iPianoHack

Piano Marvel Device Set-Up

Piano Marvel is an amazing piano learning and assessment app for the beginner to expert. This post will walk you through some scenarios to get your digital piano or keyboard connected to your Piano Marvel account.  I will walk you through four scenarios to get your digital piano or keyboard connected to your device. Observe that each connection described below is a MIDI data connection. This means that if your keyboard has any of these connectors then it is a MIDI keyboard / digital piano. These connectors discussed below move data (key strokes) from the keyboard to the Piano Marvel app.

CONTENTS

1. Bluetooth to iPad connection
2. USB to iPad connection
3. USB to windows PC connection (it probably works the same for Mac computers)
4. MIDI to Windows PC connection

(I have a 2018 iPad and a 2017 iPad Pro and a 4th Gen Intel i5 Windows laptop for testing)

1. Bluetooth to iPad connection:

1. The first thing you want to do is turn on your keyboard and make sure that Bluetooth is activated on your keyboard model.
2. Open up your iPad and go to SETTINGS
3. Click on BLUETOOTH – tap the Bluetooth Button ON (green indicator)
4. Under MY DEVICES there should be a list of Bluetooth devices: select your keyboard by tapping to connect.
5. Once your keyboard is Connected via Bluetooth – go to the Piano Marvel app.
6. Log on to the app.
7. On the home screen, select the OPTIONS tab at the top left of the app.
8. Click on OPTIONS, then click on INSTRUMENT SETTINGS.
9. Under SELECT MIDI DEVICE is where you should see your keyboard listed
10. Hit a key on the keyboard and see if the blue emblem in the middle of the screen lights up.
11. When it lights up, go to the next screen and set up your keyboard parameters.
12. If it doesn’t light up, log out and go to the settings screen and make sure the MIDI keyboard is still connected to Bluetooth and log in again and follow the directions above.
13. If you have further issues, contact Piano Marvel support. They are very helpful.

B.  USB to iPad connection:

I own a 2017 iPad Pro and 2018 iPad. Both use the Lightning connector. If you have an iPad with a USB C connector then you probably don’t need the adapter below, but the rest of the instructions should work. I bought an Apple Lightning to USB camera adapter for this task. It includes a Lightning input to power the iPad (watch the video below for pictures).

1. Connect the Lightning connector to the iPad
2. Connect a USB A/B cord (this is the USB cord that typically connects to printers) to the keyboard and the Apple camera adapter.
3. Optional – plug-in your normal USB to Lightning cord to the Apple camera adapter to charge the iPad as you practice and play.
4. Once this is connected, open the Piano Marvel app.
5. Log on to the app.
6. On the home screen, select the OPTIONS tab at the top left of the app.
7. Click on OPTIONS, then click on INSTRUMENT SETTINGS.
8. Under SELECT MIDI DEVICE is where you should see your keyboard listed.
9. Hit a key on the keyboard and see if the blue emblem in the middle of the screen lights up.
10. When it lights up, go to the next screen and set up your keyboard parameters.

C.  USB to windows PC connection

1. Connect a USB A/B cord to the keyboard (this is the USB cord that typically connects to printers) and a USB port on your computer.
2. Once this is connected, open the Piano Marvel app.
3. Log on to the app.
4. On the home screen, select the OPTIONS tab at the top left of the app.
5. Click on OPTIONS, then click on INSTRUMENT SETTINGS.
6. Under SELECT MIDI DEVICE is where you should see your keyboard listed.
7. Hit a key on the keyboard and see if the blue emblem in the middle of the screen lights up.
8. When it lights up, go to the next screen and set up your keyboard parameters.
9. I find that this type of connection is extremely stable and easy to use. It doesn’t matter when you plug the keyboard and USB cable into the computer. Once you open the app and turn on the keyboard, it just works.

D.  MIDI Five-Pin Connectors to Windows PC connection

To connect MIDI to a Windows PC, you need to get MIDI to USB cord. The cord has two five-pin in and out connectors and a USB connection on the other end. I bought one on Amazon for about $15. Watch the video below and you’ll see what it looks like. Connect the two five-pin connectors to the keyboard. The keyboard should have IN and OUT written next to the connections and the cord should have IN and OUT written on each connector. IMPORTANT: Make sure you connect IN to OUT and OUT to IN to use Piano Marvel. 

1. The MIDI connection is the most finicky connection that I’ve tried. 
2. The best way to connect, that I‘ve found, is to connect the keyboard while it’s turned off to the computer.  
3. Connect the OUT to IN and IN to OUT between the cord with the male five-pin MIDI connectors and the MIDI five-pin female connectors on the keyboard
4. Open the Piano Marvel app up and then turn on the keyboard. 
5. Go to MENU which is a tab on the top left, click on it.
6. Click on INSTRUMENT SETTINGS.  
7. Under SELECT MIDI DEVICE is where you should see your keyboard listed.
8. Hit a key on the keyboard and see if the blue emblem in the middle of the screen lights up. 
9. When it lights up, go to the next screen and set up your keyboard parameters.
10. If it doesn’t light up – sometimes you need to close the app, turn off the keyboard and follow the above steps again.
11.      If you have further issues, contact Piano Marvel support. They are very helpful.
12. My keyboard is 35 years old, so you may not encounter the connection difficulties that I have.
13. If you have an iPad then follow steps one through four then switch over to either iPad discussion.

Piano Marvel Discount Promo Code:

If you don’t have a Piano Marvel account (if you do – just contact support and give them this code):

1. Go to https://pianomarvel.com/create-account
2. Click the top link “Have a referral code? Click here to enter it.”
3. Enter discount promo code: CHRIS
4. You get a free month trial to start and $3 off $15.99 regular monthly price thereafter.