A little digital help in composing music.   I’m Fred Fishkin with technology BootCamp, a report on gadgets and gear.   Whether you’re a musician or not, you can create some pretty impressive compositions with the help of some transparent cards and a computer or mobile device.  Lay out the cards in the order you choose…and you’re instantly creating.  The system is called Compose Yourself from Thinkfun and it was created by composer and maestro cellist Philip Sheppard…

“I spoke to a friend of mine, Evelyn Glennie, who is a fantastic percussion player and she agreed to go and record every single card on a marimba in Abbey Road Studios in every single permutation, in every position.  Which meant that you could then go online and very simply enter a short code for each card and it will play you your melody.  Better than that it will also print out your sheet music and make you an MP3 of it too.   All for nothing once you’ve bought the thing.”

It is great fun for any age and Compose Yourself sells for about fifteen dollars.  You can find us at BootCamp.com.   I’m Fred Fishkin.