Edinburgh tech firm Skoogmusic use crowdfunder for new instrument They have invented a new instrument called the Skoog - a squishy hand-sized foam cube with five moulded surfaces. But unlike a traditional instrument, you don't need to read music or memorise your scales to give this a go. All you need is a love of music. An instrument that doesn't actually make any sounds The foam cube acts as a controller and this is connected to Skoog software. When pressure is placed on the foam, the action is turned into musical sounds, meaning people can create, compose and record their own music. The Skoog story For Benjamin Schogler and David Skulina, the Skoog concept has been a labour of love since 2006, beginning as an Edinburgh University project before setting up the company Skoogmusic in 2009. The Skoog was initially developed to help children with disabilities enjoy and play music. For the past four years, nearly 2000 Skoogs have been shipped to schools around the world. While expanding their reach in the education market, the Skoog team has been taking on board feedback from teachers and parents and focusing on a new product called the Skoog 2.0. A big band bundled into one squeezable box "We created a cube that is sensitive to how and where you touch it," Benjamin, creative director and co-founder, said. It uses touch to create a sound in the way that you want. There are five surfaces and you can choose what instrument - like a guitar, clarinet or flute - and our software assigns a different note of your choosing to the different sides. You can record with it and it will link straight up to GarageBand to record the music you have made. It also works in jam modes with other people who have Skoogs. We even have a pop tune section so you can have a look at songs and see what key they are in. It is a real platform for jamming along with music you love and having a more interactive musical experience. £10,000 in four days Like the original version, the new Skoog still has the same control over sound but is smaller and is now multi-touch, which means all five surfaces can be played at once. The instrument is now also wireless, iOS compatible and has its own music-making app. In order to produce the Skoog 2.0, the Leith company has set up a crowdfunding campaign on Indiegogo to raise £75,000 . In just four days, over £10,000 has already been pledged. The campaign will run until December 9 and, if their target amount is raised, they hope to have the new Skoogs ready for sale by spring 2015. They will be priced at £179 plus vat, although crowdfunding-backers can reserve a Skoog 2.0 for £125. "It has been a really exciting journey," Benjamin, 39, said. The key thing about Skoog is that it is a new way of approaching music. In order to move from our current model which is very bespoke, we really have to be in mass production and that requires a lot of upfront costs. We have had a really positive response to the campaign. Indigeogo is a place for people interested in new technology so when you go there with an idea, people are willing to back you. Benjamin hopes the Skoog 2.0 will help engage more people in making music and dreams of one day seeing the squidgy boxes played in everything from orchestra pits to rock bands. "We are really passionate about getting more people involved in music," he said. The majority of us maybe don't find the instrument that resonates with us at school or there isn't support at school to do it. I think if you look at the way we consume digital music, it forms part of the background to our everyday life. We want to allow people to make more of that and allow them to engage with music in an interactive way.