Suitable adults and kids from age 7, Musiah is the world's first A.I. (Artificially Intelligent) virtual piano teacher capable of teaching a student to play the piano in a very natural way. It is a truly revolutionary concept in teaching piano lessons that comes in the form of a software application that runs on your computer.

Musiah responds to students' playing just like a traditional piano teacher and encourages them to progress at their own pace. It's a serious piano teaching tool that feels like fun and boosts the development of a student's playing skills by providing a new form of supervised practice.

A recent Online Piano Lesson Study proves that Musiah students learn 5-8 times faster than students learning the same syllabus through traditional piano lessons and they have a lot more FUN.

Musiah's online piano lessons is quite simply the greatest concept EVER developed in relation to teaching music and will profoundly change the way people study music, particularly piano.

Developed and refined over the last 17 years, the Musiah Piano Teaching Method is a proven method that has already been taught to over 80,000 students in Australia alone, and now through this extraordinary new invention based on Artificial Intelligence known as Musiah, you can experience the profound insight and exceptional teaching talents of acclaimed teacher, Musiah inventor and founder of Australia's largest national in-school keyboard music program, Brendan Hogan in the comfort of your own home — when it suits you.

In the words of music maestro John Foreman (Musical Director of Australian Idol 2003-2008 and now Musical Director of Young talent Time): "Musiah absolutely the best value, the most convenient and the most fun way to learn piano".

Available 24/7, Musiah will be with you every step of the way as you learn a diverse range of pieces from classical to folk music, jazz and contemporary dance styles seamlessly presented in a never-before-seen environment so the lessons look and feel like fun, but you're really learning, progressing and achieving at the best possible pace for you.

A Musiah piano lessons subscription starts from as little as USD $24.99 per month - and for this one low ongoing fee up to 6 (YES... SIX) members of your household can all learn with Musiah.

Monthly                           $24.99

3 months                         $69.99 (normally $74.97 - save $5.00)

6 months                         $129.99 (normally 149.94 - save $20.00)

12 months                       $199.99 (normally $299.88 - save $100.00 - That's 4 months FREE)

Payment options include MasterCard, VISA, Discover and Diners.

All prices are listed in US Dollars.

1. Subscribe to Musiah by clicking START MY FREE TRIAL and follow the prompts.
2. Then log in and download the Musiah software straight to your computer (PC only). Mac users read this
   
3. Install the software on a PC that has Windows 8, 7, Vista or XP and at least 3 GB of RAM.
   
4. Plug your MIDI (music) keyboard into a USB port on your PC using either a USB 2.0 cable or  MIDI-to-USB cable/adapter (we recommend using a USB 2.0 cable if possible). If you do not own a MIDI keyboard, as a temporary measure you can set up your computer keyboard to play piano notes in your Musiah piano lessons. 
5. Connect a wired mouse to your PC. (Wireless mice or laptop tracking pads are not suitable).
   
6. Start playing!

Note: Musiah software is not suitable for use on Microsoft Surface running Windows RT or iPads.

1. A laptop or computer (preferably PC) with Windows operating system (Win 8, 7, XP, Vista), dual-core processor or better, and 3GB of RAM available. Mac users read this
   
2. A MIDI piano keyboard (see keyboard info) OR you can set up your computer keyboard to play piano notes.
3. A wired mouse. Please note: Laptop tracking pads are not suitable for use with Musiah. Wireless mice, even after calibration, are prone to latency issues and are therefore not recommended.

Notes:

• Laptops may require higher specifications.
• Musiah software is not suitable for use on Microsoft Surface running Windows RT or iPads.
  

Please see our keyboard info page OR you can set up your computer keyboard to play piano notes.

Yes, absolutely. If you would love to try Musiah's piano lessons but don’t own a MIDI piano keyboard — this is a perfect temporary solution. Using the FREE Musiah Virtual Piano you can now play piano notes on your computer keyboard while you learn how to play the piano with Musiah. Free VIrtual Piano setup instructions.

Stage 2 of beta testing of Musiah-for-Mac began on 9 May 2013 and will continue until 16 June 2013. If you would like to be part of the beta testing program, please email support@musiah.com.

Musiah-for-Mac is expected to be available commercially from 17 June 2013.

While Musiah is just as suitable for adults as for kids, to make the lessons fun for our younger students, lessons take place within the context of an adventure story.

