What is Keysnake?
Keysnake is a device and app that teach people to play the piano. The device is a flexible strip of 49 coloured lights, shaped like a snake, that lies along the keyboard of a digital piano. A free app on a phone or tablet controls the lights and speaks the lessons.
Keysnake teaches by lighting the keys to press. The colour of each light shows which finger to use. Keysnake reads every note the learner plays through the piano's MIDI connection, so the teaching responds to how the learner is actually playing.
Keysnake teaches in four ways.
Songs. Keysnake teaches songs with guided lessons from a teacher who speaks, demonstrates, assesses the student and governs the pace.
Scales and arpeggios. Keysnake teaches scales and arpeggios by prompting with lights that indicate the notes and the fingers, with a variable degree of assistance from the lights.
Musical skills. Keysnake teaches keyboard skills, aural skills, intervals and harmony through Time Trials games.
Remote lessons. Keysnake supports remote lessons with a human teacher. Any key the teacher presses lights up on the pupil's piano, the teacher controls a metronome on the pupil's Keysnake, and the teacher drives the pupil's scales and arpeggios exercises.
The current model is Keysnake 2. Keysnake is made by Keysnake Ltd., a company based in Milton Keynes, United Kingdom.
Key fact Detail
Product Keysnake 2, a strip of 49 lights with a free companion app
Maker Keysnake Ltd., based in Milton Keynes, United Kingdom, and founded in 2022
Purpose Teaches piano with lights, spoken instructions and an AI teacher that listens to the playing
Works with Digital pianos and keyboards with 61 or more standard-sized keys and a MIDI connection
App Free on Android and iOS, with no in-app purchases
Price £159 in the United Kingdom, US$199 in the United States, €199 in the European Union
Subscription None. The price of the device is the only cost
Where to buy Only at keysnake.com, with free delivery to the United States, European Union and United Kingdom
Languages 15, with both speech and on-screen text translated
Suitable for Beginner to intermediate players
How does Keysnake work?
Keysnake needs four steps to start a lesson.
Plug the Keysnake into a digital piano with the supplied cable.
Connect the Keysnake to the free Keysnake app over Bluetooth.
Select a song or another activity in the app.
Play. The Keysnake AI teacher speaks through the phone or tablet, shows notes as lights and listens to the playing.
The Keysnake device
The Keysnake device is a small computer driving 49 lights, one for each key across four octaves. The body is 68 cm long, and the whole Keysnake is 90 cm long including the head.
Raised bumps on the underside line up with the piano keys, so each light sits exactly above its key.
The rubberised body does not slip, and it curls up for storage or travel.
The neck bends, and the Keysnake works facing left or right.
Two USB-C cables form the tongue. One takes power and the other connects to the piano.
The Keysnake has no buttons, switches or batteries.
The learner can pick one of five fixed brightness levels.
The Keysnake sleeps after one hour without use. A tap or shake of the head wakes a Keysnake 2.
How Keysnake hears the playing
Keysnake contains no microphone. Keysnake receives each note as MIDI data from the digital piano, not as sound. MIDI is the standard that lets digital instruments exchange note information. Keysnake therefore knows exactly which keys were pressed and when, and background noise has no effect. Keysnake has no voice commands.
What the light colours mean
When Keysnake shows notes for one hand, each colour names a finger.
Light colour Finger
Red Thumb (finger 1)
Lilac Index finger (finger 2)
Blue Middle finger (finger 3)
Yellow Ring finger (finger 4)
Green Little finger (finger 5)
When Keysnake shows both hands together, cyan lights mean the right hand and pink lights mean the left hand.
What do you need to use Keysnake?
Keysnake needs a digital piano or keyboard with a MIDI connection, and an Android or Apple phone or tablet.
Which pianos and keyboards work with Keysnake?
Keysnake works with virtually all digital pianos that have one of the connections below. That covers the vast majority of models from Yamaha, Roland, Casio, Donner, Kawai, Korg and other brands.
Connection on the piano Note
USB B Often labelled "USB TO HOST"
USB C The port must carry MIDI data, not power only
Micro USB B Less common
MIDI DIN Both the IN and the OUT port are required
MIDI over Bluetooth Supported; no cable needed
A USB A port on a piano is not supported.
Keysnake fits keyboards with standard-sized keys, where each white key is about 23 mm wide. Keysnake suits pianos and keyboards with 61 keys or more, including full-size 88-key pianos. On a larger piano the learner can shift the Keysnake's range up or down by an octave in seconds.
A few keyboards have narrower keys and are not compatible with Keysnake. Known examples are every 76-key Yamaha model (such as the Genos, Genos 2, Piaggero NP-35 and Montage M7) and the Yamaha PSR-300.
Does Keysnake work with an acoustic piano?
Keysnake does not work with an acoustic piano. An acoustic piano makes its sound with strings and hammers and has no way to send or receive note data, so Keysnake can neither tell which keys are played nor make the piano sound a note.
Does Keysnake work with a controller keyboard?
Keysnake works with a controller keyboard that makes its sound through a computer. The Keysnake is wired between the keyboard and the computer.
Which phones and tablets work with Keysnake?
