Uploaded October 2025 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
Everybody should get the chance to play music, but the dexterity, education and expense needed for many instruments make it inaccessible for a significant number of people.
The CMPSR by Digit Music is an easy-to-play MIDI device based on video game technology. Using a digital app called Swipe, each position of the joystick can be programmed to play a different note or chord, allowing it to be used one-handed and without being able to read traditional music notation. This lowers the barriers to musicianship for school students and many disabled people.
We spoke to Si Trew, Digit Music co-founder, and Jess Fisher, a digital music artist, about the story behind CMPSR and how it's changed their lives. They highlight how music technology is helping to make the curriculum more inclusive and giving everyone the ability to create and perform.
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Everybody should get the chance to play music, but the dexterity, education and expense needed for many instruments make it inaccessible for a significant number of people.
The CMPSR by Digit Music is an easy-to-play MIDI device based on video game technology. Using a digital app called Swipe, each position of the joystick can be programmed to play a different note or chord, allowing it to be used one-handed and without being able to read traditional music notation. This lowers the barriers to musicianship for school students and many disabled people.
We spoke to Si Trew, Digit Music co-founder, and Jess Fisher, a digital music artist, about the story behind CMPSR and how it's changed their lives. They highlight how music technology is helping to make the curriculum more inclusive and giving everyone the ability to create and perform.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
We are UK Research and Innovation, the UK's largest public funder of research and innovation. If you're a UK tax payer, your contributions help fund the work we showcase on our channel. And if you liked this video, follow us on these channels:
Medium: medium.com/@UKRI
Instagram: instagram.com/weareukri
Facebook: facebook.com/weareUKRI
YouTube: youtube.com/c/UKResearchandInnovation
Or sign up for our weekly newsletter public.govdelivery.com/accounts/UKRI/subscriber/new?topic_id=UKRI_newsletter
