An apparatus is to assist an unskilled player in playing a musical
instrument by detecting the quantity of the player's manipulation against
the instrument, modifying the detected manipulation quantity with
reference to a recommended manipulation to a degree according to a given
assistance coefficient, and actuating the instrument with the modified
manipulation quantity. For a brass instrument, the apparatus comprises an
embouchure sensor and a breath pressure sensor to detect the embouchure
and the breath pressure of the player as he/she plays the brass
instrument. The detected embouchure and breath pressure are then modified
with reference to a recommended embouchure and breath pressure weighted
by a given assistance coefficient. The apparatus actuates the brass
instrument based on the modified embouchure and breath pressure.