Gemini Illmhean Teo is a privately held Irish Company. It was founded in 1999 by John Hesnan and supported by a number of private investors and with assistance from the Irish Government Agency, Udaras na Gaeltachta. John has already designed and patented a range of mechanical products for teaching scales and chords on musical instruments. He has won a number of innovation awards and represented Ireland at an International design exhibition hosted by the European Patent Office.
Gemini has created a suite of products called MusiCan® designed to teach the Primary School Music Curriculum. MusiCan® is a fully interactive and animated product. It adopts an innovative approach and provides the supporting tools and resources for delivery of the school music curriculum worldwide. It is therefore applicable for delivery of the school music programme in the UK, US, Canada, Australia and Ireland. The product has been localized for each of these markets.
MusiCan® enables children of all ages worldwide to explore, clarify and express ideas, feelings and experiences through the medium of music using a range of stimulating and creative activities. Each MusiCan® CD contains a series of interactive episodes which address specific musical concepts through the use of animation, graphics, songs, sound effects, voice-over, interactive music games, instrument demonstrations and other multimedia tools.
The product was developed in conjunction with teachers and musicians and testing was conducted in studio with teachers and pupils. In MusiCan® 1 and MusiCan® 2 & 3 the main animated character MEL introduces each episode and takes part in fun and games with the children. The episodes are highly interactive, encouraging children to sing along with animation, take part in movement, respond to prompts and answer questions. In MusiCan® 4 you can travel on a musical journey to the cinema to investigate music styles, musical instruments, melodies, musical notation, layering music, clashing sounds and musical structures. Sequence and match soundtracks for films and compose your very own soundtrack for a short horror film — the haunted house! Visit the singing area to flex your vocal cords or have a go on the interactive xylophone. Develop core skills in listening, appraising, composing and performing through animated lessons and hands-on activities.