Skoog Music

$330.00 inc GST $300.00 ex GST

Skoog Music is a tactile musical instrument that is truly unique in its level of accessibility. Tap it, twist it or squeeze, this new music accessory for iPad opens up a world of musicplay no matter what your skills, abilities or musical talents. It’s simple, intuitive, and keeps kids and adults engaged—while giving them the confidence to express themselves.

For many people with disabilities and mobility challenges one of the greatest barriers to making music is the dexterity required to play a more traditional musical instrument. Skoog removes that barrier. Now anyone unable to play traditional instruments can join a band and take part in a range of music-making activities. You can jam with your favourite tracks instantly! The free Skoog App works with GarageBand or your iTunes library or music streaming service and automatically tunes your Skoog so you can play along with the music you love. Just choose a song and get playing. Creative and fun, with Skoog you play to learn: that’s what musicplay is all about.

 

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SKU: 010920 - SK Categories: , , , NDIS approved: Yes Ages: 0 - 5

Product overview

It’s not just sensitive to how hard the Skoog is being touched, but where and how it is being touched, transforming the things you do into meaningful and expressive sounds. Adjustable sensitivity means that you can play Skoog intuitively with any part of your body: hands, elbows, knees or head.

Used together, Skoog and iPad expand the potential of music therapy for young children with cerebral palsy, autism, Down’s Syndrome and other developmental delays by offering hands-on opportunities to create and control sound expressively. Skoog’s sensory-friendly tactile nature helps greatly in developing new skills and promoting physical interaction with technology.

Skoog’s universal design enables fun, accessible, expressive music-making for children, parents, teachers, families and the elderly, including those with disabilities within just a few minutes of it being taken out the box. Skoog will change the way you enjoy, create and learn music. Simply touch to play.

Skoog is lightweight and portable, making it easy to set up and use. It connects to your iPad via Bluetooth LE or to your Mac via USB and comes with its own free app (available from the App Store). Or you can use it as a controller for other MIDI-compatible music apps.

• Skoog connects wirelessly to iPad using the free Skoog app
• Adjustable sensitivity
• Integration with iTunes
• Key detection
• Lets you play GarageBand instruments using the dynamic touch interface
• Plays the sounds of different instruments, using any CoreMIDI compatible apps
• Tactile, intuitive and robust
• Underside works with a suction mount for securing it in easily accessible positions
• Built-in guided access mode to hide on-screen menus and enable users to focus on playing
• Suitable for MLD, SLD and PMD, children with global delay, genetic conditions, sensory impairments or Autism

This cutting-edge technology:

  • Helps develop musical expression and communication skills Ideal for promoting inclusive music practice. Improves motor skills, coordination and control. Supports sensory integration. Is an excellent resource for multi-sensory learning and ICT.
  • Play a range of instruments.
  • Adjustable skill and sensitivity.
  • Create and use your own sounds.
  • Soft squeezy USB controller.
  • Can be used as a midi controller
  • Compatible with MAC and PC.

The Skoog makes music accessible for everyone:

The Skoog music instrument is also suitable for clients diagnosed with Moderate Learning Difficulties (MLD); Specific Learning Disabilities (SLD); and Profound and Multiple Learning Difficulties (PMLD); Global Development Delay (GDD); and genetic conditions such as Down’s Syndrome, Sensory Impairments, Physical/Medical Problems and Autism Syndrome.

Skoog for the Vision Impaired

Skoog makes music touchable for everyone and brings creativity to a whole new level. The simple shape, tactile surfaces and design provide the ideal multi-sensory music environment for the visually impaired. Daniela Rubio who works with children who are blind explains, ‘I immediately could see the amazing potential that Skoog could bring for blind children who use iPads. I was impressed by the fun shape and texture. I introduced Skoog to a blind five year old girl who loves music and enjoys exploring new things. I set the sensitivity of all the faces on Skoog to high, so I knew it was going to respond to even her slightest touch. When she started to squeeze it and saw the musical response from the iPad, she got very excited! She immediately thought that it was magic! After I had explained what colour each face was, she started building coloured songs to combine colours and notes. For the first time, she was able to create her own music!’

 Skoog and Autism

As a teaching tool Skoog supports free or more structured activities with play and improvisation. ‘Skoog is an absolutely amazing piece of hardware. It is the instrument that we’ve always dreamed of – a way to play instruments on our iPad by poking, squeezing and twisting a magical soft cube. The response time is incredible and the range of ways you can use it with both the Skoog app and other apps such as GarageBand is extraordinary. Our staff are already excited to create their own sheet music to share with students so they can start developing performances and creating compositions with Skoog. Our students on the autism spectrum are very motivated by Skoog and seem to continuously discover new methods of performing with Skoog that completely surprise us in the most wonderful ways. It can be used as a drum machine, as an experimental synthesiser, as a beautiful glockenspiel, and the fact that it allows such immediate sensory, tactile input, to explore sound in such concrete ways in interaction with the iPad makes it the most accessible music instrument out there. I love Skoog, and our journey with it has only just begun.

Craig Smith, Apple Distinguished Educator and Deputy Principal at Autism Spectrum Australia

STEM Coding with Skoog

There is so much you can do, explore and play with Skoog. From jamming along with tracks in iTunes, to driving and controlling robots, or even flying a drone! The ability to learn how to code in Swift Playground enables children to not only use technology but to see it come to life right before their eyes. Using Skoog you can drive Sphero or even change the colour. For students with physical challenges this is a great way of enabling them to take full ‘control’ through Swift Playgrounds. Learning how to code now becomes accessible and exciting to everyone. Controlling robots or flying drones using Skoog teaches children to problem solve and become logical thinkers from a young age.

STEM Activities with Skoog Playground

Control your own musical instrument using real Swift code with our new Skoog playground in the Swift Playgrounds app. With specialised lessons for iPad, Skoog and Swift Playgrounds allow students to write code and see it come to life in the physical world.

Learn about notes, octaves, input devices, animation, counters, and find out how to use event handlers. Change thresholds to adjust how your code responds to presses and squeezes on your Skoog. Experiment with echoes, physics, and musical harmony using an interactive musical buddy called ‘Ping’.

Are you ready to get hands-on with Swift and take your new musical instrument for a spin?

Ages: ALL

Contact us for an online demonstration.

See this great review on how Skoog Music can be used in the special needs classroom

Read blog How Does Music Help Dementia?