Wolfgang Kuhn, 88; Pioneer in Teaching Music With Computer

Wolfgang Kuhn, 88, a Stanford University music and education professor emeritus who was a pioneer in the development of computer-assisted music instruction, died March 10 of heart failure at his home on the Stanford campus.

In 1973, Kuhn teamed with Stanford curriculum and systems programmer Paul Lorton Jr. to develop a computerized system for teaching musical skills: a system that combined a teletype machine, an electronic organ and a computer.

A decade later, they developed MusicMaster software, which was designed to run with an alphaSyntauri keyboard, an Apple III-Plus computer, a synthesizer and an audio system. Released in 1982, it was one of the most sophisticated systems for computer-assisted music instruction in the country.

Kuhn was born in Leipzig, Germany, in 1914 and immigrated to the United States in 1927. Hired by Stanford in 1958, he oversaw its graduate programs in music education for more than 25 years.