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{{Infobox video game
|title=The Miracle Piano Teaching System
|image=Miracle Piano Teaching System cover.jpg
|caption=
|developer=[[The Software Toolworks]]
|publisher=The Software Toolworks
|designer=Jon Mandel<br>Henrik Markarian
|released={{start date and age|1990}}
|genre=[[music video game|Music]], [[educational software|educational]]
|modes=[[Single-player]]
|platforms=[[Nintendo Entertainment System|NES]], [[Super Nintendo Entertainment System|Super NES]], [[Macintosh]], [[Amiga]], [[Sega Genesis|Genesis]], [[MS-DOS]]
}}

'''''The Miracle Piano Teaching System''''' is [[educational software]] which uses a [[MIDI]] keyboard to teach how to play the piano.<ref name="innovation_avoiding_trap">{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9cqmVLoQRvwC&pg=PA197 |page=197 |title=Innovation and Marketing in the Video Game Industry: Avoiding the Performance Trap |last1=Barczak |first1=Gloria |last2=Wesley |first2=David |year=2012 |publisher=Gower Publishing |isbn=9781409459620 |access-date=2014-04-22}}</ref> It was published in 1990 by [[The Software Toolworks]] for the [[Nintendo Entertainment System]], [[Super Nintendo Entertainment System|Super NES]], [[Macintosh]], [[Amiga]], [[Sega Genesis]], and [[MS-DOS]] compatible operating systems.

==Description==
[[File:Miracle-Piano-Teaching-System-keyboard.jpg|thumb|right|A Miracle system keyboard (NES edition)|alt=A photo of a Miracle Piano Teaching System keyboard]]
The Miracle Piano Teaching System consists of a keyboard, connecting cables, power supply, soft foot pedals, and software. The software comes either on 3.5" [[floppy disk]]s for [[personal computer]]s or on cartridges for [[video game consoles]]. 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. Its marketed value is as a tool to teach users to play the [[piano]]. It provides hundreds of lessons,<ref name="pc_mag_patient_teacher">{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hqQJaNzN9IcC&pg=PA618 |author=Kendall, Robert |title=Miracle System Turns Your PC Into a Patient Piano Teacher |date=August 1992 |page=618 |access-date=2014-04-22}}</ref> and was advertised as the perfect adjunct to formal lessons. It was sold for US$500 and had low sales, in part due to its high price.

It was released in the United States and in multiple regions of Europe. 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.

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. 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.

===Features===
[[File:Miracle-Piano-Teaching-System-screenshot.png|thumb|right|alt=A screenshot of the ''Robo Man'' game activity in the Miracle system software.|Game activities in the Miracle system (such as ''Robo Man'', shown here) combine video gaming-type gameplay and practicing of musical skills.]]
Students can learn to play [[Classical music|classic piano]], [[rock and roll|rock piano]], or [[show tune]]s.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_pcmMWnxp80C&pg=PA30 |title=Electronics Newsfront |page=30 |author=Free, John |date=February 1993 |access-date=2014-04-23}}</ref> The Miracle system assesses the player's ability to create custom lessons.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lgEAAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA32 |title=Electronics Newsfront |author=Stover, Dawn |page=32 |date=August 1990 |access-date=2014-04-22}}</ref> Fun exercises were meant to make learning the piano seem less like a chore and more like playing a video game. Instead of using the traditional NES controller, the [[piano]] becomes the controller as players aim at targets in order to perfect their [[music]] skills.

There are multiple games that students can play to help teach musical skills. One game is called ''Robo Man'' where the player has to press the correct keys at the right time to create a bridge. If they miss, Robo Man falls and the player loses. 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.<ref name="miracle_major_key_lakeland_ledger">{{cite news |url=//news.google.com/newspapers?id=Dt0vAAAAIBAJ&sjid=TPwDAAAAIBAJ&pg=5295%2C707585 |title='Miracle' in a major key |author=Brown, Lonnie |page=10C |date=1992-08-22 |access-date=2014-04-23}}</ref> In the ''Ripchord'' game, players must press the correct combination of keys for a chord to land [[paratroopers]] onto a target.<ref name="miracle_major_key_lakeland_ledger"/>

==Successors==
Around 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.<ref>{{cite web|date=1995-05-05|title=Piano Discovery System Uses PC to Make Music Lessons Easy and Fun.|url=https://www.thefreelibrary.com/Piano%20Discovery%20System%20Uses%20PC%20to%20Make%20Music%20Lessons%20Easy%20and%20Fun.-a016903666|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160305015809/https://www.thefreelibrary.com/Piano%20Discovery%20System%20Uses%20PC%20to%20Make%20Music%20Lessons%20Easy%20and%20Fun.-a016903666|archive-date=March 5, 2016|access-date=2014-04-26|publisher=[[BusinessWire]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|date=1995-09-18|title=Jump! Music to Publish Piano Discovery System; Multimedia music tutorial system will join comprehensive line of music products|url=https://www.thefreelibrary.com/Jump!%20Music%20to%20Publish%20Piano%20Discovery%20System;%20Multimedia%20music...-a017441929|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150611012553/https://www.thefreelibrary.com/Jump!%20Music%20to%20Publish%20Piano%20Discovery%20System;%20Multimedia%20music...-a017441929|archive-date=June 11, 2015|access-date=2014-04-26|publisher=[[BusinessWire]]}}</ref> By 1997, the Miracle product had been discontinued in favor of the ''Piano Discovery System''.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.jumpmusic.com/HTML/Products/pdFAQ07.html |title=Questions about Miracle Piano |publisher=Jump! Music |access-date=2014-04-26 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/19970105120927/http://www.jumpmusic.com/HTML/Products/pdFAQ07.html |archive-date=1997-01-05 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