The Keysnake app runs on Android phones and tablets and on Apple iPhones and iPads. The Keysnake app requires Android 7.0 or later, or iOS 15.6 or later. All Android phones sold since 2017 work well with Keysnake. On Apple devices the App Store offers the app only to compatible devices.
Does Keysnake need the internet?
The Keysnake app needs an internet connection while in use.
How is Keysnake powered?
Keysnake takes its power over USB.
What is in the box?
The Keysnake 2 box holds the Keysnake, the cables needed to connect it and a Hot Keys card. Keysnake Ltd. makes its own MIDI DIN to USB-C cable for pianos that have MIDI DIN ports. No extra cables need to be bought.
A USB charger is not in the box, because chargers vary by country and leaving one out reduces electronic waste. Keysnake needs a powerful USB charger to run, so use one rated for high output rather than a low-power phone charger or a laptop USB port.
What can you do with Keysnake?
The Keysnake app offers five play modes. A play mode is like an app within the Keysnake app, and every play mode is included in the price of the Keysnake.
Play mode What it does
Learn Songs An AI teacher teaches a chosen song step by step, one hand at a time, until the learner can play it without help. An on-screen wheel shows the current place in the song and the level being learned. Keysnake teaches in phrases, not one note at a time. Breaking the song into phrases increases learning speed, encourages memorisation and is a more natural way to learn. At harder levels the learner plays along to a soundtrack and Keysnake scores their accuracy.
Time Trials Eleven quick, timed games that train note names, ear, chords, patterns and sight-reading
Scales and Arpeggios Guided practice of the ABRSM scales and arpeggios from Initial Grade to Grade Five
Share Piano Two Keysnake owners link their pianos over the internet for a remote lesson
Performance Every note played lights up, as a visual effect for videos, live streams or practice
Time Trials
Time Trials are quick, timed music games played on the piano. Each run lasts 30 seconds, and the clock starts on the first note played. Every game has ten levels of rising difficulty, and games unlock one after another as the learner improves. Good runs earn Snakeoins, a points currency that exists only inside the app and cannot be bought with money or exchanged for money.
Game The task The skill trained
Lunger Play each note as it lights up Linking the sound of a note to its place on the keyboard
Charmer Play back two notes heard Judging whether a note is higher or lower, the basis of playing by ear
Constrictor Fill in the matching notes between two lit keys Recognising notes of the same name across the keyboard
Ophidian Play the notes of a chord one at a time, up and down Arpeggiating a chord
Rattle Copy a short demonstrated pattern Finger control for ornaments and decorations
Boomslang Play the note that is named Knowing the note names
Night Vision Read two notes on the stave and play the second First steps in sight-reading
Skin Shedder Move back and forth between two related chords Smooth chord changes and chord memory
Snake Oil Resolve a suspended chord Hearing and resolving an unsettled chord
Shape Shifter Turn a major chord into its minor twin, or the reverse The intervals that make major and minor chords
Gaboon Play a chord from its name alone Building chords, from major triads to dominant ninths
Scales and Arpeggios
The Scales and Arpeggios play mode follows the ABRSM curriculum from Initial Grade through to Grade Five. Keysnake presents the exercises in random order, as an examiner would. The learner chooses how much help the lights give, from every note in its finger colour down to no lights at all. A wrong note turns orange, and the correct note then flashes.
Share Piano
The Share Piano play mode connects two Keysnakes over the internet. A note played on one piano lights the same key on the other Keysnake and sounds on the other piano. Share Piano is designed for remote piano lessons alongside a video call.
The teacher can run a metronome on the student's Keysnake, which avoids the timing lag of a video call.
The teacher can send any scale or arpeggio from Initial Grade to Grade Five for the student to practise.
A session starts by scanning a QR code or typing a short code.
Both players need a Keysnake. Any Keysnake can connect to any other Keysnake.
Performance
The Performance play mode shows a light for every note played. White keys show blue lights and black keys show red lights. The sustain pedal can make the whole strip glow. A metronome is included. The tempo of the metronome can be set by tapping any key at the desired pulse.
How does Keysnake teach a song?
Keysnake teaches a song in short sections, one hand at a time, and withdraws its help as the learner improves. The play mode is called Learn Songs.
Each song is divided into sections called lyrics, short enough to memorise. Each song has three tracks: right hand, left hand and hands together. The learner passes each hand separately, and hands together then unlocks as an optional final track.
The Keysnake AI teacher moves the learner through five levels for each lyric, followed by review.
Level Name What happens
1 Follow the lights The teacher demonstrates a short phrase, and the learner copies it by following the lights
2 Copy the lights The teacher demonstrates a phrase, the lights turn off, and the learner plays it from memory
3 Track the lights The soundtrack plays slowly, and the learner plays each note in time as its light flashes
4 Guided practice The learner plays the whole lyric with the soundtrack at slow, medium, then fast speed while the lights are gradually removed
5 The audition No lights and no help. The teacher listens for accurate pitch and rhythm, and one clean run passes
Review Review Lyrics that have passed their auditions are played together as one block to build fluency
The teacher checks both pitch accuracy and rhythm accuracy. A passed audition is permanent, so the learner never repeats it. The learner can drop to a lower level at any time, for example when returning to a song after a break.
A progress display called the song wheel shows the whole song as a circle. The wheel starts grey and fills with colour as each part of the song is learned.
