''Chiroplast'' is an instrument to guide the hands and fingers of pupils in playing on the

piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keybo ...

, invented by

Johann Bernhard Logier Johann Bernhard Logier (9 February 1777 – 27 July 1846) was a German composer, teacher, inventor, and publisher resident in Ireland for much of his life. Biography Logier was born in Kassel and was first taught music by his father, a violinist. ...

.Michael Kassler, A.F.C. Kollmann's Quarterly Musical Register (1812). An annotated edition with an introduction to his life and works, Ashgate Publishing, Ltd., 15 Dec 2008,
pp. 123–31.
/ref> The instrument was a sliding wooden frame that placed the wrist, thumb and fingers of a hand above five consecutive white keys of a keyboard, to overcome the difficulty of retaining their proper position by beginners. It was patented on 28 April 1814, patent no. 3806 "Apparatus for facilitating the acquirement of proper execution on the piano forte". The use of Chiroplast caused a good deal of criticism and controversy.

References

Musical instrument parts and accessories Piano {{Zither-instrument-stub