The innovative three-stringed Loog Guitars, created by Uruguayan Rafael Atijas, were selected from among thousands of products as the best musical tool for elementary students by music teachers from all across the United States. This accolade came in the 2013 edition of the NAMM Show in California, the company reported.
The award was presented at the NAMM Idea Center by the School Band & Orchestra magazine and NAMM’s Museum of Making Music. Both institutions gave awards to the best products for music teaching at elementary schools.
Loog Guitars is a project born out of a university thesis while Atijas was studying in New York. The three-stringed guitars are made of sustainable wood and designed to suit the specific needs of children who are learning to play. They are shipped unassembled so that children and parents can assemble them together, creating an important bond between the child and the instrument. The project had the support of Uruguay’s National Agency for Innovation and Research (ANII), which co-funded the research, development and prototyping stages of the project. Moreover, Uruguay XXI co-funded Loog Guitars’ participation at the fair.
Loog Guitars was also selected as one of the 20 most interesting products in the market, which earned it an invitation to a closed-door event where journalists could learn about the best products to be exhibited at the 2013 NAMM Show.
This award adds to the recognition received at the Ibero-American Design Biennial last December in Madrid.