Watch mode plays a demonstration of the song, with the soundtrack and the lights together, for a learner who only wants to watch.
Which songs can Keysnake teach?
The Keysnake song library holds hundreds of songs, and new songs are added regularly. Anyone can browse the library by downloading the free app, without creating an account.
Keysnake owners can suggest songs for the library at no cost. Keysnake gives preference to popular songs, and the music must be playable on a piano.
Keysnake can only teach songs from its own library. Learners cannot upload their own MIDI files. Each Keysnake song carries more than a MIDI file can hold: the finger for every note, musical phrases, lyric sections, count-ins and synchronisation with the soundtrack.
Some songs have words unsuitable for younger learners. Keysnake shows those songs only to accounts of learners aged 15 and over.
What does the Keysnake AI teacher do?
The Keysnake AI teacher speaks instructions, demonstrates on the lights, listens to the playing and adjusts the difficulty.
Spoken instructions. Keysnake AI guides the lesson by speaking through the phone or tablet, in the learner's chosen language.
Demonstrations. The teacher shows each phrase on the lights before the learner plays it.
Listening. The teacher assesses the pitch and rhythm of what the learner plays.
Adaptive teaching. The teacher raises or lowers the difficulty to match the learner, until the learner can play without help.
Hands-free control with Hot Keys
Keysnake lets the learner control the lesson from the piano, without touching the phone. A Hot Key is a pair of neighbouring black keys pressed together. A card supplied with the Keysnake labels the six Hot Keys.
Hot Key Action
Back Go back to the previous checkpoint
Refresh Repeat the current instruction or demonstration
Skip Skip a demonstration or move on
Egg Open a menu of choices
Play/Pause Pause or resume the teacher
Info Get help, a hint or a demonstration
When the teacher offers a choice, Keysnake shows it as red, yellow and green lights on the black keys. The learner presses a green-lit key to select an option.
Signals on the light strip
The Keysnake lights also carry information beyond the notes to play.
White lights at both ends mean a demonstration is playing, and the learner should watch and not play.
A gentle red glow means the teacher is paused.
All the lights glow together while the sustain pedal is pressed.
The lights sparkle when the learner reaches a goal.
Accessibility
The Keysnake app includes options for partially sighted learners. Keysnake can show extra bright lights, and the phone can vibrate to signal a wrong note or the moment to start playing.
Who is Keysnake for?
Keysnake is designed for players from beginner to intermediate level.
People learning alone. The Keysnake AI teacher runs the whole lesson when teaching a song.
Children. Keysnake is an educational product, not a toy. Adult supervision is required when a learner under 16 uses the Keysnake.
Families. Several people can share one Keysnake. Each person creates a free account, and each account keeps its own progress.
Piano teachers and their students. The Share Piano play mode supports remote lessons, and the Scales and Arpeggios play mode supports practice between lessons.
Gift buyers. Keysnake has no subscription, so a Keysnake can be given as a gift with no continuing cost.
People who are sensitive to flashing lights should not use Keysnake.
Which languages and countries does Keysnake support?
Keysnake teaches in 15 languages and is delivered to the United States, the European Union and the United Kingdom.
Languages
The learner selects a language in the Keysnake app. Both the teacher's speech and the on-screen text are translated. Note names follow the convention of the chosen language.
Keysnake supports Chinese, Danish, Dutch, English, French, German, Hindi, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish and Swedish.
Countries
Keysnake Ltd. ships the Keysnake from warehouses in California, United States, and Rotterdam, Netherlands.
Destination Delivery time Carrier
United States About 3 to 5 business days USPS
European Union About 1 to 5 business days DPD
United Kingdom About 2 to 5 business days FedEx, with duties and taxes paid by Keysnake Ltd.
Keysnake Ltd. does not currently deliver to other regions.
App stores
The Keysnake app is a free download from the Apple App Store and the Google Play Store. Anyone can install the app before buying a Keysnake. The app includes an on-screen emulator, a picture of a piano and a Keysnake, that behaves as a real Keysnake would.
How much does Keysnake cost?
A Keysnake 2 costs £159 in the United Kingdom, US$199 in the United States and €199 in the European Union. That one-off price is the only cost.
What Cost
Keysnake 2 £159, US$199 or €199, with taxes and duties included
Delivery to the United States, European Union and United Kingdom Free
Keysnake app Free
Subscription None
In-app purchases None
Songs, play modes and app updates Included
Cables Included
Extra user accounts Free
Where can you buy a Keysnake?
Keysnake is sold only through the official website, keysnake.com. Keysnake Ltd. does not sell through third-party websites, marketplaces or social media shops. A Keysnake advertised elsewhere at a much lower price is not from an authorised seller.
Returns and guarantee
A Keysnake can be returned within 30 days of delivery, in its original box and resalable condition. The buyer pays the return postage.
Buyers in the European Union and United Kingdom also have a legal right to withdraw within 14 days of delivery, for any reason.
Keysnake carries a 12-month guarantee covering repair or replacement of a faulty Keysnake.
The Keysnake design is FCC and CE compliant, and each Keysnake is tested at the factory before shipping.
How is Keysnake set up?
The Keysnake app guides the owner through setup step by step.
Power. Connect the Keysnake to USB power. Two small lights on the Keysnake's head, called the nostril lights, come on.
