{"id":52049,"date":"2025-05-27T10:04:43","date_gmt":"2025-05-27T15:04:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sites.austincc.edu\/newsroom\/?p=52049"},"modified":"2025-05-27T10:04:44","modified_gmt":"2025-05-27T15:04:44","slug":"from-classroom-to-app-store-acc-alumni-students-bring-music-education-to-life-with-chime-candy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites.austincc.edu\/newsroom\/2025\/05\/27\/from-classroom-to-app-store-acc-alumni-students-bring-music-education-to-life-with-chime-candy\/","title":{"rendered":"From Classroom to App Store: ACC Alumni & Students Bring Music Education to Life with Chime Candy"},"content":{"rendered":"
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What started as a class project has become a full and interactive music learning experience\u2014now available on the iOS App Store. Chime Candy, an app that gamifies music education for children, is the brainchild of Austin Community College District (ACC) alum Louis \u201cLou-Edward\u201d Lednicky, in partnership with Richard Hurley of Hurley Piano and a team of talented ACC student interns.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe iPad or iPhone is the first instrument any child will learn,\u201d says Hurley. \u201cIt is important to gamify music learning and make music fun before it becomes an academic experience.\u201d <\/p>\n

Developed and tested in part at Williams Community School for children with autism, Chime Candy reimagines the piano as a colorful, arcade-style game where kids tap keys to hit falling notes, learning songs through repetition and play.<\/p>\n

Chime Candy\u2019s journey has been anything but ordinary. What began as a beta game on itch.io evolved into a full app that integrates music theory with playful design. \u201cThe game has expanded into an immersive piano learning experience that has a different style and aesthetic than the average Smule Piano type of application,\u201d says Louis. \u201cWe added fun in-game options, like a cat that walks across the keyboard as an easter egg, and even holiday tunes.\u201d<\/p>\n

Behind the scenes, the process wasn\u2019t always easy. \u201cI had a hard time sending MIDI information of songs\u2026I would have to simplify each tune and ensure that the MIDI values fit within one octave.\u201d With help from ACC students Benjamin McClain and Jesse Weaver, he streamlined the data and brought the sound design to life.<\/p>\n

Louis, who studied Digital Composition through ACC\u2019s Music Business, Performance & Technology program (now known as Audio Technology and Industry<\/a>), says the experience was transformative. \u201cThis internship gave me confidence in my abilities as a sound designer and video game composer. Richard was really impressed by the amount of work that I put into this project.\u201d<\/p>\n

The collaboration between ACC students was key. \u201cAll of the students I\u2019ve worked with were amazing,\u201d he says. \u201cRichard gave us a lot to work on and we were able to deliver. Corbin Martin and Olivia [Albers] did a great job developing Chime Candy.\u201d<\/p>\n

ACC\u2019s impact on the project extended well beyond the classroom. \u201cACC gives its coding students a good grounding in game development\u2026The students enjoy putting theory and studies into practice and seeing their efforts reach the real world,\u201d Louis shares. \u201cThe studios at ACC Highland are a great place to learn how to record. I chose ACC over a 10-week recording conservancy that would have cost $10,000.\u201d<\/p>\n

As the team looks ahead, the innovation continues. \u201cThere are six new apps in development,\u201d Louis says, listing off games that blend subjects like math, language, and music in new and engaging ways. \u201cWe will build on the Solana platform and expect to work with engineering teams and integrate robots into the game.\u201d<\/p>\n

Louis has this advice for current and future Riverbats: \u201cACC has a lot of different avenues and career paths to choose from\u2026If you feel like the path you chose isn\u2019t right for you, ACC has staff and resources willing to help you figure out where you want to go next.\u201d<\/p>\n

From a class project to the App Store, Chime Candy is proof that with creativity, collaboration, and a little musical magic, ACC students can build something truly sweet.<\/p>\n

For more information about the program, visit austincc.edu\/admc<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

What started as a class project has become a full and interactive music learning experience\u2014now available on the iOS App Store. Chime Candy, an app that gamifies music education for children, is the brainchild of … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3930,"featured_media":52050,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[12,13,15,17,19],"tags":[4179,2190,4178,4180,4177,83],"class_list":["post-52049","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business-and-community","category-current-students","category-facstaff-news","category-news-and-announcements","category-students-and-alumni","tag-admc-2","tag-alumni-2","tag-app","tag-audio-technology-and-industry","tag-chime-candy","tag-music"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.austincc.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/52049","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.austincc.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.austincc.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.austincc.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3930"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.austincc.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=52049"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sites.austincc.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/52049\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.austincc.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/52050"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.austincc.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=52049"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.austincc.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=52049"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.austincc.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=52049"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}