Follow-me piano learning strip smartens up any 88-key piano | New Atlas

"China's One Music Group hit Indiegogo back in 2015 to get its smart piano learning system over to the US. By following app-controlled LED lights, the company promised to have students playing a tune in minutes" notes Paul Ridden, dedicated newshound pursuing the latest bleeding edge tech for New Atlas.

The One Piano Hi-Lite LED learning strip has been designed to sit at the back of any 88-key piano
Photo: One Music Group

But if learners already had a piano at home, the One system meant that they'd have to stump up for another. That potentially expensive issue has been solved with the launch of the Piano Hi-Lite, an LED light strip that can sit at the back of any 88-key piano keyboard and light the way to learning.

The year after the successful Indiegogo campaign, we got to try out the portable version of the One Piano system for ourselves. We found that though it did get us off to a flying start with the basics, learning to play with any proficiency would still require hard work and a good deal of commitment.

Where the original systems illuminated actual keys on the keyboard itself, the Hi-Lite is a blocky strip that's laid across the keyboard of any 88-key piano that students already own or have access to and LED light points lined up with keys – much like Ken Ihara's PianoMaestro in fact.

"Through the great successes of our product line and classroom program, we identified a large group of potential customers that already owned a piano at home but wanted to experience the modern instruction The One provides," said the company's Ben Ye.

Like the original One system, the Hi-Lite strip is controlled by an app. It's connected to a smartphone or tablet running The One iOS/Android app over micro-USB and includes sheet music, video lessons and games.
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Additional resources  
Introducing The ONE Piano Hi-Lite and Start Playing in Minutes - YouTube
 
Source: New Atlas