KORG SoundTree featured in InTune Monthly
- SoundTree
- Jan 13
- 5 min read
by Michael Stewart InTune Monthly
IN THE EARLY 1980S, as synthesizers and electronic keyboards crept into American schools, music education found itself caught between excitement and uncertainty. Districts were eager to modernize, teachers were curious but overwhelmed, and students were suddenly surrounded by instruments that were more futuristic than anything their parents had played. What wasn’t clear yet was how to turn rows of electronic keyboards into real musical learning. That uncertainty—an unusual combination of promise and chaos—created the perfect opening for a new idea that would take root and spread across the country under a name students rarely heard but often benefited from: “Korg SoundTree.”
SoundTree emerged from Korg USA’s educational division at a time when technology was outpacing pedagogy. Schools were buying keyboards in bulk, but the act of teaching with them was often awkward. Many teachers lacked training, few classrooms had standardized layouts, and there was no system in place to support group instruction. The team at Korg saw a simple truth: schools didn’t need more instruments—they needed a structure. The name “SoundTree” was chosen intentionally, a metaphor for a program built to provide roots, branches, and a path for musical growth in a technological age.
From the start, SoundTree was conceived not as a product, but as an environment. Instead of merely delivering hardware, Korg delivered a fully designed classroom. Teachers received a central communication console that allowed them to listen in on
individual students or entire sections, enabling private coaching, paired practice, or full-
class demonstrations with effortless control. Students sat at interconnected keyboards
wired through headphone networks that kept the room quiet but collaborative. The
infrastructure included everything from furniture layouts to cable routing to step-by-step
instructional materials. It was a level of integration rarely seen in school music programs.
Behind this evolution was a small but determined group of Korg educators and specialists. People like Karl Detken and Ray Williams spent countless hours visiting schools, meeting with district leaders, and training teachers who had never touched a synthesizer before. These were not salespeople so much as advocates—champions of the idea that technology, when delivered thoughtfully, could democratize music education. They helped schools imagine labs not as gadgets in rows, but as dynamic creative spaces where students could compose, experiment, and collaborate.
As the 1990s unfolded, SoundTree expanded to reflect the rapidly changing music landscape. MIDI sequencing found its place in the classroom, followed by early computer-based recording stations and the introduction of professional notation software. What began as a keyboard lab gradually evolved into a versatile hybrid of studio and classroom. Students weren’t just learning how to play instruments—they were learning how to create. By the early 2000s, a SoundTree room could contain everything from digital pianos to iMac-based recording setups, transforming traditional music classes into spaces that looked increasingly like professional production studios.
During this period, Korg found itself competing with Yamaha’s Music Lab systems, which
had established strong footholds thanks to decades of group-piano pedagogy. But
SoundTree was the more experimental sibling, infused with the sensibilities of the
emerging digital age. Where Yamaha emphasized structure, tradition, and ensemble
unison, Korg fostered a culture of exploration—encouraging students to layer sounds,
sequence beats, and blend electronic textures with acoustic ideas. For many American
schools hoping to align their programs with contemporary music trends, SoundTree felt
like the future.
Lee Whitmore, today Director of Sales and Marketing for MusicFirst, but at the time Vice
President B2B and Education for Focusrite Group, wrote an “As I See It” column about
Korg SoundTree’s early days in the company’s e-newsletter. He started by writing, “Having started its first regular publication for teachers, I’m honored to write this contribution to SoundTree’s newsletter.”
The piece then continued with, “In the 90s I was working for Korg USAin Long Island as a
digital piano project manager, and something happened one day at a local doughnut shop that subsequently changed my career trajectory to this day. It has also impacted music education for hundreds of thousands of students and teachers for three decades. With some of the company’s senior leaders, including KORG President Mike Kovins, we took a break from the office, walked up the street, and chatted about how we could create an education division. We grabbed a napkin and sketched the first “business plan” for SoundTree.
I served as SoundTree’s first managing director, missed it when I left, and went back for a second term heading the organization. During that time, SoundTree became the first supplier of digital keyboard labs for the nascent Save The Music Foundation, offered professional development and training services for school districts and campuses
across the United States, and began the journey that continues today—making a difference in young people’s lives by helping schools bring engaging, culturally relevant music education to their students.
I have fond memories of working with the St. Louis Public Schools to design and implement its first music labs, regularly offering professional development sessions for NYC Department of Education teachers from all five boroughs, teaching and producing summer graduate courses in music technology for in-service educators on Marthas Vineyard and the University of Wisconsin, Villanova University and Central Connecticut University, and participated in many state, regional, and national music educators’ conferences.
Early SoundTree Lab
We all worked together to build a community of technology and creativity-focused
classroom practitioners that still come together regularly through organizations like the
Technology Institute for Music Educators. Korg and SoundTree helped found TI:ME.”
However, by the 2010s, the very forces that had made it revolutionary began to overtake
SoundTree’s innovations. Although expensive and technically challenging for many,
laptops, tablets, cloud-based software, and portable MIDI controllers started to replace
the need for wired lab infrastructure. Regardless, the need for and educational
opportunities created by music labs never went away.
So, as the pandemic era waned, Korg SoundTree began a new period of development.
Korg USA’s music education initiative has now adapted and is rolling out a new wave of
products and programs for schools, music teachers and their students. The new Korg
SoundTree incorporates the latest technologies in its offerings and is again playing an
essential role in modern music education, and we here at In Tune will use this space in
future issues to profile the latest Korg SoundTree equipment and systems, their utility and their impact on the music education experience. Stay tuned!
Thanks to Irwin Kornfeld and Michael Stewart from InTune Monthly!
In Tune Partners Westchester Media
Etymotic Education
P.O. Box 166
Thornwood NY 10594
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