==Reception==
{{Video game reviews
 | rev1 = [[Amiga Format]]
 | rev1Score = 93%<ref>{{cite magazine|last=Noonan |first=Damien |title=The Miracle Keyboard Tutor  |magazine=[[Amiga Format]] |issue=13 |publisher=[[Future plc|Future Publishing]] |date=March 1992 |page=125}}</ref>
}}
The Miracle system failed commercially with its high price of {{US$|299}}–{{US$|419}} (equivalent to US${{Inflation|US|299|1993}}–US${{Inflation|US|419|1993}} in {{Inflation/year|US}}, depending on format),<ref name=oppenheim>{{cite book |last=Oppenheim |first=Joanne and Stephanie |author-link= Oppenheim Toy Portfolio Award |title = The Best Toys, Books & Videos for Kids |publisher = [[Harper Perennial]] |series = [[Oppenheim Toy Portfolio Award|Oppenheim Toy Portfolio Guide Book]] |volume = 1 |edition = 1st |location = New York |date = 1993 |section= Computer Software/CD-ROM - Life After Arcade: Getting Value From Sega and Nintendo - 'The Miracle Piano Teaching System' |pages = 278–279 |isbn = 0-06-273196-3 }}</ref> but it was overall well received by critics.

''[[Computer Gaming World]]'' liked the Miracle system's games and graphics, describing them as "not only entertaining and challenging, but they are also cleverly designed to reinforce the lessons". The magazine concluded, "everything that Software Toolworks promises about this system is true [but] there is still no substitute for parental involvement".{{r|rich199204}} David Wesley and Gloria Barczak mentioned that the system was praised by educators and that in 1990 it was the highest-rated third-party NES title by Nintendo's software review team. It was not well-suited to average gamers who lacked musical experience or who were not highly committed and dedicated to undertaking long-term electronic piano learning.<ref name="innovation_avoiding_trap"/> ''[[PC Magazine]]'' mentioned the system as being easy to use and likely more patient than a live piano teacher though the system did not cover certain aspects of piano playing such as hand position.<ref name="pc_mag_patient_teacher"/> The game was reviewed in the ''[[Oppenheim Toy Portfolio Award|Oppenheim Toy Portfolio Guide Book]]'' where the authors described it as "by far the highest use a video-game machine has ever been put to".<ref name=oppenheim/>

[[NPR]] personality [[Noah Adams]] begins his 1997 memoir ''Piano Lessons'' attempting to teach himself how to play through the use of Miracle for PC software, ultimately finding greater success by taking more traditional lessons.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Adams|first1=Noah|title=Piano Lessons: Music, Love & True Adventures|url=https://archive.org/details/pianolessonsmusi00adam|url-access=limited|date=1997|publisher=Delta Trade Paperbacks|isbn=0385318219|oclc=1001862507|pages=[https://archive.org/details/pianolessonsmusi00adam/page/27 27], 80, 86|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last1=Kelly|first1=Katy|title=Noah Adams' Keys to Happiness|url=http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/life/enter/books/leb333.htm|work=USAToday|publisher=Gannett Co. Inc.|date=2 December 1999}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Childress|first1=Kyle|last2=Kennedy|first2=Rodney Wallace|title=Will Campbell, Preacher Man: Essays in the Spirit of a Divine Provocateur|date=August 4, 2016|publisher=Wipf and Stock Publishers|isbn=978-1-4982-0273-2|page=17|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PDXkDAAAQBAJ&q=noah+adams+piano+miracle&pg=PA17|oclc=951646286}}</ref>

==See also==
*''[[Synthesia (video game)|Synthesia]]''

==References==
{{Reflist|refs=
<ref name="rich199204">{{cite magazine |title=The Software Toolworks Puts a Miracle into Music | magazine=[[Computer Gaming World]] | issue=93 | date=April 1992 | last=Rich | first=Jason R. | pages=58–59}}</ref>
}}

==External links==
*{{moby game|id=/nes/miracle-piano-teaching-system}}
*[https://www.pianoeducation.org/pnompfaq.html ''Miracle Piano Teaching System FAQ for PC Versions'' at the Piano Education Page]

{{Nintendo Entertainment System}}

[[Category:Nintendo Entertainment System accessories]]
[[Category:Music video games]]
[[Category:Video games developed in the United States]]
[[Category:Children's educational video games]]
[[Category:1990 video games]]
[[Category:Sega Genesis games]]
[[Category:Super Nintendo Entertainment System games]]
[[Category:Classic Mac OS games]]
[[Category:Amiga games]]
[[Category:The Software Toolworks games]]