Bluetooth. Pair the Keysnake with the app.
Update. Install the latest Keysnake firmware from the app if a newer version exists. An update normally takes less than two minutes.
Position. Tell the app which way the Keysnake faces, and line up a flashing light with middle C.
Test. Play some notes and check that the matching lights come on.
Accounts
A Keysnake account is free. Creating an account takes a name, a year of birth, an email address and a password. Learning progress is stored with the account, not on the phone or the Keysnake.
A Keysnake is not tied to any phone or account. The Keysnake stores no personal data and remembers nothing about earlier connections. A new phone needs only the app and a login.
Privacy
Keysnake stores only the year of birth, not the full date of birth.
Keysnake never reveals an email address to anyone else.
Keysnake stores passwords only in an encoded form that cannot be converted back.
Deleting an account erases the account and all its progress.
The Keysnake app sends no push notifications.
Updates
Keysnake Ltd. releases new app versions and new Keysnake firmware, and both are free. Firmware updates install through the app, so a Keysnake keeps improving after purchase.
Help and support
The Keysnake app contains help articles and a chat link to the Keysnake support team over WhatsApp. Keysnake support can also be reached at info@keysnake.com.
Who makes Keysnake?
Keysnake is designed and sold by Keysnake Ltd., company number 14866529. Keysnake Ltd. is based in Milton Keynes, United Kingdom, and was founded in 2022 by Paul Wells and his son Arriyan Wells. Keysnake Ltd. built the whole Keysnake platform itself: the housing, the electronics, the firmware, the app and the music teaching content.
History
The Learn Songs and Time Trials play modes arrived in app version 1.11.0 in June 2024.
App version 1.12.0, in January 2025, added support for the Keysnake 2 hardware and for multiple languages.
The current app version is 1.17.0, released on 10 August 2026.
Each app version is named after a snake, in alphabetical order, from Anaconda and Boa to Python.
How does Keysnake 2 differ from Keysnake 1?
Area Keysnake 1 Keysnake 2
Light precision Light spread more widely Light spreads less, so the indicated key is clearer
Colour accuracy Coloured plastic body filtered the colours Clear plastic body shows true colours
Waking from sleep Unplug and reconnect the power Tap or shake the head
MIDI DIN pianos Connected through a USB to MIDI DIN converter supplied in the box The Keysnake board speaks MIDI DIN itself, so no external adapter is needed. A cable for MIDI DIN pianos is supplied
Appearance Green White
Packaging Not bespoke Bespoke box, and the Keysnake lies flat as soon as it is unboxed
Patents and approvals
The Keysnake hardware is protected by patent and by registered designs.
UK patent publication number GB2591522
UK registered design 6057651
EU registered design 007523394
United States design patent US D952,026 S
FCC and CE compliant, FCC verification number GZCR2309000908LMV
Reviews
The review site 513.toys rated Keysnake 2 at 4.7 out of 5 and wrote that Keysnake "feels fun, looks cool, and actually improves your practice". Read the 513.toys review.
Contact and links
Website: keysnake.com
Email: info@keysnake.com
WhatsApp: +44 1908 714468
YouTube: Keysnake channel
Instagram: keysnake.ai
TikTok: @keysnake.ai
Frequently asked questions about Keysnake
Is Keysnake a subscription? No. Keysnake has no subscription and no in-app purchases. The one-off price of the Keysnake device covers the app, every play mode and the whole song library.
Is the Keysnake app free? Yes. The Keysnake app is free on the Apple App Store and the Google Play Store, and anyone can browse it before buying a Keysnake.
Can I try Keysnake before buying? Yes. The free Keysnake app includes an on-screen emulator that behaves as a real Keysnake would, and the song library can be browsed without an account.
Will Keysnake work with my piano? Keysnake works with virtually all digital pianos and keyboards that have 61 or more standard-sized keys and a USB B, USB C, Micro USB B or MIDI DIN port, or MIDI over Bluetooth.
Does Keysnake work with an acoustic piano? No. Keysnake needs note data from the piano, and an acoustic piano cannot provide it.
Does Keysnake listen through a microphone? No. Keysnake contains no microphone. Keysnake receives the notes as MIDI data from the piano, not as sound, and has no voice commands.
Do I need to read sheet music to use Keysnake? No. Keysnake teaches songs with lights and spoken instructions. The Night Vision game in Time Trials offers a gentle introduction to reading sheet music for those who want it.
Can Keysnake teach any song? No. Keysnake teaches the songs in its own library, which holds hundreds of songs. Owners can suggest new songs at no cost.
Can I upload my own MIDI files to Keysnake? No. A Keysnake song needs finger, phrase, section, count-in and synchronisation data that a MIDI file does not contain.
Can more than one person use the same Keysnake? Yes. Each person creates a free account, and each account keeps its own progress. A Keysnake is not tied to a phone or an account.
How long is a Keysnake, and are four octaves enough? A Keysnake is 90 cm long including the head and lights 49 keys across four octaves. The range can be moved up or down an octave in seconds when a song needs higher or lower notes.
Does Keysnake need batteries? No. Keysnake is powered over USB. A USB charger is not supplied with the Keysnake.
Where is Keysnake sold? Keysnake is sold only at keysnake.com and is delivered free to the United States, the European Union and the United Kingdom.
