RONAN FAGAN
The creative ingenuity of a local Athlone entrepreneur within the realm of music is advancing and enhancing the learning process for students attending his school, The Academy of Music and Arts Centre, located in the heart of the town.
Mark Stanford, who is the Director of the school, which operates on Lloyd’s Lane, started to developed MAGICNOTES seven years ago, with his initial desire being to create a music instrument learning process which would better assist students.
However, Mark now believes his creation can be applied to various student learning disciplines.
“I developed the original idea seven years ago, but in the last six months it has spawned into a learning structure that teaches every discipline including physical sports. MAGICNOTES uses a human body learning structure that assigns geometrical lines and spaces to twenty five specific parts of the body upon which numerics and other indicia are placed. No complex mathematical music theory is required when using the platform to learn any musical instrument,” Mark commented.
The benefit of this new technology platform emerged at the start of the year when a student of the school, Guladi Nergadze, commenced piano lessons.
“Upon seeing his interest in learning piano, I applied the MAGICNOTES platform to Guladi and with a practice regime of one hour daily and three hours each weekend, Guladi achieved Grade 8 standard within a four month period, a proces which usually takes ten years,” Mark enthused.
Such is Guladi’s swift progress, he is presently learning to play the Piano Concerto No.2 in G Minor for which he will need a larger 88 note electronic keyboard. The learning process will take Guladi between four and eight weeks, a feat which has garnered international attention.
“I have just returned from MIDEM, a four day forum which aims to develop business and creativity within the global music community, where upon hearing my story, a leading presenter with the international television station FRANCE 24, has chosen to cover Guladi’s remarkable story and beam it across the world,” Mark noted.
Mark paid particular reference to George Mhitarjana, another student of the school who has also used the MAGICNOTES platform.
“Without George over the past four years, I would not have been able to tweak the platform to a student’s needs and to what MAGICNOTES has become today. George, too, is in the process of learning the famous Ballade No.1 Op.90 in G Minor by Chopin,” Mark added.
With the documentation of Guladi’s progress being screened internationally, the need is great for Mark to acquire the relevant music instruments so the screened production is as professional as possible.
“Both visually and technically, this production must be of a professional nature, so any support from the business community in this regard would be appreciated,” Mark highlighted.
The culmination of his detailed years of creativity is now patent pending.
“I am now completely Intellectual Property (IP ) knowledgeable and the patent is now pending based on the original MAGICNOTES idea and this new structure for every discipline including music across print media, virtual media and mixed reality mediums,” Mark explained.
You can follow Guladi’s and George’s music adventure to date on www.magicnotation.com
