About Soundkeys

Soundkeys is a free 88-key online music keyboard with 53 instruments and a built-in metronome, designed to make music accessible to children and learners worldwide.

The mission

Millions of children around the world want to play music but do not have access to a physical piano, a tuning device, or a metronome. Soundkeys exists to remove that barrier: anyone with a browser — on a school Chromebook, a borrowed phone, an old laptop — can play, practice, and learn for free.

What you get

• 88 keys — the full range of a real acoustic piano (A0 to C8)
• 53 instruments — pianos, organs, mallets, bells, strings, brass, woodwinds, synths, and more
• Built-in metronome — 40 to 240 BPM, multiple time signatures, accent on the first beat
• Computer keyboard mapping — play three octaves with the QWERTY rows
• Recording — record what you play and listen back
• Sustain pedal — like a real piano
• Transposition — shift the key up or down
• Works offline — installable as a Progressive Web App
• No signup, no chat, no user-generated content — safe for children

How it stays free

Soundkeys is funded by Google AdSense ads. Ad revenue covers the domain, hosting, and ongoing development. There is no paid version, no premium features, and no plans to introduce them. If a parent or school prefers a fully ad-free experience, a content blocker works without breaking any feature.

How it's built

Soundkeys is a single web page built with vanilla HTML, CSS, and JavaScript — no frameworks, no build step, no tracking analytics. All 53 instruments are synthesized in real time using the Web Audio API, which means there are no audio samples to download. The metronome uses sample-accurate scheduling for tight timing.

The site works offline as a Progressive Web App after the first visit, hosted on Cloudflare's global CDN for fast loading anywhere in the world.

A free instrument for everyone

Soundkeys is free to use forever — no signup, no paid version, no premium tier. It exists so anyone, anywhere, can play music in a browser without barriers. The only thing we ask is that you share it with someone who could use it.

Music score editor with MusicXML and MIDI export

Soundkeys also includes a focused, kid-friendly music score editor. Pick a duration, click on the treble-clef staff to place a note, and the editor handles the rest — automatic bar lines, ledger lines, accidentals, dotted rhythms. Hit Play to hear your melody on a synthesized grand piano, then download it as a MusicXML file (the standard format that opens in MuseScore, Finale, Sibelius, GarageBand) or as a Standard MIDI File (.mid) that plays in any DAW. Perfect for a child writing their first melody and importing it into a free desktop notation app.

Free online tuner for physical instruments

Soundkeys also includes a completely free online tuner for anyone who needs to tune a real instrument by ear. Built for educational use, no ads inside the tuner panel, no signup, no app to install. Two sections cover the most common instruments:

• Plucked / fretted — Guitar (standard EADGBE), Bass (EADG), Ukulele (GCEA)
• Bowed strings — Violin (GDAE), Viola (CGDA), Cello (CGDA), Double Bass (EADG)

Pick your instrument, click a string button to play the reference tone, then match it on your physical instrument by ear. The tone holds steady for as long as you need.

Author

Soundkeys was created by Iancu Badulescu and Dragoș Badulescu, originally for high school music students, then released openly so any child anywhere could benefit. If Soundkeys helps you or your students, please share it with someone else — that is the only thank-you we ask for.

Credits

The Grand Piano sound uses recordings from the Salamander Grand Piano by Alexander Holm, licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 3.0. Samples are served via the Tone.js audio library. All other instruments are synthesized in real time using the Web Audio API.

Contact

Feedback, bug reports, feature requests: mrbadulescu@gmail.com