Patent ID: 8642871

Claim:
A system for instructing a player to read music notation and to play a keyboard instrument, the system comprising: a processing unit having memory and logic for invoking musical notation reading and keyboard instrument playing instructional methods stored in the memory; an interactive display device coupled to the processing unit, the display device presenting a graphical representation of at least a portion of the keyboard instrument having a plurality of white and black keys, and an odd number of parallel vertical lines spaced equidistantly; an input device coupled to the processing unit, the input device operable by the player of the system; a template coupled to the input device, the template relating the input device to the white and black keys of the keyboard instrument; wherein the processing unit is configured to: a) associate the vertical lines and spaces between the vertical lines with the white keys, each vertical line and each space corresponding to a separate white key; b) display a first graphical element on one of the vertical lines or one of the spaces on the graphical representation presented by the display device, the first graphical element representing a note and corresponding to one of the white keys; c) display second graphical elements on the middle vertical line to visually inform the player how long to wait before striking a next key, the second graphical elements representing a rhythm of a musical score being played; d) receive an input from the input device, the input corresponding to a white key selected by the player; and e) changing a color of the white key selected by the player on the display device; and repeat b)-e) by changing a location of the first graphical element displayed on the graphical representation or providing at least two first graphical elements to display.