Numerama met the founders of Piano LED, a company specializing in learning music. His product is formidable ingenuity: it is an LED strip to stick above the keys of his piano, in order to receive instructions to play like a pro.
In the kingdom of everything connected (we are of course talking about the CES in Las Vegas), a piano has aroused the curiosity of Numerama. If the instrument itself has nothing “special”, it is a small accessory that looks like a garland that makes it magical. The Piano LED Plus, designed by the French startup Piano LED in 2021, is an extremely effective tool for making music accessible. The concept is simple: a light strip tells you which keys to press, to help you get familiar with the piano.
A LED strip and a small case
Piano LED could have launched its own piano, but its approach is much more pragmatic. By marketing a light strip similar to those found at Philips Hue, but adapted to the dimensions of the keys of a piano, the French company makes its product compatible with all existing instruments. It’s clever, and it allows him to stay at reasonable prices. At 350 euros excluding promotion (300 at the moment), the Piano LED Plus and its small connected box are at a fair price, if not affordable.
How does the Piano LED Plus work? Once the “garland” has been glued or placed above the keys, it must be connected to a small box the size of an Apple TV. The latter, which can connect to the Internet (it is not mandatory, you can connect directly to Wi-Fi Direct if you prefer), is in a way the brain of the piano. You can download tracks to your memory to add scores to your library.
Several modes are available. One allows, for example, to play music without human intervention (you must have a keyboard that accepts a USB/MIDI connection), another allows you to learn thanks to the light that lights up above the keys … Depending on your comfort level, you can play with one or two hands. Depending on your choice, the case will simulate the other hand for you. Finally, you can also just turn on your piano permanently as a decoration.
In Las Vegas, Numerama was able to briefly try out the product. What’s funny is that by repeating the same song twice, we became…really better. Piano LED Plus has everything an excellent idea, even more to help apprentice pianists not to be discouraged.