Announcing a New Accessible Musical Instrument

Three Derby-based businesses have collaborated to develop an award-winning accessible musical instrument now used in classrooms across the UK and internationally.

The innovative CMPSR instrument was created by Digit Music, a Derby company founded by musicians Si Tew and Owain Wilson, who are leading a digital-first approach to music education. Digit Music teamed up with local businesses Tioga, an electronics manufacturer, and Salsus Design, a design and development firm, to produce a line of CMPSR devices that are now being distributed and used by more children in UK schools.

The CMPSR is based on a hand-held wheelchair joystick embedded with advanced PCB (Printed Circuit Board) technology, creating a fully accessible instrument that produces quality sounds immediately. Originally designed for children with disabilities facing physical barriers to making music, Digit Music’s founders are now launching these intuitive devices into mainstream schools from their Derby-based production facility. Their goal is to enable children to start making music instantly, without the difficulties of traditional instruments, which discourage 90% of learners within 16 weeks. They also aim to empower teachers with minimal musical backgrounds and reestablish music as a core part of the curriculum, which has been overlooked for too long.

Andy Grimmett, CEO of Tioga Ltd, highlighted that developing these devices was an excellent example of local collaboration, noting that before manufacturing at Tioga, the CMPSR went through a design and development phase at Salsus Design, also based in Derby.

Company co-owner Adam Gordon-Stables said:

‘Digit Music came to us with a well-developed proof of concept and I could clearly see we could develop it into a fully fledged product. We jumped at the chance to do the project. Digit Music’s founders explained what they were trying to do and it sounded great. Their passion about making music accessible and the joy of ‘just having a go’ really shone through. It’s such a brilliant tool. The effort and commitment from Si and Owain meant we just had to be involved. I would have loved to get my hands on something like this growing up. There’s a lot of subtlety in the design that makes it a great product. It’s good to think that it has been conceived, designed and made in Derby. A lot of solutions required to make a product are local to Derby and it’s something we should all celebrate.’

Owain from Digit Music said the CMPSR device was an example of Derby innovation at its finest. He said:

‘Derby was at the heart of the Industrial Revolution and it’s wonderful to think that we are still dreaming up and making cutting edge design solutions to this day. Myself and Si and all the team at Digit Music are passionate about developing a whole new way of learning music that puts the fun and creativity back into it.’

Digit Music founder Si Tew said,

‘Music has been sidelined from the mainstream education curriculum for far too long. We hope that with CMPSR we can not only give children a great time learning music but empower teachers too – they are often required to teach a subject of which they have little knowledge. It is wonderful to be working with two other Derby companies who have jumped on board and are so aligned with our vision for creating a new digital first music education for schools in the UK and around the world. It’s true partnership working and we’re very proud indeed at what we have created together.’

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