The corresponding notes on the keyboard light up the same color. Onscreen, colorful little loafs slide toward you in time with the rhythm. It’s a simple, straightforward concept that I am legally obligated to compare to Guitar Hero. The lessons in the Lumi app are all about picking a song and then matching the notes on screen to the ones that flash on the keyboard. The light is also the basis of Roli’s music lessons. That makes it especially helpful for the notation-challenged among us who can’t navigate a keyboard by feel. Each note in an octave is a different color. The colors are visible even in well-lit areas, and in the dark it can feel like you’re at a Laser Floyd show. The lighting effects in the Lumi Keys are inspired by something called a Fresnel lens-the kind they use in lighthouses. And hey, did I mention the keys light up? But this is a portable keyboard, not a Steinway. Roli claims that the keys have 92 percent of the plunge depth of a grand piano, but there’s no confusing the soft squish of the Lumi’s keyboard with the crisp, satisfying clunk of a regular piano. The keys themselves feel springy and plastic. Rubber strips on the bottom keep it from sliding around too much on a flat surface. Lined up, the seam between two Lumi Keys is barely noticeable, though the connectors can disconnect easily if you’re really jamming out or you bonk one of the devices at the wrong angle. Pair two of them and you’ve doubled your octave range. Lumi Keys is part of Roli’s Blocks line, which means there are little magnetic connectors on the side that let you sync up two blocks side-by-side. Size constraints mean that the keys are narrower than on a normal piano, which can take some adjustment if you’re used to regular-sized keys. It has 24 keys total, making it just over a fourth the size of a standard full keyboard. The Lumi Keys fits right on my dinky desk, where it takes up less space than my typing keyboard. I happen to have both the “Kickstarter version” of the product and the new version. It costs $299, and an optional subscription to the app is $79 per year. In the meantime, Roli has made some small tweaks to improve build quality and has re-released a new version of the keyboard. The company was then blindsided by pandemic-induced manufacturing woes. After reaching its fundraising goal on the first day, Roli started production and released a limited run to its Kickstarter backers. Lumi Keys started as a Kickstarter project back in 2019. It’s a solid midi controller and the lessons are straightforward and easy to grasp, even if the cover versions of popular songs can feel a little uninspiring. (Not that I expected it to.) I enjoyed my time with the device more as an gadget or instrument than an instructional tool. Months of on-and-off usage of two different versions of the Lumi Keys did not make me a musical prodigy. These flashy lights and bright colors seemed like just the thing to hold the attention of my easily distracted idiot brain. The app tells the keys to light up in time to the music, so you know which ones to press to play along. It’s primarily marketed towards beginners, and it wirelessly pairs with a companion app loaded with virtual music lessons. Lumi Keys from Roli is a keyboard contained in a foot-long block, with translucent keys that light up in various colors depending on which note is played. The long isolation of pandemic life has inspired a plethora of new hobbies, and a few months ago, I thought, maybe music could be mine.Įnter Lumi Keys. I’ve learned just enough to act like I know what I’m doing but not enough to, you know, play an instrument. Musically, I am a walking Dunning-Kruger effect.
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