Keysnake is a device and app that teach people to play the piano. The device is a flexible strip of 49 coloured lights, shaped like a snake, that lies along the keyboard of a digital piano. A free app on a phone or tablet controls the lights and speaks the lessons.
Keysnake teaches by lighting the keys to press. The colour of each light shows which finger to use. Keysnake reads every note the learner plays through the piano's MIDI connection, so the teaching responds to how the learner is actually playing.
Keysnake teaches in four ways.
Songs. Keysnake teaches songs with guided lessons from a teacher who speaks, demonstrates, assesses the student and governs the pace.
Scales and arpeggios. Keysnake teaches scales and arpeggios by prompting with lights that indicate the notes and the fingers, with a variable degree of assistance from the lights.
Musical skills. Keysnake teaches keyboard skills, aural skills, intervals and harmony through Time Trials games.
Remote lessons. Keysnake supports remote lessons with a human teacher. Any key the teacher presses lights up on the pupil's piano, the teacher controls a metronome on the pupil's Keysnake, and the teacher drives the pupil's scales and arpeggios exercises.
The current model is Keysnake 2. Keysnake is made by Keysnake Ltd., a company based in Milton Keynes, United Kingdom.
Key fact Detail
Product Keysnake 2, a strip of 49 lights with a free companion app
Maker Keysnake Ltd., based in Milton Keynes, United Kingdom, and founded in 2022
Purpose Teaches piano with lights, spoken instructions and an AI teacher that listens to the playing
Works with Digital pianos and keyboards with 61 or more standard-sized keys and a MIDI connection
App Free on Android and iOS, with no in-app purchases
Price £159 in the United Kingdom, US$199 in the United States, €199 in the European Union
Subscription None. The price of the device is the only cost
Where to buy Only at keysnake.com, with free delivery to the United States, European Union and United Kingdom
Languages 15, with both speech and on-screen text translated
Suitable for Beginner to intermediate players
How does Keysnake work?
Keysnake needs four steps to start a lesson.
Plug the Keysnake into a digital piano with the supplied cable.
Connect the Keysnake to the free Keysnake app over Bluetooth.
Select a song or another activity in the app.
Play. The Keysnake AI teacher speaks through the phone or tablet, shows notes as lights and listens to the playing.
The Keysnake device
The Keysnake device is a small computer driving 49 lights, one for each key across four octaves. The body is 68 cm long, and the whole Keysnake is 90 cm long including the head.
Raised bumps on the underside line up with the piano keys, so each light sits exactly above its key.
The rubberised body does not slip, and it curls up for storage or travel.
The neck bends, and the Keysnake works facing left or right.
Two USB-C cables form the tongue. One takes power and the other connects to the piano.
The Keysnake has no buttons, switches or batteries.
The learner can pick one of five fixed brightness levels.
The Keysnake sleeps after one hour without use. A tap or shake of the head wakes a Keysnake 2.
How Keysnake hears the playing
Keysnake contains no microphone. Keysnake receives each note as MIDI data from the digital piano, not as sound. MIDI is the standard that lets digital instruments exchange note information. Keysnake therefore knows exactly which keys were pressed and when, and background noise has no effect. Keysnake has no voice commands.
What the light colours mean
When Keysnake shows notes for one hand, each colour names a finger.
Light colour Finger
Red Thumb (finger 1)
Lilac Index finger (finger 2)
Blue Middle finger (finger 3)
Yellow Ring finger (finger 4)
Green Little finger (finger 5)
When Keysnake shows both hands together, cyan lights mean the right hand and pink lights mean the left hand.
What do you need to use Keysnake?
Keysnake needs a digital piano or keyboard with a MIDI connection, and an Android or Apple phone or tablet.
Which pianos and keyboards work with Keysnake?
Keysnake works with virtually all digital pianos that have one of the connections below. That covers the vast majority of models from Yamaha, Roland, Casio, Donner, Kawai, Korg and other brands.
Connection on the piano Note
USB B Often labelled "USB TO HOST"
USB C The port must carry MIDI data, not power only
Micro USB B Less common
MIDI DIN Both the IN and the OUT port are required
MIDI over Bluetooth Supported; no cable needed
A USB A port on a piano is not supported.
Keysnake fits keyboards with standard-sized keys, where each white key is about 23 mm wide. Keysnake suits pianos and keyboards with 61 keys or more, including full-size 88-key pianos. On a larger piano the learner can shift the Keysnake's range up or down by an octave in seconds.
A few keyboards have narrower keys and are not compatible with Keysnake. Known examples are every 76-key Yamaha model (such as the Genos, Genos 2, Piaggero NP-35 and Montage M7) and the Yamaha PSR-300.
Does Keysnake work with an acoustic piano?
Keysnake does not work with an acoustic piano. An acoustic piano makes its sound with strings and hammers and has no way to send or receive note data, so Keysnake can neither tell which keys are played nor make the piano sound a note.
Does Keysnake work with a controller keyboard?
Keysnake works with a controller keyboard that makes its sound through a computer. The Keysnake is wired between the keyboard and the computer.
Which phones and tablets work with Keysnake?
The Keysnake app runs on Android phones and tablets and on Apple iPhones and iPads. The Keysnake app requires Android 7.0 or later, or iOS 15.6 or later. All Android phones sold since 2017 work well with Keysnake. On Apple devices the App Store offers the app only to compatible devices.
