'Laser guitar' could teach you to play

Maestro would feature a laser for each string.
Maestro would feature a laser for each string.

Learning a guitar part can be tricky, particularly if it's an intricate solo you're dealing with. If the laser-powered Maestro ever goes into production, though, the task might just become a little simpler.

Designed by Eugene Cheong and looking like a piece of the dashboard from Michael Knight's KITT car, the idea is that Maestro could translate digital audio files into laser beams that indicate where on the fretboard notes need to be 'fingered'.

It sounds great in theory - though the strap-on device looks a little cumbersome - but whether it could ever work in reality is debatable.

For one thing, we wonder how Maestro could possibly extrapolate the guitar part from a mixed-down audio file - even Celemony's Direct Note Access technology isn't quite capable of doing that - and what happens when your hand gets in the way of the lasers?

These would be just some of the problems that the developer would have to tackle if it ever decided to put the Maestro into production, but we can't honestly see that happening any time in the near future.

(Via Yanko Design)

Ben Rogerson

I’m the Deputy Editor of MusicRadar, having worked on the site since its launch in 2007. I previously spent eight years working on our sister magazine, Computer Music. I’ve been playing the piano, gigging in bands and failing to finish tracks at home for more than 30 years, 24 of which I’ve also spent writing about music and the ever-changing technology used to make it.