Tech reviews: Orba 2

There is an air of mystery around early years music technology. While older learners benefit from DAWs, DJ controllers, outboard samplers, microphones and a range of other toys designed to facilitate music-making, there just isn't an equivalent for younger learners.

Access to making music with technology is something most learners experience only later in their musical journey, on account of cost, the delicacy of the equipment, the perceived complexity, or the pedagogical notion that musicians begin their journey on an acoustic instrument.

As both an acoustic and electronic musician, I have a certain sympathy with these concerns. I have quailed at the sight of over-enthusiastic fingers dancing around my mixing desk, and nodded politely at the cacophony of Level 2 attempts to combine different loops without an understanding of harmony (or even, sometimes, key!). On the flip side, in a world of budget cuts, squeezed timetables and the drive towards differentiated learning, the incorporation of technology can be an effective and efficient way to introduce young learners to the possibilities of music-making without the prohibitive barrier of the technical requirements of an acoustic approach.