World's Easiest Music System

Research consistently shows that brain regeneration requires learning of new skills. Musical instruments are commonly prescribed. The Instant Play system allows people to start playing along to popular music in minutes.

Research has consistently shown generic new learning activities to be competitive with more elaborate and expensive alleged 'brain training' methods. The limited time span of typical Music and multimedia creative activities, such as a music video or short documentary, make them practical and affordable.  However, traditional music learning methods are too difficult and quickly abandoned. Thousands of instruments sit idle. Social participation is often limited to the few who play with the rest passive. Widely-available digital tools are too often used as passive entertainment, defeating the purpose.

Brain regeneration, such as 'sprouting', has been consistently associated with novelty and learning of new skills, with musical instruments commonly cited. Digital instruments have reduced costs dramatically but traditional music learning methods are difficult and intelligent gadgets contradict the purpose. Fear of failure can be reduced by limiting choice. The Instant Play method minimizes the set of notes to correspond with one-finger chords. It is rare to hit a wrong note within most pop songs with this method. This in turn enhances social engagement as everyone can confidently participate. Social media offers an audience larger than traditional radio stations.

Research has consistently shown ‘no significant difference’ attributable to educational technology so the project goals reduce to benefit/cost ratio. The main expense is opportunity cost of time spent on projects as any school or group with enough digital technology to participate in Solve will likely have backing tracks, common musical instruments, and basic laptops/computers. The Instant Play method cuts the learning curve for music and allows simple video creation whose impact can be gauged by uploads, sharing, and reviews on social media. Skills acquired in the project can be derived from the level of sophistication employed in these.

number ofparticipants/ classrooms/groups enrolled

- Reach

number/sophistication of uploads - Mental Skills

social media interaction and reviews - Social Participation

All traditional music learning systems share a common ergonomic framework: the learner must master movements to fit a score. The Instant Play method reverses this by changing the music score itself to fit the simplest ergonomics of the learner: one-finger or no-finger chords. Learners can play along fearlessly with backing tracks made from the special chord system the subject of the Australian Innovation Patent. Musically-unsophisticated teachers and leaders can extend the system to their preferred tunes with chord substitutions via affordable software widely available in schools.

Music and movies are traditional intrinsically human-centred expressions. The digital technology and Instant Play method merely simplify what used to be a major undertaking, such as making a documentary or music video, into a common classroom-level exercize done in hours rather than days or weeks. Topics and genres are open-ended. An under-served community might have the same potential social media audience for their video projects as anyone from the best-funded institutions. 

The Instant Play, Gamification, and Branding methods have been on the Web since 2010 and participants from over 150 nations have enrolled in the MOOCs. The MOOCs have been supplemented by downloadable public domain midi and .mp3 files and demonstration YouTube videos. Books with more detailed instructions such as chord patterns can be retailed affordably via Amazon or other publishers. More elaborate musical renditions, particularly with cover versions of copyright music (anything post-1923), would require the equivalent of conventional 'record company deals'. 

To date expense has been minimal. The free OpenLearning and BigMarker platforms for MOOCs and webinars remain sufficient for foreseeable interactions and these are scalable to commercial level. The club format is intended as a free resource. The ‘day job’ as a psychologist puts me in touch with the local mental health and education sectors. Book and music sales growing proportionately with take-up would suffice. Teachers-Pay-Teachers could also be a revenue source. Future revenue could come from merchandising of recordings, books, and live/online training events.

The biggest barriers are copyright, subsidized free competitors, and state medical/drug licensing. Copyright has restricted the project’s demo's to pre-1923 music, public-domain movie trailers, and outdated materials. Use of modern tunes would require significant upfront licensing and investment such as by a traditional 'record company deal' to handle the myriad copyright agreements. MOOCs have long suffered high drop-out rates and subsidized free competition. The thousands of ‘’EZ-guitar’’ systems on YouTube makes it hard to stand out. People expect a gadget solution rather than a learning concept. Advertising must avoid direct 'health' promises and claims of brain rehabilitation.

https://www.openlearning.com/classcover/courses/TeachMusicNow

Given that I already have the technology and publications the main step, as with all media releases, is publicity. TV talent shows have had a huge impact in the past decade with their endorsement of their stars and judges while grass roots bands and acts drown among thousands of album releases online. Schools cannot trial new methods as curricula are packed tightly and nothing is removed to make room. So the authoritative social media/web links and partnerships that Solve might apply coupled with its direct contacts with the disadvantaged groups who might benefit could make the project grow

We currently use OpenLearning and BigMarker as web hosting platforms. Locally we are active with the 6 Degrees Innovation Centre, Medical Consumers Association, and Mental Health Professionals Network

Vendors of supposedly-special 'brain-training' resources, particularly musical. Any educational prov