Common Sense Media Review
By Erin Brereton
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Mostly free sheet music and lots of instrument resources.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 8+?
Any Positive Content?
Privacy Rating Warning
Privacy Rating
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Pass
Meets our minimum requirements for privacy and security practices.
Warning
Does not meet our recommendations for privacy and security practices.
Fail
Does not have a privacy policy and should not be used.
Privacy Rating
Our expert evaluators create our privacy ratings. The ratings are designed to help you understand how apps use your data for commercial purposes.
Pass
Meets our minimum requirements for privacy and security practices.
Warning
Does not meet our recommendations for privacy and security practices.
Fail
Does not have a privacy policy and should not be used.
What's It About?
8NOTES.COM offers free sheet music for more than 25 instruments. Kids also can access lessons on piano chords, drum beats, and other musical components from popular songs and music theory. Other tools and resources include an online guitar tuner and guitar and piano chord charts, which feature audio files so kids can hear chords before playing them. They also can read musician biographies spanning from Beethoven to Beyonce and look up terms in a musical glossary. A $20 annual subscription provides access to longer, more advanced pieces.
Is It Any Good?
8notes.com can connect kids to a solid music library that includes classical pieces and a few contemporary favorites. Kids will find a decent amount of traditional music; songs available through free piano sheet music, for example, range from "Happy Birthday" to Beethoven's "Moonlight Sonata." Songs also frequently include helpful supplementary items, such as a video that lets kids listen to the track before they play it and chord pattern information.
However, the additional information isn't consistent for each song. Adele's "Someone Like You," for example, includes a chord and song structure breakdown, whereas Tchaikovsky's "1812 Overture" description only includes a brief theme identification and composer background. The site says that more than three quarters of its sheet music, lessons, and jam tracks are free, but kids may be frustrated to find that many of the rock and pop sheet-music selections have to be purchased (only a half-dozen fairly obscure tunes are free). Still, the site's resources, including a nifty online guitar tuner and a metronome, can help kids hone their playing skills.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about how songs are made; songwriting involves several steps. Ask your child to compare that process to the steps used to complete a household task.
What is your child's favorite song? Musical taste involves someone's opinion.
Discuss how music can help you express feelings. Can your child identify the intent behind a song on the radio? What emotions does it seem to describe or convey?
Website Details
- Subjects : Language & Reading : discussion , following directions , reading , Arts : music , rhythm
- Skills : Thinking & Reasoning : applying information , part-whole relationships , thinking critically , Self-Direction : effort , personal growth , Communication : multiple forms of expression
- Genre : Educational
- Topics : Arts ( Music and Sing-Along )
- Pricing structure : Paid, Free
- Last updated : October 1, 2025
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