Set in the year 4015, the piano student is one of the few surviving humans in the galaxy and with the galaxy under threat from a race of invading machines known as the Atonals, the student (you) must save the galaxy from imminent destruction.

The student, together with other characters, join together to help legendary pianist and renowned piano teacher Musiah Anthemius Felc, the last of the Musiah, save the galaxy by unlocking the Lost Song which is hidden within the pages of an ancient musical textbook.

By unlocking the Lost Song the student will become the next Musiah and reveal a profound mystery which will enable them to repel the Atonals and save the galaxy.

Related Articles

Musiah Story — Learning Piano Is Now Fun

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Video: The Musiah Story — Making Piano Lessons Fun

Musiah is suitable for students from age 7* to adulthood**.

*While most students at age 7 are able to comfortably use/learn with Musiah, it should be understood that children develop at different rates, so a small percentage of 7 year olds may not be quite ready to begin learning piano/keyboard (with Musiah or any other piano/keyboard teacher).

**Sometimes mature adults ask, "Am I too old to learn piano with Musiah?" As Musiah is a computer-based learning environment, you will need to be able to comfortably navigate around your own computer. As long as you have a basic level of computer skills, age is no barrier. As a rough guide, if you know how to send an email with an attachment, you have the necessary computer skills to learn and thrive with Musiah.

By the time a student has mastered "The Lost Song" at the end of the Musiah piano lesson syllabus, they will have reached approximately a Grade 5-6 standard of playing.

Since we offer each of our new customers a free 7 day trial within which to satisfy themselves that Musiah works on their computer, we have a no refund policy.

As there is only a very limited range of things that can go wrong with the Musiah software, it would be very rare for Musiah not to run as intended on your computer IF you provide a PC that is in good working order and meets the minimum system requirements and a MIDI keyboard in good working order.

Having said that, if you do experience issues (whether during or after the 7 day trial), please do NOT assume it is a fault of the software but rather a performance/technical issue at your end — which we are more than happy (within reason) to assist you to diagnose and hopefully solve.

Performance issues can be caused by a number of factors at your end that are beyond our control such as: you may have a virus, you may be running too many programs in the background, your hard drive may need to be de-fragmented, you may have a faulty usb port or other hardware fault, etc.

If you would like to request assistance with a technical issue, please simply email support@musiah.com.

To cancel your account at any time, simply log in to your account (by clicking 'Login' at the top right corner of this website). Then enter your email address and your Musiah password.

Once inside the login area, click "Subscription", then "Cancel Subscription".

Please note: 3 working days notice is required for your cancellation to take effect. This means you must cancel 3 working days prior to the next billing/subscription period to avoid being charged for the next period.

Re-activating your account (e.g. if it has been cancelled or suspended) is easy.

Please simply log in to your account (by clicking 'Login' at the top right corner of this website). Then enter your email address and your Musiah password.

Once inside the login area, click "Subscription", then "Manual Payment" and follow the prompts.

From time to time, customers who are using either a debit card or a pre-paid card experience issues when attempting to sign up for a Musiah subscription.

Please be assured that we have checked with both our bank and our payment gateway, and both advise that we are fully set up to support card types such as debit cards and pre-paid cards.
We have also had our programming team to do some manual testing for these card types using their personal debit / pre-paid credit cards, and using each card type, we have been able to sign up without any issues.

If you are experiencing an issue with one of these card types, it is specific to your card and most likely stems from the fact that not all cards debit cards / pre-paid credit cards are created equal.

Each bank / card issuer may put their own parameters / restrictions on how their card may be used.

So for example, a debit mastercard issued by one bank may allow you to set up recurring transactions such as a Musiah subscription, whereas the same card type issued by another bank may not.

Even if you use the card for lots of online transactions without problems, these are usually one-off purchases. With Musiah the transaction type is different insofar as it is a subscription (i.e. a recurring transaction).

Another possibility is: a debit mastercard issued by one bank in your country of residence may allow that card to be used for transactions with merchants outside the country, whereas another bank issuing the same card type may not.

And lastly, an issue that can arise with not only debit / pre-paid cards but also regular credit cards is if the cardholder is in one location (e.g. New York) and wishes to pay for a relative in another location (e.g. Washington state), depending on the card issuer, the difference in address of the two parties can cause an issue.

So unfortunately, we cannot tell you exactly what the issue is, but we can confirm that it is not at our end. We are as set up as we can be.

