Learn Music Visually

ROLI has designed products intended for avid and skilled musicians, but with its latest product, LUMI, it is attempting to reach those aspiring to learn how to play. “We hope that LUMI basically closes the gap between people’s love of music in general and their fear about playing it themselves,” says Will MacNamara, head of communications at ROLI. The LUMI keyboard is small, and it lights up to allow users to learn which keys to play. With an accompanying app, users can learn their favorite songs and work their way up to full music lessons. It has received more than $2 million in Kickstarter funding and will be distributed to funders in November. By 2020, ROLI hopes to roll LUMI out to schools across the U.S. It will be available to the wider public for $250 in January. —Jasmine Aguilera