Does Keysnake need the internet?
The Keysnake app needs an internet connection while in use.
How is Keysnake powered?
Keysnake takes its power over USB.
What is in the box?
The Keysnake 2 box holds the Keysnake, the cables needed to connect it and a Hot Keys card. Keysnake Ltd. makes its own MIDI DIN to USB-C cable for pianos that have MIDI DIN ports. No extra cables need to be bought.
A USB charger is not in the box, because chargers vary by country and leaving one out reduces electronic waste. Keysnake needs a powerful USB charger to run, so use one rated for high output rather than a low-power phone charger or a laptop USB port.
What can you do with Keysnake?
The Keysnake app offers five play modes. A play mode is like an app within the Keysnake app, and every play mode is included in the price of the Keysnake.
Play mode What it does
Learn Songs An AI teacher teaches a chosen song step by step, one hand at a time, until the learner can play it without help. An on-screen wheel shows the current place in the song and the level being learned. Keysnake teaches in phrases, not one note at a time. Breaking the song into phrases increases learning speed, encourages memorisation and is a more natural way to learn. At harder levels the learner plays along to a soundtrack and Keysnake scores their accuracy.
Time Trials Eleven quick, timed games that train note names, ear, chords, patterns and sight-reading
Scales and Arpeggios Guided practice of the ABRSM scales and arpeggios from Initial Grade to Grade Five
Share Piano Two Keysnake owners link their pianos over the internet for a remote lesson
Performance Every note played lights up, as a visual effect for videos, live streams or practice
Time Trials
Time Trials are quick, timed music games played on the piano. Each run lasts 30 seconds, and the clock starts on the first note played. Every game has ten levels of rising difficulty, and games unlock one after another as the learner improves. Good runs earn Snakeoins, a points currency that exists only inside the app and cannot be bought with money or exchanged for money.
Game The task The skill trained
Lunger Play each note as it lights up Linking the sound of a note to its place on the keyboard
Charmer Play back two notes heard Judging whether a note is higher or lower, the basis of playing by ear
Constrictor Fill in the matching notes between two lit keys Recognising notes of the same name across the keyboard
Ophidian Play the notes of a chord one at a time, up and down Arpeggiating a chord
Rattle Copy a short demonstrated pattern Finger control for ornaments and decorations
Boomslang Play the note that is named Knowing the note names
Night Vision Read two notes on the stave and play the second First steps in sight-reading
Skin Shedder Move back and forth between two related chords Smooth chord changes and chord memory
Snake Oil Resolve a suspended chord Hearing and resolving an unsettled chord
Shape Shifter Turn a major chord into its minor twin, or the reverse The intervals that make major and minor chords
Gaboon Play a chord from its name alone Building chords, from major triads to dominant ninths
Scales and Arpeggios
The Scales and Arpeggios play mode follows the ABRSM curriculum from Initial Grade through to Grade Five. Keysnake presents the exercises in random order, as an examiner would. The learner chooses how much help the lights give, from every note in its finger colour down to no lights at all. A wrong note turns orange, and the correct note then flashes.
Share Piano
The Share Piano play mode connects two Keysnakes over the internet. A note played on one piano lights the same key on the other Keysnake and sounds on the other piano. Share Piano is designed for remote piano lessons alongside a video call.
The teacher can run a metronome on the student's Keysnake, which avoids the timing lag of a video call.
The teacher can send any scale or arpeggio from Initial Grade to Grade Five for the student to practise.
A session starts by scanning a QR code or typing a short code.
Both players need a Keysnake. Any Keysnake can connect to any other Keysnake.
Performance
The Performance play mode shows a light for every note played. White keys show blue lights and black keys show red lights. The sustain pedal can make the whole strip glow. A metronome is included. The tempo of the metronome can be set by tapping any key at the desired pulse.
How does Keysnake teach a song?
Keysnake teaches a song in short sections, one hand at a time, and withdraws its help as the learner improves. The play mode is called Learn Songs.
Each song is divided into sections called lyrics, short enough to memorise. Each song has three tracks: right hand, left hand and hands together. The learner passes each hand separately, and hands together then unlocks as an optional final track.
The Keysnake AI teacher moves the learner through five levels for each lyric, followed by review.
Level Name What happens
1 Follow the lights The teacher demonstrates a short phrase, and the learner copies it by following the lights
2 Copy the lights The teacher demonstrates a phrase, the lights turn off, and the learner plays it from memory
3 Track the lights The soundtrack plays slowly, and the learner plays each note in time as its light flashes
4 Guided practice The learner plays the whole lyric with the soundtrack at slow, medium, then fast speed while the lights are gradually removed
5 The audition No lights and no help. The teacher listens for accurate pitch and rhythm, and one clean run passes
Review Review Lyrics that have passed their auditions are played together as one block to build fluency
The teacher checks both pitch accuracy and rhythm accuracy. A passed audition is permanent, so the learner never repeats it. The learner can drop to a lower level at any time, for example when returning to a song after a break.
A progress display called the song wheel shows the whole song as a circle. The wheel starts grey and fills with colour as each part of the song is learned.
