Ah, CES... nowhere else on earth can make a tech geek like myself feel as inadequate. So far I've discovered that my TV is too small, my stereo sucks, and I don't have nearly enough security cameras installed in my home. I've already told you guys about the future of gaming furniture. Now, prepare yourself for Piano Wizard.

Developed by a professor of music theory, Piano Wizard aims to teach children of all ages how to play the piano in a fun and entertaining way. You simply install the software onto your PC or Mac, and attach a MIDI keyboard to the USB port. Then you affix colored stickers to the keys on your keyboard, and you're ready to go. Versions of the software are available both with and without the keyboard. 

Similar to games like Guitar Hero or Dance Dance Revolution, Piano Wizard has you listen to a song, and hit the keyboard keys at the right point in the song to match the preloaded music.

The game progresses you through four levels of difficulty. The first level, seen above, has the keyboard on the top, with the playful note avatars rising vertically. Once you've mastered step one, the next step moves the keyboard to the left side of the screen with the avatars moving from right to left horizontally. Step three replaces the avatars with acutal musical notes. And step four takes the color out, and you play real sheet music in black and white.

Presto! You now can play the piano. 

I had a chance to play a song (Riders on the Storm by the Doors) and I was amazed to find myself playing two hands on the keyboard with fairly good accuracy in less than five minutes. I have always wanted to learn a musical instrument, but have discovered that I can't get my fingers to cooperate on a guitar, and my feet won't comply with my hands' directions on drums. Even though the graphics are geared toward a younger set, I may have to pick up a copy of Piano Wizard to get my musicality out in the open.

The game is available in two different versions: Easy Mode, which comes with a built-in cirriculum of 100 songs; and Premier Version, which comes with a built-in cirriculum of 200 songs in addition to its expandability with MIDI files. 

As if that weren't enough, in September of last year, Allegro Multimedia (the game's manufacturer) announced an agreement with Warner/Chappell that will provide licensing rights to some of the most popular songs ever recorded. 

The company also manufactures similar software under the name of Guitar Wizard, which uses the same principles to teach you how to play the guitar (Take that Harmonix!). I didn't get a chance to demo that one today, but I hope to do so before the show is over.

Check this video of Piano Wizard in action: