By 1997, the Miracle product had been discontinued in favor of the Piano Discovery System.
SuccessorsĪround 1995, technology from the Miracle system was incorporated into the Piano Discovery System, an interactive PC software application that works with any MIDI keyboard including the Miracle keyboard. In the Ripchord game, players must press the correct combination of keys for a chord to land paratroopers onto a target. In the duck hunting game, the player has to press the keys that correspond to the positions of the ducks on a musical staff to shoot them. If they miss, Robo Man falls and the player loses. One game is called Robo Man where the player has to press the correct keys at the right time to create a bridge. There are multiple games that students can play to help teach musical skills. Instead of using the traditional NES controller, the piano becomes the controller as players aim at targets in order to perfect their music skills. Fun exercises were meant to make learning the piano seem less like a chore and more like playing a video game. The Miracle system assesses the player's ability to create custom lessons. Students can learn to play classic piano, rock piano, or show tunes. Features Game activities in the Miracle system (such as Robo Man, shown here) combine video gaming-type gameplay and practicing of musical skills. All MIDI information from the console is converted into audio by the instrument's built-in ROM and played through the instrument's stereo speakers, allowing the keyboard to be used independently of the console. With the exception of the metronome that is used in the Miracle system's lessons, the Miracle system does not ever generate sounds through the video game console hardware. Some of the NES Miracle keyboards were later converted for PC use and the Nintendo Seal of Quality on these boards was covered up with a piece of plastic. It was released in the United States and in multiple regions of Europe.
It was sold for US$500 and had low sales, in part due to its high price. It provides hundreds of lessons, and was advertised as the perfect adjunct to formal lessons. Its marketed value is as a tool to teach users to play the piano. After the supplied MIDI keyboard is connected to a console or computer and the included software is loaded, a user follows the on-screen notes. The software comes either on 3.5" floppy disks for personal computers or on cartridges for video game consoles. The Miracle Piano Teaching System consists of a keyboard, connecting cables, power supply, soft foot pedals, and software.
Contentsĭescription A Miracle system keyboard (NES edition) The Miracle Piano Teaching System is a MIDI keyboard/ teaching tool created in 1990 by The Software Toolworks for the NES and SNES, Apple Macintosh, Amiga, Sega Genesis, and MS-DOS PC. Nintendo Entertainment System, Super Nintendo Entertainment System, Mac, Commodore Amiga, Sega Genesis, PC IMO, you’d be better off putting that money towards actual lessons with a real person (especially if you live near a college, where music majors are always looking to make money and will give you lessons for cheap!).1990 video game The Miracle Piano Teaching System 25 tiny keys isn’t going to do much for you (and that list price for this is ABSURD). The disclaimer is that I haven’t actually used this system–but I wouldn’t recommend it for anyone wanting to learn from this. As a musically-inclined kid I never could get past triplets–I wound up with a music degree years later and always have wanted to go back and try it again to determine if it was user error or a glitch!įor $30, maybe this system would be fun for tinkering around for a small child. SWEET MERCY, I’m so happy someone remembers that–I came here half to comment about the same system. Uh… has anyone actually tried this? The last time I tried the keyboard over computer was here: