill and lo-fi beats for relaxing and drinking coffee.

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Coffee Beats is on Instagram

Rafal posts daily beat-making videos. His video embed is coming, follow him here for now.

@cof.bea on Instagram

Watch him build a beat from nothing. Then follow @cof.bea on Instagram for daily inspiration.

Then learn drums

The fastest win in music. Rhythm is a superpower.

πŸ₯

The Avatar drum pads

Around $300 for an electronic drum pad kit like the Avatar PD705 (9 pads, 608 sounds, USB/MIDI). Quiet enough for an apartment, real enough to learn on. It is the easiest on-ramp to drums that exists: set it up in ten minutes and you are playing.

Your first drum lesson (Drumeo)

Ten minutes: grip, your first beat, your first fill. The gold-standard first lesson, and it works on pads.

New drum set? Start here

Under five minutes: setup, stick grip, and your first beat. Zero fluff.

Play your first song on drums

Learn a real song step by step and play along. Ride, bass, snare, done.

Learn with us.

We are building the world's first open source record label, and we are learning every instrument in public. Come along for the ride.

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