Hopefully, if you are able to try another card, that should resolve the issue, or, in light of the above information, if you have a discussion with your bank / card issuer, it may be possible to pin-point the issue from their side.

The Musiah piano lesson course is divided into 13 levels. As each level is completed, the next level is downloaded. The initial download file is the app itself at just 69.4MB. Then, straight after installation, the app will start downloading content files for the first level totalling around 500MB. (Level 1 has more data than subsequent levels. Later levels are smaller to download, typically 200-300MB).

No. All pieces in the Musiah piano lesson course are included when you become a subscriber, so there are significant savings compared to the costs of piano sheet music normally associated with traditional piano lessons, not to mention benefits to the environment that come from not needing printed piano sheet music.

Musiah inventor Brendan Hogan is passionate about bringing the joy of learning piano to students everywhere who for one reason or another find it difficult to access traditional piano lessons.

Brendan Hogan has trained music teachers for over 17 years and was inspired by the hundreds of teachers he has trained to develop Musiah to ensure piano lessons are delivered to all students at a consistently high level and to put out-of-this-world piano lessons within reach of people everywhere across the globe. By learning piano with Musiah, students will receive all of the benefits of traditional piano lessons and will learn to play piano 5-8 times faster in a way that is very affordable, convenient and FUN.

Musiah inventor Brendan Hogan has spent more than 17 years and thousands of hours training, observing and coaching hundreds of teachers in the highly specialised art of piano teaching.

As a result his piano teaching method has evolved and he has developed a highly efficient and unique take on traditional piano teaching techniques. His method is known as 'The Musiah Piano  Teaching Method'.

The main Musiah piano lesson application runs on the student's local computer and a secondary application that tracks every student's progress is run via an internet connection. Locally, Musiah monitors every note played by the student giving continuous feedback and guidance on how they're going and what they need to do to improve (just like a traditional piano teacher) while also using centrally gathered data to continue to develop and refine the curriculum so the course will continue to improve and evolve.

Most students learning with a traditional piano teacher for half an hour once a week take around 5-6 years to complete the 13 levels. With Musiah, early indications are that it will take considerably less time, though this is of course dependent on how much time each day the student spends learning with Musiah.

Musiah is a standalone piano teaching tool and students using the program will receive all the benefits of traditional piano lessons. Invented and developed by pianist, composer and piano teacher Brendan Hogan, the A.I. (Artificially Intelligent) component of the Musiah piano lessons program means students receive quality instruction and responsive experienced assistance as if Brendan was teaching each student personally.

First and foremost, while Musiah is a serious piano teaching tool, the interactive game-like nature of the program makes learning to read and play piano pieces more fun than ever.

Additionally, there are multiple layers of incentives to encourage students to practice and continue to progress through the course. For example, students must complete each piano piece to a high standard to collect stars that are required to unlock the piano performance challenges at the end of each level. By completing the piano performance challenges, students acquire pieces of the clavitrisk (a special key) that will ultimately unlock the Lost Song and save the galaxy. Students are also promoted to a higher rank at the end of each level, the ultimate rank being that of Musiah which students are promoted to upon completion of the course.

Teaching music theory is very important as it helps students to read and understand the piano pieces they're playing and gives them the skills to learn other pieces of their choosing. Musiah teaches all required theory in a gradual and natural way as students progress through the program.

Musiah's online piano lessons cater for beginners through to mid level students and provide progress reports that can be emailed to parents weekly, fortnightly or monthly.

Musiah also has unique Progress Metrics that enable a student to compare their progress with the site average and with students in their age group in their state, country or the world. Additionally, reports and/or progress metrics can be shared with friends/relatives so they can be kept up to date with how the student is progressing.

And for the ultimate feedback, students can send a video of their piano playing to Musiah who will email them personally with encouraging feedback and suggestions for improvement. To send a video to Musiah, click HERE.

Yes, you can install the Musiah piano lesson software on as many computers as you wish — even if they have different IP addresses.

A.I. (Artificial Intelligence) focuses on the development of machines or computer programs that can engage in intelligent human behaviours.

Musiah is an expert A.I. system. Expert systems are computer programs dedicated to solving problems and giving advice within a specialised area of knowledge with the aim of matching the performance of a human specialist.

