Setup guide

Which MIDI keyboard or digital piano works with an iPad

Most digital pianos and MIDI keyboards work with an iPad or iPhone. This guide shows how to check yours in two minutes, and which cable connects it.

The short answer

USB or Bluetooth MIDI is what counts

If your keyboard sends MIDI over USB or Bluetooth, it will almost certainly work with an iPad or iPhone.

MIDI is not sound. It is a stream of messages: which key went down, when, and how hard.

That is why a MIDI controller with no speakers works too, and why a practice app needs no microphone to follow your playing.

Check your keyboard

Find out in two minutes

Everything you need to know is printed on the back panel or in the manual.

Look for a USB socket labeled USB to Host, or just USB. It is usually square, or a small USB-C or micro-USB socket.
A flat socket labeled USB to Device is for memory sticks. It is not the one for your iPad.
Without USB, look for Bluetooth MIDI in the manual. Bluetooth audio, for music through the piano’s speakers, does not carry your playing to an app.
Only round 5-pin sockets marked MIDI IN and MIDI OUT? Those work through a small USB MIDI interface.
Still unsure? Search the manual for “USB to Host” or “class compliant”, or ask us with the model name.

The cable

Pick the cable for your iPad or iPhone

The cable depends on two sockets: the one on your keyboard and the one on your iPad or iPhone.

USB-C iPad or iPhone: one cable from USB-C to whatever the keyboard has, square USB-B, USB-C or micro-USB. No adapter needed.
Lightning iPad or iPhone: Apple’s Lightning to USB camera adapter, plus the USB cable you would use with a computer.
Already own a USB-A cable for the keyboard? A USB-C to USB-A adapter works too, if it carries data and not only charge.

Keyboards that work on a computer without installing a driver are called class compliant. iPhone and iPad talk to them directly, and most current keyboards are.

USB-powered keyboards can ask for more power than an iPhone or iPad gives. If a power warning appears, use the keyboard’s own power supply or a powered hub.

USB or Bluetooth

Use a cable when timing matters

Over USB, every note arrives straight away and evenly. Bluetooth MIDI works too, but notes arrive less evenly.

For an app that judges whether you are early or late, a cable is the steadier choice. Bluetooth is handy when a cable will not reach.

Wireless headphones add a delay of their own, so each note sounds a moment after you press it. Wired headphones or the iPad’s own speaker keep sound and keys together.

Keys and touch

Enough keys for both hands

Chords in one hand and a bass note in the other fit comfortably from about 49 keys up.

A 25-key keyboard holds one hand’s chords, but two hands get crowded. Smaller keyboards often have octave buttons that shift the range.

Weighted keys feel closer to an acoustic piano, and lighter keys are quicker to press. Both send the same MIDI, so either works for practice.

Most keyboards are velocity-sensitive: they send how hard you press each key. A few send every note at the same strength, which still works, only without loud and soft.

At the piano

Put the iPad where you already look

The music stand is the natural place for an iPad: at eye level, and within reach.

An iPhone works too. The bigger screen is simply easier to read from the bench.

Common questions

Can I use an acoustic piano?

Not on its own: an acoustic piano sends no MIDI. Hybrid pianos, and silent systems with USB or MIDI out, work like a digital piano.

Will a keyboard without speakers work?

Yes, a keyboard without speakers works: it sends your playing to the iPad or iPhone, and the app makes the sound.

Do I need a MIDI interface?

Only if the keyboard has round 5-pin MIDI sockets and no USB. Pick a USB MIDI interface described as class compliant.

Why does my Bluetooth piano not show up?

Check that it supports Bluetooth MIDI, not only Bluetooth audio. Then connect it from inside the music app, not the iPad’s Bluetooth settings, and allow Bluetooth when the app asks.

In KeyFu, tap “Connect a Bluetooth keyboard”, during setup or in Settings › Keyboard & sound, then pick your keyboard.

Why do I hear every note twice?

The piano and the app are both making sound. Turn one of them down.

KeyFu

KeyFu fits the keyboard you have

KeyFu is a piano practice coach for iPhone and iPad. It reads your keyboard over USB or Bluetooth MIDI, never through a microphone.

USB works the moment you plug in. For Bluetooth MIDI, tap Connect a Bluetooth keyboard in KeyFu, then pick your keyboard.

It names the connection it hears: USB · PRECISE or BLUETOOTH · LESS PRECISE. Over Bluetooth every note still counts, and timing gets a little more leeway.

Half a minute of soft and hard playing teaches it your touch. Pick your size, from 25 to 88 keys, and the exercises it chooses stay within it.

Octave buttons work too: shift an octave, and KeyFu can move the keys on screen with you.

Then it plans what you practice next, with no sheet music anywhere.

Join the beta

Invitations go out in small waves. Bring the keyboard you already have.

We send one confirmation email, then invitations in small waves. Without the tick we use your address only for the beta and the launch (privacy).

You need an iPhone or iPad and a keyboard that connects by USB or Bluetooth MIDI — most digital pianos do.