Looks like Wii Music is starting to fulfill its intended purpose.

Nintendo has announced plans to incorporate Wii Music into their lesson plans with select schools and teachers. Among the company’s collaborators are MENC: The National Association for Music Education, San Francisco’s Blue Bear School of Music, and New York’s Opus 118 Harlem School of Music.

The partners will work with Nintendo and teachers in integrating the video game into the curriculum in 51 cities throughout America.

Famed designer Shigeru Miyamoto has stated that he intends Wii Music to be less of a game and more of a tool to get people interested in music.

Taken that way, Wii Music is a perfect fit for classrooms. While gamers have heavily criticized Wii Music for its lack of challenge and sometimes unresponsive controls, the software could be beneficial for younger children.

Compared to the Guitar Hero and Rock Band games, Wii Music is meant to introduce the musically-uninitiated to various instruments, rhythm, tempo, melody, harmony, and improvisation.

Although the game is by no means comprehensive or deep enough to replace a lesson plan, it can be a fun and interesting part of a music plan – particularly if a school’s budget makes it impossible to stock the school with actual instruments.