Musiah utilises a number of new approaches to signal and image processing and a number of aspects of artificial intelligence, mainly pattern recognition and inference to overcome a wide range of short-comings in other non-human tuition applications that have to date prevented artificial tuition of complex subjects such as learning a musical instrument.

Read More about Musiah's Artificial Intelligence

For a more detailed explanation/overview of A.I., you may find the following article interesting... 

http://www-formal.stanford.edu/jmc/whatisai/whatisai.html

Yes. Musiah uses data from each student's progress to ensure the Musiah piano lesson course will continue to improve and evolve. Musiah also monitors all feedback provided to continually update and evolve the program.

To set up the Musiah software on your computer, please follow these steps:

1. Login with your email address and Musiah password, then click the "Download" button to download the software.
When downloading the software, select "save" (not "run").

The inital download is 64.2MB. This is the application itself. Once it has been installed, the app will download some larger content files for Level 1 totalling around 500MB. Once the download of these files has been completed, the screen may go black for a few seconds. Don't worry, this is perfectly normal. Subsequent levels are downloaded as each level is completed and will be smaller (around 200MB to 300MB per level).

You may also want to disable your antivirus during the download and installation. It is possible that your antivirus may see this file as a threat (which it isn't, it is perfectly safe). If you get a message along the lines of: "Musiah.exe is not commonly downloaded and could harm your computer". Just ignore it. The software is perfectly safe.

Make sure your computer is not set to go into sleep mode as this may interrupt the download.

The Musiah app includes an inbuilt download manager to streamline the download process. So, even if the download gets interrupted, the app will pick up from where it left off once the internet connection becomes available again.

If you experience any issues during the download process (either the download of the initial application file, or after installation, the download of the content files), please see the Download Issues FAQ.

2. Install the software
Double click/run the downloaded file (Musiah.exe) and follow any prompts. After the application has been installed, the first time you run it, it will download some content files as described above.

3. Run the configuration
To start the application, simply double-click the icon on your desktop that looks like a whilte Musiah-style letter "M" on a black background. The very first time you run the Musiah software, you will be asked to enter your email address and your Musiah password. Straight after that, you will be taken through a six-step configuration process to test and verify that the software is running properly on your computer.

You can also run the configuration process at any time by clicking the "Settings" button on the Main Menu or on the Student Profile Screen. (After you click Settings, the option to "Run Configuration" appears).

4. Create students on your account
Once you have installed the software, you can create up to 6 students on your account. (A student can be yourself or any other family member).

• To create a student, click one of the "Create New Student" icons on the Student Profile Screen.  Doing this will take you to the web site where you will be asked to log in. Here you will need to enter your email address and your Musiah password. Once you have logged in, click "Add a Student" and fill in the details.
• Once you have created a student, click the "Refresh Students" button at the bottom of the Student Profile Screen OR restart the Musiah software, and you will see a profile for each of the student(s) you have created.
• The first time you click a student profile, an introductory video will play (which you can skip by pressing the space bar on your computer keyboard), and then you will be taken to the Main Menu.

5. Now you're good to go!!! Have fun!

But if you do need help, e.g. connecting a midi keyboard to your computer, or adding students to your account, check out our How To Videos.

If you are having download issues, either with the initial file (which is the application itself) or with one of the three content files, the first thing to do is disable your anti-virus, then try downloading  again.

If at any stage, the download seems to have slowed down or seems to be taking an unusually long time, check that your internet connection is not being "shaped" by visiting www.speedtest.net and clicking "Begin Test". If your download speed is really low, say somewhere around 0.1Mbps or 0.2Mbps, your internet connection is definitely being shaped, which usually means you have exceeded the download limit on your plan. Your download speed will usually return to normal at the commencement of your next ISP billing cycle.

If you are attempting to download the Musiah software from within a school, university or large corporation, there may be a proxy server involved. The Musiah software will attempt to use your default credentials for the proxy server details which will work in most cases. But if the download is not working for you at a school, university or large corporation, try downloading it at home.

If you are using a university or college computer and you are having difficulty downloading the software off-campus (e.g. at home), you may need to download and install the software on campus.

Issues with downloading the content files

If, after installing the software, you experience issues during the download of the content files, e.g.

• if the app gets stuck on "checking for application updates" or "checking for content updates", or
• if you receive an error message such as "problem extracting file 3 of 3" (or similar),

you do not need to uninstall and reinstall the app.

However, you may need to delete all the content files and then run the app again, after which it should re-download the content files.

