Piano app count as screen time?

[interested2know]

My 8 year old has just stated playing the piano.. he has his first real lesson tomorrow but until then he is playing using YouTube piano videos and is obsessed.. he sat playing for 4 hours last night and then was up first thing again playing in the morning.. the app just shows the keys and you follow in your keyboard and play along..

My only concern is does this count as screen time? He's the happiest he's been in weeks playing on it so part of me thinks I should just let him play but then the other part of me worries about screen time?!

Thanks so much in advance!

too long I think, it sounds like any sort of addictive game where you work to get to the next level.

No it doesn't count. Do anything you can to encourage him to play

Well yes it’s screen time and long term might be good to work from books , learn the proper notes and the like , getting the instant hit of direct copying …
which is how lots of people have learnt music over the years

j sould avoid before bedtime as the screen light is bad for sleep

Also I read an article recently saying it is quality of screen time that's important, not quantity.

I wouldn’t count it as screen time but 4 hours is far too long. He’ll most likely have rubbish hand position if he’s not had a proper lesson and suddenly doing that level in one go isn’t going to be great for your hands. It’s great he’s interested but I wouldn’t be allowing 4 hours of playing.

If he's only starting, he won't know how to read music and learning to play actual tunes from an app will help maintain his enthusiasm at a stage which can feel a little thankless.

DS is 13 and spends a lot of time composing using MuseScore, and learning about theory and composition from youtube. I see it all as constructive, not screentime in the waste-of-time sense.

I think it's a good thing, if it keeps the enthusiasm levels up! Can anyone recommend which piano app of this type for a beginner (age 11)?

Thankyou so much everyone! We've been using simply piano which is great!