SeeMusic renders the video. LumaKeys is the whole piano life around it.
SeeMusic is the most established falling-note video maker: drop in a MIDI file or play live, choose from a deep set of visual presets, and render a video for YouTube or social. It runs on Mac, Windows, iPhone, iPad, and Android, and it is a subscription. LumaKeys is a one-time Mac app that makes the same kind of video and adds everything before it: learning the piece, recording it, editing the notes, transcribing audio to MIDI, and keeping your repertoire in one place.
Short version: if you want the most advanced visuals today on any device and do not mind paying monthly, pick SeeMusic. If you are on a Mac, want one app for the whole process, and want to pay once, pick LumaKeys.
| Feature | SeeMusic | LumaKeys |
|---|---|---|
| The basics | ||
| Price | Free tier, Pro from $8.99 a month or $79.99 a year | $69 for a limited time, then $99 |
| Subscription | Yes, recurring | None, pay once |
| Platforms | macOS, Windows, iOS, Android | macOS, Apple Silicon and Intel |
| Make the video | ||
| Falling-note video export | Square, vertical, widescreen | 4K, 60 fps, 16:9, 9:16, 4:5 |
| Customizable visuals | ||
| 3D depth notes | — | |
| Real hands-cam footage sync | — | |
| Record your playing | MIDI or live keyboard | MIDI or computer keys, per hand |
| Note editing | Built-in MIDI editor | Full piano roll |
| Learn and keep | ||
| Learn from falling notes | — | |
| Audio to MIDI transcription | — | 5 on Free, unlimited on Pro |
| Repertoire library | — | |
| External piano plugins | — | Pro |
Checked 14 July 2026: SeeMusic features SeeMusic on the Mac App Store LumaKeys pricing
Loop the bar that keeps falling apart, slow it down, split the hands. SeeMusic renders the piece; LumaKeys also helps you learn it.
Drop in a piano recording and it becomes editable notes, on your Mac. Nothing is uploaded.
Every piece, take, and export in one library, organized by composer and a search away.
SeeMusic has spent years on one thing: making falling-note videos look spectacular. Three-dimensional notes, particle systems, lighting, and the option to sync real overhead footage of your hands to the keys. If you have seen a piano video on YouTube with notes that look like glass, there is a fair chance it came out of SeeMusic.
It runs everywhere, it has a free tier, and there is a large community sharing presets. For someone who already has a finished MIDI performance and wants the best-looking render, that is hard to argue with.
SeeMusic starts where the performance is finished. It does not help you learn the piece, it does not turn a recording of a real piano into notes, and it does not keep your repertoire. The MIDI comes from somewhere else, and so does the practice.
It is also a subscription. That is fine for a month of rendering, and expensive for the years a pianist keeps making videos.
LumaKeys is the app for the whole loop. A piece comes in as MIDI, as audio that gets transcribed on your Mac, or as your own recording. You learn it with loop, slow-down, and hands split, record your version, fix notes in the piano roll, and export a video in your colours, up to 4K at 60 fps. The repertoire keeps all of it.
It is Mac only, and its visuals are clean rather than three-dimensional. It is also one payment, and Free covers the full app with caps, so you can try the whole process before deciding.
I made piano videos the way most people do: a MIDI file from one app, a render from another, and a folder full of versions I could not tell apart.
SeeMusic makes the render part beautiful, and I still admire what it does with light. But the render was never my problem. The problem was everything before it: learning the piece, recording it well, fixing the notes, and finding it again a year later.
LumaKeys is my answer to that. One app that holds the whole process, paid for once.
Weighing more options? See every alternative or talk to me.
Yes, on Mac. If you want the whole process in one app and prefer a one-time purchase over a subscription, LumaKeys fits. SeeMusic is still the better pick for Windows or mobile, or for the most advanced 3D and hands-cam visuals.
It depends how long you use it. SeeMusic is a subscription, from about $8.99 a month or $79.99 a year. LumaKeys Pro is $69 for a limited time, then $99, with no subscription and no account. Past the first year, LumaKeys costs nothing more.
No. SeeMusic works from a MIDI file or a live keyboard performance. LumaKeys can take an existing piano recording and turn it into editable notes, on your Mac.
Not yet. LumaKeys is Mac-first, on Apple Silicon and Intel. SeeMusic is the better choice if you need Windows, iOS, or Android.
Not today. SeeMusic leads on 3D depth notes and syncing real overhead footage of your hands. LumaKeys focuses on clean, customizable visuals plus everything around the video.
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