To do this go into: C:\ProgramData\Musiah\Musiah\ProjectData.

Note: Do not go into the "Program Files" folder. The correct folder is "Program Data". If you cannot see C:\ProgramData, you need to click Organise>Folder and search options>View and select "Show hidden files, folders and drives", then click Apply and OK.

Click anywhere within the ProjectData folder (C:\ProgramData\Musiah\Musiah\ProjectData), then press Ctrl+A to select all files and folders within the ProjectData folder and delete all of them.

Also, go into C:\Users\Yourname\AppData\Local\Temp and find a folder called musiahdownload and delete it.

Then restart the Musiah app and it should re-download the content, which will hopefully solve your issue.

First check the basics:

• Make sure your speakers/headphones are plugged firmly into the correct port on your computer.
• If using speakers, make sure they are turned on.
• Also check the sound on your computer is not muted.

Next check these points:

• Some computers get confused if more than one set of speakers/headphones is plugged in at the same time. Try only having one pair of headphones (turn off any speakers) or only one set of speakers (unplug headphones and turn of any additional speakers).
• Some computers get confused if you have multiple audio drivers installed on the computer. Musiah by default will use whatever audio driver is set as the default for Windows. So if you are trying to hear the sound on a pair of speakers that you normally use with an audio driver other than the Windows default audio driver, this could be the issue.
• Musiah is not designed to be used with external audio hardware (e.g. an mbox) as this can contribute to latency issues. If you are trying to hear the sound via an external audio device, this will not work. You need to connect your speakers/headphones directly to your computer.

If you need further assistance, please email support@musiah.com

Adjusting the Audio Buffer size can assist with this issue. The audio buffer size can be adjusted on the Settings screen and also in the Configuration Step 2/6 "Sound Quality Test". (The configuration is accessible via the Settings screen).

While 256 kb is the recommended buffer size for most computers, if you are experiencing crackly or stuttering audio try moving the slider to the right to increase the audio buffer size (just over 500 kb often suits older computers). If this does not solve the issue then it may be that your computer does not meet the minimum system requirements. If this is not the issue and you would like further assistance, please email support@musiah.com

The first and most important point: If your MIDI keyboard is not being detected, please do NOT assume it is a fault with the Musiah software. In all honesty, this particular issue is NEVER due to a fault with the Musiah software. It is always due to issues such as those described below.

Please go through each of these points carefully. If you require further assistance, we will be happy to help.

First, make sure that your keyboard is connected to your computer at that the keyboard's power switch is set to "ON".

Note: Always turn your MIDI keyboard "ON" first, then start the Musiah app. If you turn your MIDI keyboard on after starting the Musiah app, the app may not see your keyboard until you have restarted the app.

Next, if your keyboard has its own sounds/speakers, turn your keyboard volume down to ZERO so you will be able to hear the Virtual instruments within the Musiah app.

Then check that the correct  MIDI Device is selected from the MIDI Device drop-down list on the Settings screen within the Musiah app (or in Step 3/6 of the configuration). If you are using a USB 2.0 cable, the correct device will be your MIDI keyboard. If you are using a MIDI-to-USB cable, it will be your cable.

If your keyboard/cable is not displayed on the MIDI Device drop-down list, or if it is displayed, but despite this, in Step 3/6 of the system configuration, the keyboard is not being detected or the app is not responding when you press the keys on your keyboard, try/check the following:

• If you are using a MIDI-to-USB cable, try switching the two plugs around at the back of your keyboard.
• Regardless of what type of cable you are using, there could be an issue with the USB port on your computer. Try plugging the cable into a different USB port. Desktop users please note: Usually the usb ports at the back of your tower are more reliable than the ones at the front.
• If trying different USB ports does not resolve the issue, please also make sure your computer has the latest driver(s) for each of your USB ports.

If you're using a USB 2.0 cable:

Instances of keyboards with USB 2.0 not being detected are pretty rare. Assuming there are no faults with your computer or keyboard, there are only a few issues that can cause this.

• If you have a 64 bit operating system, check that your MIDI keyboard is compatible with your version of Windows. Occasionally, we have come across instances where customers had a keyboard with drivers that were not compatible with a 64 bit operating system, so no matter what music software they used, the keyboard would not work.
• Also, (just checking) your computer either needs to be a PC, or if you are using a mac, you must be running Windows using either bootcamp or parallels.
• There may a fault with the socket on the back of your keyboard. The cable plug should fit firmly in the socket. If it is loose, this could be the issue.

