The Education University of Hong Kong (EdUHK) recently won two Bronze Medals for its innovations in technology for music education at the 71st International Trade Fair “Ideas - Inventions – New Products” (iENA) held from 31 October to 3 November 2019 in Nuremberg, Germany.

The winning entries are:

(1) A Mouthpiece with a Supporting Windway

Principal investigator:
Dr Koji Matsunobu, Department of Cultural and Creative Arts

This innovative mouthpiece, for which a PCT patent and a Japan Utility Model Patent are filed, is designed for musical instruments with a tubular structure, such as flutes, to (i) direct the air stream towards the blow edge of the flute’s top opening to exercise easy sound production; and (ii) enable players to position their chin and cover or partially cover the top opening to vary the effect of sound production – the “pitch bending effect”. This makes pitch bending possible in musical instruments, like recorders and flutes.

(2) The Grid and Grid Notation for Music Education

Principal investigator:
Dr Leung Chi-hin, Department of Cultural and Creative Arts

The Grid Notation, for which a Hong Kong patent and a China patent are filed, is associated with an innovative music notation software programme, called The Grid. Using the grid to represent rhythm – solfège/letter names for pitch, colour for dynamics, and tailor-made symbols for articulation – lowers the barrier for music score reading and provides unlimited possibilities for music performance and composition under the tablet orchestra e-Orch setting.