A sensing fretboard for stringed instruments is described herein with respect to a guitar. The present invention includes custom frets and a modular sensing array that can be incorporated into a fretboard and coupled to the guitar. By measuring the dynamic forces applied by the players on the frets and strings of the guitar, musicians can be warned in real time during practice, when their grip is too strong, and to help musicians learn and recover from injuries.

A device and methods are disclosed for teaching a student string instruments, specifically for teaching chords of a string instrument. The invention also relates to a kit of more than one string instrument chord teaching device and methods to allow simultaneously teaching more than one student chords of a string instrument. For more than one string instrument chord teaching device in the kit, the string instrument chord teaching devices may further be visibly distinguishable from each other.

A piano training device is described herein. The piano training device comprising a plurality of keys which may be illuminated by a light source associated with each key. The light source associated with each key is oriented such that the light source transmits light toward the front surface of the key. The key is further manufactured so that the light transmitted toward the front surface of the key is redirected to the top surface of the key.

A method for online music learning of playing a musical instrument, that may be a string instrument, a woodwind instrument, a brass instrument, a percussion instrument, or vocal (singing) is described. A client device, such as a smartphone or a tablet notifies a person, such as visually by a display or audibly by a sounder, of a sequence of musical symbols that may be part of a musical piece to be played on the musical instrument. The pace or tempo of the notified sequence is adapted according to a stored skill level value of the person and the pace or tempo associated with the musical piece. The client device, monitors, using a microphone(s) in the client device, the errors in the playing of the sequence, and using a predefined accordingly updates the stored skill level value, and accordingly changes the arrangement, pace and/or tempo of the next sequence of musical symbols.

The invention disclosed herein comprises a method for visually representing music to be played on a musical instrument by providing a tablature staff which is divided into individual measures by segmenting the tablature staff with measure lines. Each measure is then further divided into proportional time subdivisions using subdivision lines. Alphanumeric notes are then printed between these subdivision lines on the tablature staff, wherein each alphanumeric note represents a tone to be played on a musical instrument and wherein the duration of each alphanumeric note is indicated by the number of time subdivisions within a measure and its corresponding font size.

Musical rhythm, is taught using a sequenced rhythm pattern, wherein a user's strike within a time window around each note maintains suppression of audible output. If a strike falls outside the time window, output resumes. FIG. 2 shows a smartphone/tablet app. Pad 13 is struck in harmony with a rhythmic pattern on display 1. Means 3 to 11 adjust app parameters. Means 2 control rhythm. A display preferably shows current and past states of the system during a session (e.g. metronome suppressed, metronome non-suppressed, strike detected in time window, strikes outside time window), as well as time remaining in the current session, as either a ‘clock’ or ‘pie chart’ type, or rectilinear ‘bar’ type, the ‘time remaining’ segment of the display being progressively replaced by sections e.g. of differing colour or texture corresponding to the current state, with the ‘time past’ segments displaying the past states.

There is provided an information processing device, an information processing method, and a program that further improve skills. A load weight control unit controls generation of a load weight that becomes a load with respect to motion when a keyboard is depressed by a pianist, and a keystroke recognition unit recognizes motion of the keyboard. Then, the load weight control unit performs control of starting generation of a predetermined load weight at a timing when the keystroke recognition unit recognizes that the keyboard started to be depressed, and ending generation of the load weight at a timing when the keystroke recognition unit recognizes that the keyboard ended to be depressed and started to return. The present technology can be applied to, for example, a performance skill improvement system that evaluates and trains pianists' force sense.

A method for online music learning of playing a musical instrument, that may be a string instrument, a woodwind instrument, a brass instrument, a percussion instrument, or vocal (singing) is described. A client device, such as a smartphone or a tablet notifies a person, such as visually by a display or audibly by a sounder, of a sequence of musical symbols that may be part of a musical piece to be played on the musical instrument. The pace or tempo of the notified sequence is adapted according to a stored skill level value of the person and the pace or tempo associated with the musical piece. The client device, monitors, using a microphone(s) in the client device, the errors in the playing of the sequence, and using a predefined accordingly updates the stored skill level value, and accordingly changes the arrangement, pace and/or tempo of the next sequence of musical symbols.

There is provided an information processing device, an information processing method, and a program that further improve skills. A load weight control unit controls generation of a load weight that becomes a load with respect to motion when a keyboard is depressed by a pianist, and a keystroke recognition unit recognizes motion of the keyboard. Then, the load weight control unit performs control of starting generation of a predetermined load weight at a timing when the keystroke recognition unit recognizes that the keyboard started to be depressed, and ending generation of the load weight at a timing when the keystroke recognition unit recognizes that the keyboard ended to be depressed and started to return. The present technology can be applied to, for example, a performance skill improvement system that evaluates and trains pianists' force sense.

A method and system for indicating musical notations for at least one user to execute, including: presenting the at least one user with musical notations on a presentation device, the musical notation to be executed through the user; receiving an audio signal relating to an instrument played and/or vocal output generated by the at least one user; analyzing the received audio signal to obtain an analysis output; and selecting a section of the musical notation, wherein the section contains a musical note coinciding with the received audio signal and which is descriptive of a temporal interval having a longer duration than the coinciding note played through the user.