If you're using a MIDI-to-USB cable/converter:

The most common cause of issues with this type of cable is an incompatibility between the MIDI-to-USB cable and the keyboard. If you have tried/checked all the above points and your issue is still persisting, the fact that your keyboard is not being detected does not mean there is anything wrong with your MIDI keyboard, or with your cable for that matter.

One of our first customers had a 17 year old digital piano, and initially she tried a MIDI-to-USB cable that did not work. Because one of our team members happens to live not far from the family, he went to her house and tried a different MIDI-to-USB cable which worked fine. But the interesting part was, he took her original cable away and tested it with a different keyboard and it worked fine. So there was nothing wrong with either the keyboard or the cable. It was just a minor incompatibility issue which raises its head from time to time.

For this reason, we recommend using a keyboard with USB 2.0 capability (if possible).

If your keyboard requires you to use a MIDI-to-USB cable, we recommend buying a good quality one such as the M-AUDIO midisport uno (do not buy the really cheap cables on e-bay).

Other things to try:

• Make sure the MIDI in/out connectors are plugged in correctly at the back of your keyboard. If in doubt, try switching the connectors around. (When doing this, exit the Musiah app, unplug the cable from your computer, then switch the MIDI in/out connectors around).
• Also make sure you are using the latest drivers for your MIDI-to-USB cable/converter.
• If all else fails, you may find it useful to test your keyboard with MIDI-OX.

Regardless of which type of cable you are using, there is a simple test you can do to test whether there is an issue with your MIDI keyboard and/or your particular cable/keyboard.

First, simply download and install this small free MIDI diagnostic tool called MIDI-OX.

http://download.cnet.com/MIDIOX/3000-2170_4-75451990.html

After you've installed it, plug your keyboard and cable in, turn the keyboard ON, turn your keyboard volume down to ZERO, and run the MIDI-OX app. Select Options > MIDI Devices and it will list all midi input devices in the top left panel.

Click on the MIDI input device that corresponds to your keyboard/cable (it will turn blue) and also click on one of the midi output devices shown such as Microsoft GS Wavetable Synth (this will turn blue as well) and click OK.

Now check that the Main Output Monitor (within MIDI-OX) is being displayed. To do this, under the MIDI-OX menu items, find the 5th icon from the left (just to the left of the bright green icon). If you mouse over this 5th icon it will say "Main Output Monitor". Click it once to make sure what you are seeing is in fact the "Main Output Monitor".

Now play some notes on your keyboard and you should hear them.

You should also see some green and blue writing appear on the screen (in the black area).

If you don't see any writing on the screen when you play keys on your keyboard, the test has failed, in which case your options are as follows:

If you are using a MIDI-toUSB cable,

1. You could try a different MIDI-to-USB cable. We recommend buying a good quality one such as the M-AUDIO midisport uno (do not buy the really cheap cables on e-bay) OR
2. You could buy a MIDI keyboard that has USB 2.0 compatibility which would eliminate MIDI-to-USB compatibility issues (this is by far the most reliable option - see our Keyboard Info page for tips on what to look for when choosing a MIDI keyboard).

If you are using a USB 2.0 cable... you need a new keyboard, i.e. it's a keyboard fault.

If there is green/blue writing on the MIDI-OX screen, for each note you play on your keyboard, you should see ONE "note on" message (when you press the key) and ONE "note off" message (when you release the key).

If there are two "note on" / "note off" messages for each note you play, this is almost always a keyboard fault which is quite common in the poorer quality keyboard brands such as "Base" or "Meike". (Please avoid these brands as they are dreadful).

The only time two "note on" / "note off" messages might not be a keyboard fault is if you have a very fancy / high-end keyboard with lots of customizable settings, in which case it could be a setting on the keyboard. In this case, try to disable any unnecessary extra layers/pads on your keyboard (you'll need to consult your keyboard manual). Alternatively, if the keyboard manual is available online, we are happy have a look at it to see if we can figure out whether it is in fact a setting that needs to be changed.

All customers:
If the test does not work (i.e. no green/blue writing is displayed on the screen OR two "note on" / "note off" messages per note are displayed, you can be assured that the issue is not related to the Musiah software.

