Next up, we took a look at a product and a company I was very interested in seeing. Here is a report on a extraordinary new company, which is using software that is similar to the popular “Guitar Hero” and “Rock Band” video games to teach people to play instruments for real. They have already released a program for piano, now they are moving on to the guitar. Here is a report on our meeting with Music Wizard Group.

       Toy Fair Report: MUSIC WIZARD GROUP

             Music Wizard Group is a small, relatively unknown company. They don’t have a big booth. They don’t have a lot of mainstream visibility. But, they don’t have to. Their product speaks for itself. The Piano Wizard is a piece of software that takes all the pain and suffering out of learning to read music. The software is available either bundled with a keyboard or on its own. The software is currently available at Radio Shack and other music stores. The software uses MIDI tracks to teach you to play your favorite songs. You can download any MIDI song into the premium version of the software. This year, they plan to launch Guitar Wizard, which will use a MIDI pickup that will attach to any six string guitar. The software that will be used with the pickup has already been used in the Fisher-Price product “I Can Play Guitar.” I have tried the Piano Wizard myself, and hopeless as I am, I was able to follow along and play on at least a basic level. It is very intuitive software and it really lets you learn at your own pace. For more information, visit www.pianowizard.com. I would like to thank David Sipple of Music Wizard Group for his assistance with this report.