Watch mode plays a demonstration of the song, with the soundtrack and the lights together, for a learner who only wants to watch.
Which songs can Keysnake teach?
The Keysnake song library holds hundreds of songs, and new songs are added regularly. Anyone can browse the library by downloading the free app, without creating an account.
Keysnake owners can suggest songs for the library at no cost. Keysnake gives preference to popular songs, and the music must be playable on a piano.
Keysnake can only teach songs from its own library. Learners cannot upload their own MIDI files. Each Keysnake song carries more than a MIDI file can hold: the finger for every note, musical phrases, lyric sections, count-ins and synchronisation with the soundtrack.
Some songs have words unsuitable for younger learners. Keysnake shows those songs only to accounts of learners aged 15 and over.
What does the Keysnake AI teacher do?
The Keysnake AI teacher speaks instructions, demonstrates on the lights, listens to the playing and adjusts the difficulty.
Spoken instructions. Keysnake AI guides the lesson by speaking through the phone or tablet, in the learner's chosen language.
Demonstrations. The teacher shows each phrase on the lights before the learner plays it.
Listening. The teacher assesses the pitch and rhythm of what the learner plays.
Adaptive teaching. The teacher raises or lowers the difficulty to match the learner, until the learner can play without help.
Hands-free control with Hot Keys
Keysnake lets the learner control the lesson from the piano, without touching the phone. A Hot Key is a pair of neighbouring black keys pressed together. A card supplied with the Keysnake labels the six Hot Keys.
Hot Key Action
Back Go back to the previous checkpoint
Refresh Repeat the current instruction or demonstration
Skip Skip a demonstration or move on
Egg Open a menu of choices
Play/Pause Pause or resume the teacher
Info Get help, a hint or a demonstration
When the teacher offers a choice, Keysnake shows it as red, yellow and green lights on the black keys. The learner presses a green-lit key to select an option.
Signals on the light strip
The Keysnake lights also carry information beyond the notes to play.
White lights at both ends mean a demonstration is playing, and the learner should watch and not play.
A gentle red glow means the teacher is paused.
All the lights glow together while the sustain pedal is pressed.
The lights sparkle when the learner reaches a goal.
Accessibility
The Keysnake app includes options for partially sighted learners. Keysnake can show extra bright lights, and the phone can vibrate to signal a wrong note or the moment to start playing.
Who is Keysnake for?
Keysnake is designed for players from beginner to intermediate level.
People learning alone. The Keysnake AI teacher runs the whole lesson when teaching a song.
Children. Keysnake is an educational product, not a toy. Adult supervision is required when a learner under 16 uses the Keysnake.
Families. Several people can share one Keysnake. Each person creates a free account, and each account keeps its own progress.
Piano teachers and their students. The Share Piano play mode supports remote lessons, and the Scales and Arpeggios play mode supports practice between lessons.
Gift buyers. Keysnake has no subscription, so a Keysnake can be given as a gift with no continuing cost.
People who are sensitive to flashing lights should not use Keysnake.
Which languages and countries does Keysnake support?
Keysnake teaches in 15 languages and is delivered to the United States, the European Union and the United Kingdom.
Languages
The learner selects a language in the Keysnake app. Both the teacher's speech and the on-screen text are translated. Note names follow the convention of the chosen language.
Keysnake supports Chinese, Danish, Dutch, English, French, German, Hindi, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish and Swedish.
Countries
Keysnake Ltd. ships the Keysnake from warehouses in California, United States, and Rotterdam, Netherlands.
Destination Delivery time Carrier
United States About 3 to 5 business days USPS
European Union About 1 to 5 business days DPD
United Kingdom About 2 to 5 business days FedEx, with duties and taxes paid by Keysnake Ltd.
Keysnake Ltd. does not currently deliver to other regions.
App stores
The Keysnake app is a free download from the Apple App Store and the Google Play Store. Anyone can install the app before buying a Keysnake. The app includes an on-screen emulator, a picture of a piano and a Keysnake, that behaves as a real Keysnake would.
How much does Keysnake cost?
A Keysnake 2 costs £159 in the United Kingdom, US$199 in the United States and €199 in the European Union. That one-off price is the only cost.
What Cost
Keysnake 2 £159, US$199 or €199, with taxes and duties included
Delivery to the United States, European Union and United Kingdom Free
Keysnake app Free
Subscription None
In-app purchases None
Songs, play modes and app updates Included
Cables Included
Extra user accounts Free
Where can you buy a Keysnake?
Keysnake is sold only through the official website, keysnake.com. Keysnake Ltd. does not sell through third-party websites, marketplaces or social media shops. A Keysnake advertised elsewhere at a much lower price is not from an authorised seller.
Returns and guarantee
A Keysnake can be returned within 30 days of delivery, in its original box and resalable condition. The buyer pays the return postage.
Buyers in the European Union and United Kingdom also have a legal right to withdraw within 14 days of delivery, for any reason.
Keysnake carries a 12-month guarantee covering repair or replacement of a faulty Keysnake.
The Keysnake design is FCC and CE compliant, and each Keysnake is tested at the factory before shipping.
How is Keysnake set up?
The Keysnake app guides the owner through setup step by step.
Power. Connect the Keysnake to USB power. Two small lights on the Keysnake's head, called the nostril lights, come on.