If you've tried all of the above and the issue is still unresolved, please skip Steps 3 and 4 of the configuration but complete the rest of the configuration process by clicking "Finish" at the end of Step 6.

Then, if you would like further assistance, please email support@musiah.com and be sure to include the exact make and model of both your keyboard and (if applicable) your MIDI-to-USB cable/converter.

While you can make a quick manual adjustment to the Keyboard Response Time on the Settings screen, it is best to do this via Configuration Step 4/6 "Keyboard Timing". (The configuration is accessible via the Settings screen).

This configuration step will help Musiah to assess/score your playing more accurately. If for some reason there is a slight delay in the time it takes the computer to receive the MIDI input from your keyboard, this step allows Musiah to calculate a suitable offset so that the scores you receive during lessons, performances, etc. will still be appropriate. For optimal results, aim to get your Keyboard Response Time as close to 0ms as possible.

Keyboard latency is a slight delay that can occur between when you play a note on your MIDI keyboard and when you hear the sound from your speakers/headphones, particularly on older computers, computers with low specifications or computers with performance issues.

Computers that experience latency are also quite likely to experience sync issues — this is when Musiah's baton/the cursor point to things on the sheet music at times that are out of sync with the click track/backing track.

Keyboard latency/sync issues generally do not arise your computer meets the minimum system requirements (such as having 3GB of RAM available).

If your computer meets the minimum system requirements and you are still experiencing keyboard latency and/or sync issues, this is definitely not the normal experience.

There are three possible reasons why you would be experiencing latency/sync issues even if your computer meets the minimum system requirements. These are:

1. a computer performance issue — performance issues are dealt with below
2. a hardware fault on your computer 
3. though relatively unlikely, it is possible that your computer may not be built from good quality components - for example, I once made the mistake of buying a HP Pavillion dv7 laptop which had an i7 processor and 8GB of RAM (great specs) and it turned out to be the worst computer I ever bought. It couldn't even run a skype call, much less Musiah, and that was not because of any hardware faults or performance issues in the usual sense of the term, but because the computer itself was very poor quality.

If you're interested in diagnosing the cause of the latency, I recommend going through each point/suggestion below. Once you have tweaked your computer's performance settings, you can do some testing with your MIDI keyboard and the Musiah software to see if the latency has improved, or you can test your keyboard with a free MIDI diagnostic tool called MIDI-OX.

Checking Your Computer For Performance Issues

Mac users: If you are using Bootcamp / Parallels or similar, be sure to allocate sufficeint memory to Windows, i.e. at least 3GB of RAM. (Sometimes mac users with powerful computers overlook this).

Windows users: The first thing to check is your CPU usage as follows:

• When you start up your computer (before starting the Musiah app), right-click the task bar and select "Start task manager".
• Click the "Performance" tab.

If your CPU usage is more than 20%, this suggests a performance issue on your computer. For example, if your computer when idling is running at 50-100% CPU usage, this will definitely cause latency and/or sync issues. The higher the CPU usage, the more severe the issues will be.

Below are a few general suggestions that may help to improve computer performance:

To help diagnose the issue, try the following:

• Exit/disable all non-essential programs, e.g. anti-virus, skype, internet browsers, etc. (basically any applications that use significant amounts of memory).
• If that doesn't solve the issue, check to see if your hard drive(s) need to be defragmented.
• Also make sure the hard drive on which Musiah is installed (usually the C drive) has at least 15% free space
• Also make sure your computer has all the latest Windows updates.
• Run a virus/spyware scan to make sure your computer is not underperforming due to a virus.
• Lastly, Musiah is not designed to be used with external audio hardware (e.g. an mbox) as this can contribute to latency issues. Be sure to connect your speakers/headphones directly to your computer.

If you are familiar with msconfig, you could also try disabling all non-essential services at start-up. If you are not familiar with msconfig, it would be best to ask an advanced computer user or IT professional to do this for you.

If the performance issues are very significant, the best option may be to upgrade the computer (in which case you will have a greatly enhanced lesson experience).

If after trying the above suggestions you would like further assistance, please email support@musiah.com

Mouse latency is the slight delay between when you click the mouse button and the time it registers on the screen.

To be able to tap rhythms in time with a beat using your mouse, it is necessary to calibrate the mouse on some computers, especially laptops as they are usually calibrated to suit the tracking pad as opposed to a normal wired mouse.

