Musical blocks and clocks

Abstract

A music education apparatus for teaching musical concepts, comprising note meaning and pitch recognition, music reading, instrument playing, tempo, staccato, degrees of loudness, note duration, rhythm, harmony, chords, trills, the sonic characteristics of different instruments, and music writing. The music education apparatus comprises a block with visual representations on each side designating musical notes, letters representing musical notes, and physical portions on musical instruments, wherein the musical note(s) designated on the other sides are highlighted on the keyboard or other designated physical portion of an instrument. The music education apparatus may also serve as an alarm clock that can be set to sound at a selected time by conventional means, or by light, sound, temperature, or other stimuli. Voice programming may be featured, whereby a word, name, sentence, etc., is spoken or sung when the alarm sounds. Sides of the music education apparatus may designate one note or a combination of notes, and a keyboard or other physical representation of the playing portion of a musical instrument, wherein a key(s) or string(s) is highlighted to correspond to the note(s) designated on the other sides of the block. Upon activation of a music generator contained within the music education apparatus, the pitch(es) of the designated note(s) is sounded. By including the production of harmonics, the sound producer can also produce the sound of a musical instrument. One embodiment features removable and replaceable sides that thereby permit the sounding of different notes, including combinations of notes (trills, etc.), instruments, and songs or other compositions. Electronic sound chips may be used in conjunction with a power source.