Henderson feels that Sony Creative Software products such as Super Duper Music Looper^®, Jam Trax™, ACID^® Music Studio™, and ACID Pro software make loop-based music creation easy and have a broader appeal than notation-style software. "With these products students can explore and discuss parameters such as texture, style, form. Young students especially may not always have the musical knowledge to do this with more formal music notation tools."

Binary Designs named their contest "Loop 2 the Max." They established two competition categories: Division A for ages 13 and under using Super Duper Music Looper software, and Division B for students ages 14 to 18 using ACID Music Studio or ACID Pro software. There was also a prize awarded in each division for the school that submitted the most entries.

To advertise the contest, Binary Designs sent a "competition pack" which included a poster, flyers, and entry forms to each of their school customers that had purchased Sony Creative Software products. Binary Designs also sent emails to teachers and created a contest web page detailing the competition.

The contest flyer caught the attention of Parkhurst State School music teacher David St. Henry. "I have had great success with Super Duper Music Looper software at my school," he says. "I use it for backing tracks for my music lessons, and the children use it to design backgrounds for the school's fashion parade, as a 'way cool' metronome for practicing against, and to compose songs to share with friends and family." St. Henry's students were thrilled about the chance to enter the Loop 2 the Max competition. All under 13 years of age, David's students submitted four CDs worth of songs, making Parkhurst the winner in Division A for the most entries. In addition, the first, second, and third place winners in Division A were students at Parkhurst State School.

Loop 2 the Max song entries were judged by representatives from Binary Designs and Sony Creative Software. Prizes included software, merchandise, multimedia microphones, and other goods donated by Sony Creative Software, Intelliware Australia, and Binary Designs. The contest was an enormous success and Binary Designs is already planning Loop 2 the Max 2006.

An added benefit of the contest for Binary Designs has been an increase in sales of Sony Creative Software products. Henderson says, "With each new sale of Sony Creative Software music creation software we give information about Loop 2 the Max 2006 so we expect even better results this year."

For more information about Binary Designs or the Loop 2 the Max event, go to www.binarydesigns.com.au