Please note: Laptop tracking pads are not suitable for use with Musiah. Wireless mice, even after calibration, are prone to latency issues and are therefore not recommended. We recommend that you always use a wired mouse with Musiah.

To calibrate your mouse...

In Windows 7

Go to Start > Control Panel > View Devices and
Printers > Right-click the Mouse icon and choose "Mouse settings".

In Windows XP/Vista

Go to Start > Control Panel > Double click the Mouse
icon.

Then...

Under the Buttons tab, adjust the "Double-click speed" as required. While the optimum settings will vary on each computer, we suggest trying about 100% (all the way to the right) for this setting.*

*When tapping a rhythm, each click is a single click, but if this "Double-click speed" setting is too slow, some rhythmic patterns may be misinterpreted by your PC as double-clicks.

Under the Pointer Options tab, adjust the speed of the "Motion" setting to suit your computer (usually around 75-100% is a reasonable setting), though again this will vary from computer to computer.

Also under the Pointer Options tab, check the "Enhance pointer precision" checkbox.

Please note: In some rare cases, it may be best to slow the mouse speed down. We have had a small number of customers with "skittery" mice for whom putting the above speed settings all the way to the left (i.e. 0%) worked best. Ultimately it comes down to what suits your computer/mouse.

I've calibrated my mouse and I'm still having difficulty tapping rhythms:

If you do have any further issues with your mouse, there is one more thing you could try... namely, plugging the mouse into a different USB port.

Drivers for USB devices are specifically associated with individual devices on specific USB ports, so there could be an issue with that particular USB port, or at least the mouse driver on that USB port.

When you plug it into a different USB port, the mouse driver will re-install. Then it would be interesting to unplug and replug the mouse into the same (new) USB port. If things are working normally, it shouldn't reinstall the mouse driver again.

Run the System Configuration (accessible via "Settings" on the Main Menu). Step 6/6 plays a sample video. If you cannot see it, this is quite a rare issue and may indicate that you need to update your computer's video card driver.

If you would like assistance please email support@musiah.com

Configuration

When you start the Musiah app for the first time, you will be taken through an easy six-step configuration process to set up Musiah on your computer.

Student Profile Screen

After the configuration has been completed, you should see the "Student Profile Screen". This is the screen where you can add a student to your account (a student can be yourself or any other family member) . To do this, simply click one of the six icons that say "Create New Student" underneath. Doing this will take you to the web site where you will be asked to log in.

Once you have created a student, either restart the app, or click the "refresh students" button on the Student Profile Screen and you will see a profile for each of the student(s) you have created. Click one of the student profiles to begin.

Introductory Video

Note: The first time you click a Student Profile, an introductory video of the Musiah Story will play. You can skip this video by pressing the space bar. Upon completion of the video (or if you press the space bar), you will be taken to the Main Menu. From here, simply click on Lesson 01 to begin.

At any stage, if you need help on what to do, just click HERE to view a video on "How To Start Your First Piano Lesson With Musiah".

If you are answering the question correctly but the Musiah app is telling you that your answer is incorrect, this issue is almost always due to a fault with your MIDI keyboard.This particular keyboard fault is quite common in the poorer quality keyboard brands such as "Base" or "Meike". (Please avoid these brands as they are dreadful).

The only time it might not be a keyboard fault is if you have a very fancy / high-end keyboard with lots of customizable settings, in which case it could be a setting on the keyboard. In this case, try to disable any unnecessary extra layers/pads on your keyboard (you'll need to consult your keyboard manual). Alternatively, if the keyboard manual is available online, we are happy have a look at it to see if we can figure out whether it is in fact a setting that needs to be changed.

In summary, the issue is that the keyboard is sending out two midi messages for each note played (it is only supposed to send out one midi message for each note played). So, in a question where the answer is just a single note (e.g. play Middle C) the keyboard will appear to work fine. This is because, in a single note question, once the Musiah app has received the correct note, it then stops listening. So if an extra note is played (or the same note is played twice), this is generally not an issue.

But in a question such as play all 5 C's on the keyboard (where the answer is a sequence of notes), because of the fault in the keyboard, the Musiah app receives the two midi messages from the keyboard when you play the first note, and the app thinks that you are playing the first note twice (which of course you are not).

Realistically, if your keyboard is one of the cheap/poor quality ones and you are having this issue, your only option is to purchase another keyboard. Our Keyboard Info page describes what to look for when choosing a MIDI keyboard.