Cakewalk has announced the launch of new academic versions of SONAR 7 Producer and SONAR 7 Studio Editions. Already a key player in the US education market, the digital audio workstation series is rapidly gaining in popularity with European schools and colleges. SONAR 7's intuitive, customizable interface and extensive feature set make this latest version an ideal music and audio production tool for students in both secondary and further/higher education.

Included with the new Academic Editions is SONAR Music Projects, a set of materials aimed at secondary school Music classes up to GCSE. The 10 projects introduce some of SONAR's easy-to-use features and help students develop a range of musical and technical skills. Each project contains teacher notes and student project sheets in PDF format, along with SONAR files. A SONAR Skills Guide provides easy reference to the program features used in the projects. The SONAR Music Projects CD-ROM also includes a "starter" set of audio clips to inspire ideas.

Cakewalk's UK distributor, EDIROL Europe, has also made SONAR Music Projects available separately on a free CD-ROM that includes the current trial version of SONAR. This enables teachers to explore some program basics in the context of actual lesson material, before deciding to purchase. To request a CD, contact education@edirol.co.uk.

Visitors to the BETT Show 2008 (9th-12th January at Olympia) will have an opportunity to see the new SONAR Academic Editions and SONAR Music Projects on the EDIROL Europe stand, N50.