The App School competition winner Abigail Sanders, 24, has turned an innovative concept into commercial reality. The new app, ‘Hurdy Gurdy’ is a digital version of the magnificent ancient instrument, which was popular in medieval times. It was launched for iPod and iPhone devices on 1st December, 2011 and is available to purchase worldwide from Apple’s Appstore.

South Manchester resident Abigail, a classically trained musician who graduated from the Royal Northern College of Music in 2009, was inspired by the haunting drones of the hurdy gurdy, and wanted to bring its unique sound to a wider audience through a challenging game, one which allows consumers to play the rare and sought-after instrument. With this app users can create drones, rhythmic patterns, and emulate the handcrank, a unique aspect of the original instrument, by physically turning the phone.

Before developing the app, Abigail set about traveling the country in search of hurdy gurdy players. She attended the UK Annual Hurdy Gurdy Festival in Derbyshire and got to learn to play the instrument herself. Abigail commented: “I had always been fascinated by the instrument, but I had never seen one. Now that I have had a taste of the underground world of the hurdy gurdy I would like other people to experience this amazing instrument for themselves.”

In May 2010, Manchester-based digital development company The White Room developed a groundbreaking scheme to help 18-24 year-olds break into the creative and digital sector. The training course culminated in a pitch panel, where the participants pitched their ideas to experts from the creative industries. Featured on BBC North West Tonight, the Dragon’s Den analogy could not be ignored.

The App School put Manchester on the cultural map with its training course for young people, conceptually described as ‘Innoversity’. Abigail went on to win the competition and have the chance to make her vision a reality.

Abigail invited Steve Tyler, a renowned Hurdy Gurdy player from Devonshire, to record high-quality samples of the haunting and mysterious instrument to give the app its most authentic feel. In true Manchester style, the app features Joy Division’s Love Will Tear Us Apart played on the hurdy gurdy.

Thanks to The App School training programme and the funding from winning the competition, Abigail has been able to start her own business Trimba Ltd. She hopes to create more musical smart-phone applications in the future for education and for fun. To buy Hurdy Gurdy or to find out more, please visit www.hurdygurdyapp.com

Image by David Boultbee