Roli’s light-up learning keyboard goes up for pre-order at $299

Roli is cool startup that makes fascinating music products. The Seaboard led the way, with a clever take on the keyboard that allowed players to bend notes like guitar strings. Blocks were even more fascinating — the modular light pads offered innovative control for electronic music makers.

As a music fan with no discernible skills when it comes to actually making it, I’ve mostly admired the London-based company’s music from afar. Lumi, however, finds Roli getting into musical education, with a small, portable keyboard whose keys illuminate to teach beginners what to play.

Roli’s newest instrument, the Lumi, helps you learn to play piano with lights

Available initially via Kickstarter, the kit is up for pre-order starting today and set to start shipping in November. The Lumi Keys 1 is currently available for $299, a price that includes a carrying case and access to the Lumi subscription service. That last bit, clearly, is the key to Roli’s plans to monetize the kit, moving forward, with a $10 a month fee. The library now includes more than 100 lessons and 400 songs, with a broad range of artists — “from Beyonce to Beethoven” as the company puts it in its press material.

Image Credits: Roli

The Lumi has been refined since the initial Kickstarter version, with a stronger (and heavier) build and better/more precise key response. Like Blocks, the system is modular — here that means specifically that you can connect multiple Lumis together and create a longer keyboard. As the company’s noted early, the keyboard also doubles as a MIDI controller, for those who graduate from the learning functionality.