Instrument course in a trouser bag
Getting to know instruments not only on site, but also at home - this is made possible by the "Instrument course for smartphones" app from the Oberer Sempachersee music school. The app won 1st prize and the Corona Special Prize in the VMS Good Practice Competition.
Which instrument should I choose? Every spring, music schools throughout Switzerland present their offerings. Children and parents can try out instruments and get to know teachers at taster events or on the very popular instrument course - a very important moment for everyone involved, not least for the music schools. The instrument course for smartphones, developed by the Oberer Sempachersee music school, is a good addition to the on-site offer.
The game - currently for smartphones, but soon also available for tablets - is free of charge and is suitable for children in Year 1 and 2. It begins in the "House of Music" with various rooms that introduce instruments - each with playful elements such as audio games, picture puzzles or jigsaw puzzles. The highlight is that music schools can adapt this House of Music to their own program, add their own logo and link it to instrument videos of their own teachers. This allows future music students to make their decision for a particular instrument at home in peace and on a solid basis - and sign up directly if necessary. Participating music schools pay an annual subscription fee for the use of the instrument course for the smartphone after a one-off start-up financing. Currently, 21 music schools from various German-speaking cantons are involved. Translation into French and Italian is also planned in the medium term. "We're just at the beginning," says initiator Manuel Imhof, principal of MSOSS. "It's enormous what's possible."
