Orange Launches New Learning Platform

A pioneer in the revolution of sound since 1968, Orange CEO and Founder Cliff Cooper has continuously experimented and pushed boundaries to produce new and innovative ways sound is perceived. It is in this spirit that the NAMM Member was motivated to expand its offerings to include education to help its customers grow their musical talents.

The journey to Orange Learn began in 2016 with the launch of the Orange Rock Guitar Foundation course. Cooper has always been a proponent of education, so he wanted to give back to the community and encourage his customers to learn music. The Orange Rock Guitar Foundation course was provided, free of charge, to anyone who purchased an Orange Amp as a motivational tool to “start learning” and acquire a solid foundation in music.

While this was a great start, Cooper still desired more, so he sought a partnership with Online Music Exams. Online Music Exams is a UK government-accredited exam platform where students are recognized for their achievements. Upon completing a course, students can take an optional exam on the Online Music Exams platform, a site regulated by The Learning Machine, a government-regulated entity. Pupils are then awarded grades on the National (RQF) and European Framework (EQF) and translated to credits within the two systems.

Seeing the success and the reach of the initial curriculum, Orange Amps added intermediate and advanced courses to its catalog. As the interest in the content continued to grow, the team at Orange saw the evolution of a new entity on the horizon, officially creating “Learn the Orange Way.” The manufacturer saw an opportunity to expand its courses to include other instruments and genres to reach a whole new segment of musicians, further expanding the accessibility to music education. Orange Vocal performance exams quickly followed and targeted guitarists who doubled as vocalists as a natural next step.

Orange Learn officially launched in early 2022 as an independent entity with its debut release of the Graded Guitar Series, which offers digital and physical books, online courses, and optional qualifications through online exams. The addition of the vocal performance course will be launched this year, with plans to expand to include more instruments in the future. Orange Learn still maintains its partnership with Online Music Exams, providing students an opportunity to earn recognition for their achievements which can help to further their education or take up a job in music.

We spoke with Orange Learn Course Content Creator, Alicia Lyons, who noted the massive increase in student signups since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. She also reflected on the relationship with the UK charities Youth Music and Take it Away that Orange Learn benefits. “Both Youth Music and Take it Away have endorsed what Orange Learn aims to achieve in music education, which is to improve the accessibility of music education globally. Respectively, Orange Learn endorses them, as they are both important organizations that help increase access to music education. It is important to not just help students with education but also to help guide them on what options they have to further their careers. So we are working with partners such as The Institute of Contemporary Music Performance (ICMP), a music college in the heart of London that assists students in their learning journey and helps them find a path to a career in music," she said.

In January 2022, Orange Learn provided over 15,000 eligible students, free access to all materials needed to support their learning journey and earn a qualification. Lyons encourages anyone that knows of a project that could benefit from what Orange Learn is able to achieve, to reach out to see how Orange Learn can help.

For more information on Orange Learn or Online Music Exams, please visit them at https://www.orangelearn.com/ and https://www.onlinemusicexams.org/.