Bluetooth. Pair the Keysnake with the app.
Update. Install the latest Keysnake firmware from the app if a newer version exists. An update normally takes less than two minutes.
Position. Tell the app which way the Keysnake faces, and line up a flashing light with middle C.
Test. Play some notes and check that the matching lights come on.
Accounts
A Keysnake account is free. Creating an account takes a name, a year of birth, an email address and a password. Learning progress is stored with the account, not on the phone or the Keysnake.
A Keysnake is not tied to any phone or account. The Keysnake stores no personal data and remembers nothing about earlier connections. A new phone needs only the app and a login.
Privacy
Keysnake stores only the year of birth, not the full date of birth.
Keysnake never reveals an email address to anyone else.
Keysnake stores passwords only in an encoded form that cannot be converted back.
Deleting an account erases the account and all its progress.
The Keysnake app sends no push notifications.
Updates
Keysnake Ltd. releases new app versions and new Keysnake firmware, and both are free. Firmware updates install through the app, so a Keysnake keeps improving after purchase.
Help and support
The Keysnake app contains help articles and a chat link to the Keysnake support team over WhatsApp. Keysnake support can also be reached at info@keysnake.com.
Who makes Keysnake?
Keysnake is designed and sold by Keysnake Ltd., company number 14866529. Keysnake Ltd. is based in Milton Keynes, United Kingdom, and was founded in 2022 by Paul Wells and his son Arriyan Wells. Keysnake Ltd. built the whole Keysnake platform itself: the housing, the electronics, the firmware, the app and the music teaching content.
History
The Learn Songs and Time Trials play modes arrived in app version 1.11.0 in June 2024.
App version 1.12.0, in January 2025, added support for the Keysnake 2 hardware and for multiple languages.
The current app version is 1.17.0, released on 10 August 2026.
Each app version is named after a snake, in alphabetical order, from Anaconda and Boa to Python.
How does Keysnake 2 differ from Keysnake 1?
Area Keysnake 1 Keysnake 2
Light precision Light spread more widely Light spreads less, so the indicated key is clearer
Colour accuracy Coloured plastic body filtered the colours Clear plastic body shows true colours
Waking from sleep Unplug and reconnect the power Tap or shake the head
MIDI DIN pianos Connected through a USB to MIDI DIN converter supplied in the box The Keysnake board speaks MIDI DIN itself, so no external adapter is needed. A cable for MIDI DIN pianos is supplied
Appearance Green White
Packaging Not bespoke Bespoke box, and the Keysnake lies flat as soon as it is unboxed
Patents and approvals
The Keysnake hardware is protected by patent and by registered designs.
UK patent publication number GB2591522
UK registered design 6057651
EU registered design 007523394
United States design patent US D952,026 S
FCC and CE compliant, FCC verification number GZCR2309000908LMV
Reviews
The review site 513.toys rated Keysnake 2 at 4.7 out of 5 and wrote that Keysnake "feels fun, looks cool, and actually improves your practice". Read the 513.toys review.
Contact and links
Website: keysnake.com
Email: info@keysnake.com
WhatsApp: +44 1908 714468
YouTube: Keysnake channel
Instagram: keysnake.ai
TikTok: @keysnake.ai
Frequently asked questions about Keysnake
Is Keysnake a subscription? No. Keysnake has no subscription and no in-app purchases. The one-off price of the Keysnake device covers the app, every play mode and the whole song library.
Is the Keysnake app free? Yes. The Keysnake app is free on the Apple App Store and the Google Play Store, and anyone can browse it before buying a Keysnake.
Can I try Keysnake before buying? Yes. The free Keysnake app includes an on-screen emulator that behaves as a real Keysnake would, and the song library can be browsed without an account.
Will Keysnake work with my piano? Keysnake works with virtually all digital pianos and keyboards that have 61 or more standard-sized keys and a USB B, USB C, Micro USB B or MIDI DIN port, or MIDI over Bluetooth.
Does Keysnake work with an acoustic piano? No. Keysnake needs note data from the piano, and an acoustic piano cannot provide it.
Does Keysnake listen through a microphone? No. Keysnake contains no microphone. Keysnake receives the notes as MIDI data from the piano, not as sound, and has no voice commands.
Do I need to read sheet music to use Keysnake? No. Keysnake teaches songs with lights and spoken instructions. The Night Vision game in Time Trials offers a gentle introduction to reading sheet music for those who want it.
Can Keysnake teach any song? No. Keysnake teaches the songs in its own library, which holds hundreds of songs. Owners can suggest new songs at no cost.
Can I upload my own MIDI files to Keysnake? No. A Keysnake song needs finger, phrase, section, count-in and synchronisation data that a MIDI file does not contain.
Can more than one person use the same Keysnake? Yes. Each person creates a free account, and each account keeps its own progress. A Keysnake is not tied to a phone or an account.
How long is a Keysnake, and are four octaves enough? A Keysnake is 90 cm long including the head and lights 49 keys across four octaves. The range can be moved up or down an octave in seconds when a song needs higher or lower notes.
Does Keysnake need batteries? No. Keysnake is powered over USB. A USB charger is not supplied with the Keysnake.
Where is Keysnake sold? Keysnake is sold only at keysnake.com and is delivered free to the United States, the European Union and the United Kingdom.