Lumi Keyboard Review: A Smarter Way To Learn Piano

ⓘ We are reader-supported and may earn a small commission at no additional cost to you if a purchase is made through one of our links.

Ever wish you could pick up the piano but figure it’s too late to get started? Or maybe you just never enjoyed the idea of a pushy teacher forcing you to memorize classical music and smacking your fingers with a ruler every time you hit the wrong note. With the Lumi Keyboard’s innovative key design and training system, you’ll be learning scales and playing tunes in no time at all. And the best part is you’ll be doing it all on your own, at your own pace.

But at a price that eclipses even a Yamaha keyboard, does this personal piano trainer really have enough under the hood to warrant your hard-earned cash? Well, if it manages to teach this sausage-fingered newbie how to play the keys, then I’m inclined to say yes. So I decided to give it a whirl, in this Lumi Keyboard review.

In a rush and don’t have the time to get through the entire review? Just click any of the links below and we’ll take you straight to that section.

Overview

The Lumi Keyboard was developed by Roli – a tech company rooted in music that seeks to take traditional instruments to the next level. In Lumi’s case, they endeavoured to make learning to play the piano a fun experience through gorgeous illuminating coloured keys and an interactive app filled to the brim with all sorts of helpful and entertaining lessons.

Think Rockband the video game except you’re playing both to have fun and to learn how to play an actual instrument. This mini-keyboard also features more comfortably-sized keys and comes in a portable size that makes it easy to carry around no matter where you’re off to. Learn at a pace that suits you and play the songs that you want to play.

Features

Full-Colour Illumination

The Lumi Keyboard features Roli Brightkey technology which gives it its brilliant, colourful glow even when you play it outdoors.

Unique Keys

The keys of the Lumi measure at ⅞ the size of conventional piano keys and approximately 92% of the plunge distance, making it the most comfortable portable keyboard for the average hand.

Expandable Design

Fancy a larger keyboard? No problem. Just use the magnetic connectors and edge-to-edge design to link two Lumis together, making your keyboard twice as wide.

Portability

The Lumi Keyboard weighs a mere 600 grams, making it even lighter than the majority of tablets out there. Moreover, it’s smaller than the average laptop, meaning you can effortlessly carry it around or throw it in your backpack when you’re on the move.

Lumi App

The Lumi App brings the entire experience together by syncing up the lights on-screen with the ones on the keyboard and offering you a huge library of songs to choose from. You’ll also be able to shift between views of varying difficulties, starting with coloured shapes similar to that of a video game and eventually levelling up to reading actual sheet music. Immerse yourself in easy-to-digest music lessons that you can absorb at your own pace.

If you like this, you will like this: REBO Smart Water Bottle

Specs

Aesthetics

From a distance, the Lumi looks like a small slice of a monochromatic keyboard with 24 eye-catching glass-like keys. It’s fairly low-profile, with the main focus being the device’s keys since the majority of the controls will be found on the Lumi App anyways. It really hits its stride once the keyboard lights up vividly in an almost hypnotic array of vibrant colours.

There’s also something incredibly satisfying about watching the colours on the keys line up with the ones that show up on-screen, evoking the feeling that you’re playing your favourite rhythm video game when, in fact, you’re actually learning how to play the piano.

What’s it like to use?

Getting the Lumi Keyboard up and running is a simple affair. All you have to do is install the Lumi App on your Android or iOS device, then pair it with your keyboard via a Bluetooth connection. Once you’re all synced up, you’ll be granted access to the Lumi library which allows you to start with the basics or immediately jump into learning your favourite songs. Easy peasy.

Final Thoughts

If you’re looking for the perfect excuse to kickstart your piano training, let the Lumi Keyboard be it. Not only is it portable enough to take with you wherever you go, but it’s also compatible with all sorts of Android and Apple devices and its keys are specifically crafted for comfort.

The best part is that it makes learning the piano actually fun by using an intuitive training system that incorporates illuminating keys and an expertly designed companion app. Perhaps its biggest drawback lies in its steep price tag, which is notably higher than many excellent full-sized keyboards out there. As long as you can get over the cost, the Lumi Keyboard is probably the best way to learn the piano from scratch. It certainly is the most fun, that’s for sure.