Piano Maestro Teacher FAQ
What are the different membership plans?
Simply Teachers can get many teacher resources for free.
Additional premium features and licensed content require a membership. The two plans we have are:
My Studio - Opens up all the content and features in the teacher account. This includes unlimited profiles and all licensed content among other things.
Studio+Home - The deluxe plan that opens up everything in the teacher account and for ALL the students at home.
How much do the plans cost?
My Studio is $12.99/month, or $9.99/month in an annual plan.
Studio+Home is $19.99/month, or $14.99/month in an annual plan
Important! Studio+Home adds $7/month (or $5 for annual) on top of My Studio, which is less than what any parent will pay if they purchase a home subscription themselves. In other words, even if you have only 1 student that’s using Piano Maestro at home, it makes sense financially to get this plan and unlock access to ALL your students. We created a calculator that might help with simplifying the cost calculations.
How do I purchase a subscription?
Navigate to Piano Maestro, and then tap My Account > Membership. From this screen, you can purchase a premium subscription to Piano Maestro.
Also, as requested by many teachers, you can purchase an annual membership via PayPal (which supports credit cards) in addition to buying through the app. (This comes with 13 months of the app for the price of a year).
How do I renew my subscription?
If you purchased the subscription through Apple, your subscription will auto-renew at the end of your subscription period. If you purchased through PayPal, you can easily renew by entering your teacher account email on our PayPal order page. When renewing your membership, the plan will automatically be added on top of your current membership to ensure smooth continuity for you and your students.
Typing in your teacher account email will also show you when your current subscription is set to expire.
What features are in the free version of the app?
The core teaching tools, like lesson management, teacher reports, unlocked journey chapters (aside from the occasional licensed song which will be locked), seasonal content (Summer Camp, Holidays, etc.), over 50 avatars and all silver content can be accessed for free. Silver content is a sizable collection of public domain and JT songs. It is clearly marked as silver in the app.
Oh, and the Piano Dust Buster app is free just for teachers! :-)
Why isn't the full app free?
Since the app became free 4+ years ago, many of you may have questioned how we make money from it. The honest truth is that we don’t. More so, every method book, exercise and pop song needs to be paid for, on top of development and new iOS adaptations, for example.
Our very small team has been absorbing these costs from other revenue sources for years now (hundreds of thousands of dollars!). As business owners yourselves, we hope you understand that we can’t cover the cost anymore if we want to keep Piano Maestro not only alive, but thriving.
That being said, it’s important to note that our commitment to all teachers remains and there is in fact a free plan with tons of available features ( there are actually way more teacher features here than what we had when we were a completely free app.). Teachers are also able to take advantage of a one-month free trial of the app.
Do you add new content to the app?
Yes! We just released a big update with lots of fun new content and features, including an improved search in the library!
We also continue to frequently add method books to the app, so that you can use Piano Maestro as a direct supplement to your teaching. We've recently added 6 books to the app, including Roadtrip by Jennifer Eklund, and more books from the Hal Leonard collection!
Finally, we have regular specials and seasonal content (like Summer Camp) in the app where we release fun new songs.
How does the free trial work? Do I have to start immediately?
For both membership plans, the 1-month trial is opt-in so you can decide when you want it to start and if needed easily cancel via the device settings. For ease-of-use, we’re using Apple’s standard mechanisms. Teachers that choose to pay via PayPal will receive this 1-month trial as an extension to their annual period.
The 1-month free trial is only available to teachers.
How did you decide what is part of the membership plans?
The general rule of thumb we used is that for features/content that entails an out-of-pocket expense for Simply, we would put it as part of a membership. This obviously applies to licensed content, and also to some proprietary arrangements and additional profiles which require more data, servers and technical support.
Are there annual plans?
Of course! You can make a one-time payment in the app for the entire year at a large discount of roughly 25%. Use the small dropdown menu in your iTunes account (with the down-facing arrow near the price) to toggle between month-by-month and annual options.
You can also do so by paying via Paypal (supports credit cards too) if you prefer and get 13 months (to account for the 1 month free trial in the app). Renewing teachers using PayPal will have the membership automatically added on top of their current subscription.
Will my families be charged automatically?
NO NO NO! We do not automatically charge anyone without proper consent and a well-informed decision. The payment options are behind the parent “wall” in the parent/teacher zone and require multiple confirmations before being processed.
I have an older iPad, what devices are supported?
For the time being, we will continue to support iOS 9 and iOS 10, which means most devices and operating systems you had for older versions of Piano Maestro will continue to be supported.
When we drop iOS 9 support there will be some devices that will stop being supported, but it won't happen before the end of 2018, and even longer if necessary.
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Can you remind me again what is Silver content vs. Gold?
Silver content is free for teachers in all plans, including the free one, but just for teacher accounts. It includes quite a lot of public domain titles along with JT originals and more.
