Music Meets Technology: ROLI's Airwave and the Future of Piano Education

The Future of Music Education with ROLI's Airwave

Four out of five parents reportedly want their children to learn a musical instrument. A much smaller number of kids actually do, and even fewer stick with it. “It's intimidating, it's expensive, it's hard,” acknowledges Roland Lamb, whose company ROLI has been trying to reinvent music education, and instruments themselves, for 15 years.

Introducing ROLI's Airwave

Now, Lamb believes that he has found a way to make piano lessons a lot more accessible: ROLI’s new Airwave product uses special infrared cameras for hand tracking, which allows lessons on an iPad that monitors a player’s posture—just like a teacher would, but for a fraction of the price.

• ROLI’s $299 Airwave resembles a designer reading lamp.
• Compatible with ROLI’s keyboards and a tablet running the Learn app.
• Offers a subscription service for diverse learning modes.

At its core, ROLI’s app provides aspiring learners with access to various compositions and visual aids for practicing piano.

Interactive Learning and Feedback

The app tracks the student’s hands, providing real-time feedback on positional and postural accuracy. “If I play with the correct finger, it will progress,” explains Lamb.

Extending Beyond Beginners

But Airwave isn’t just for beginners. ROLI is also appealing to musicians and producers due to its ability to track hand movements in 3D.

Airwave can be employed as a modern Theremin, allowing musicians to orchestrate complex soundscapes through hand movements.

Future Innovations with Airwave

Lamb emphasizes that ROLI doesn’t intend to replace human teachers but instead provide additional support. He envisions opening Airwave technology to third-party developers for broader application in the music industry.