Gold (My Studio) content is our premium selection consisting of licensed method books, exercises and songs, as well as some other titles with proprietary arrangements. All gold content is unlocked for both premium membership plans on the teacher account. Platinum (Studio+Home) unlocks gold content on students’ home accounts as well.
I like surprises - are there additional benefits in the membership?
Why of course :)
First of all, every member will receive an e-copy of Ms. Becki’s helpful and hilarious Teacher’s Guide (sold on Amazon), as well as sticker printouts for the studio, and a student certificate. The welcome goodies will be sent to you by email after your free trial transitions to your selected plan (about 33 days after you started the free trial).
The Studio+Home also has an added benefit of enhanced teacher reports and priority tech support. Everyone, including free, will get the new features, avatars, and fixes of this version.
I really prefer to pay via PayPal or credit card, is that possible?
Yes, due to popular demand we added this option. It will only be available as a one-time payment for the entire year (13 months actually). You can access it here.
Credit card payments are processed by PayPal, but you don’t need a PayPal account. On the payment screen be sure to click “Pay with a debit or credit card” on the right (under the credentials).
This is especially useful for teachers that don’t want or can’t work with In-App purchases (like school teachers) and teachers outside the US that want better exchange rates than what Apple supplies.
While we wanted to make it simple for the community with the In-App purchasing option, the PayPal option is in fact better for Simply.
Also, for teachers who want to renew their subscription through PayPal, the purchase will automatically be added on top of their current subscription for continued access.
Can I keep the cost within the studio and not pass it onto the families?
Yes. You can divide the costs however you’d like. We know some teachers want to pay for it without raising rates and granting access as a studio gift, while others either raise their rates or charge an extra technology fee to cover all/some of these costs. Some even charge more and make a profit. It’s your call. You can play around with different options by using this cost calculator.
How much will the app cost parents who want to purchase on their own?
Parents can purchase a home subscription at $9.99/month or $59.99 for the year. This will open all content for all the family profiles, on their device only. If the parents have a subscription, and you don’t, you should use their account for teaching.
The Studio+Home plan adds $7/month, or $5/month for the annual plan, which is less than what a parent will pay, so it’s actually better for parents to purchase through you. If you have a few students using at home you can even save them money while making a profit if you want.
My membership is expiring but I already have a bunch of student profiles set, what happens to them?
Don’t worry, all your existing student profiles are all there and your students can continue to learn and progress even in the free plan, however you will not be able to create new profiles since unlimited profiles are part of the membership plans (they incur additional costs on JT). New teachers are limited to 5 profiles.
I’m a school teacher and can’t pay via In-App, what can I do?
Sadly we don’t support POs, however we did open up the option to pay via PayPal (supports credit cards) which is best if you only need one teacher account. If there are several teacher accounts, please reach out to education@hellosimply.com with details and we’ll get you sorted out.
I’m part of a large studio with several teachers, what should I do?
If you have more than 3 teachers in the studio, reach out to education@hellosimply.com for our Large Studio options. Among other things, we can make sure every teacher can keep their own account.
What plan is best for me if I am a small studio?
If you have a handful of students, the free plan would probably make a very good fit, as it still provides a wide selection of content and the journey mode.
If you need the added benefits, you might want to ask the parents to buy the annual membership and then teach on their devices. If you have more than 2-3 students, the price per student per month might make sense. Try it out yourself with this new cost calculator.
Can I upgrade/downgrade my membership?
Good question. It’s best if you try out the plans and decide what will be good for you and your studio, but you can indeed modify if needed by contacting education@hellosimply.com. Notice that following Apple's policy, downgrades happen at the end of the current period you purchased. Upgrading an account through PayPal will apply the Studio+Home membership instantly.
I teach underprivileged students in special programs, who cannot support the membership plans. Am I doomed?
Gosh, we hope not. We would like to support your important work so in special cases we will make available a Simply Scholarship for one of the membership plans. You can apply with details at scholarship@hellosimply.com.
What about a discount to Piano Dust Buster or Simply Piano?
Piano Dust Buster remains free for teachers! We don’t currently have a discount for a Maestro-Simply membership.
Is the cost in US dollars? What happens if I am outside the US?
Yes, all prices are in USD. Apple automatically adjusts the costs for each country with the local currency.
If you’re outside the US and prefer paying via PayPal (due to exchange rates, or for any other reason), you can do so here. Also supports credit/debit cards. At the time of purchase, you can choose if you want PayPal’s exchange rate, or your bank’s exchange rate.
Wow, that was long, but I have more questions. What should I do?
Yes, indeed quite long, but there is just so much to cover. If you have additional questions and you think they’ll be relevant for others, the FB group is the best place. You might also get a quick answer there. If in doubt, please write to us at education@hellosimply.com.
What's new?
We just released a big update with lots of fun new content and features, including an improved search in the library!