This is the oldest piece of music that can be reconstructed and therefore played is the Hurrian Hymn no 6. It was found in the Royal Place of Ugarit which is found in modern Syria but those days was in Canaan.  This piece of music is about 3400 years old. It was only discovered in the 1950s with other  five tablets containing instructions to play music but unfortunately the others were too ruined to be able to be deciphered. 

The song was meant to be played with a lyre, it also had lyrics but only some of them can be read. It appears to be a prayer to Nikal the Goddess of Orchards. It was written in the Hurian language. 

The instructions for another song were also found, this would be even older going back about 4000 years but there are only fragments and it’s impossible to play it. 

Watch  the Hurrian Hymn no 6

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The Kindle Challenge is a new initiative by Amazon to encourage people to buy and read Kindle books, it’s an interesting concept that Kobo started years ago but then abandoned. 

Basically every month there will be some challenges and you will need to take part and complete them to gain badges. You can also earn credits to buy Kindle Books.  The challenges so far has been easy like reading a book, buying a book or subscribing to Kindle Unlimited. 

There is obviously a large marketing element but the Kindle Challenge can be fun for users by gamifying the experience users can be motivated to read more. 

How do I take part in the Kindle Challenge?

So far it is at a kind of pilot stage and you must have an invitation, there will be more invites sent in the next few months. Sadly you must live in the United States to take part for the time being. The Challenge might be extended to other countries in future, although there are no details yet. 

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The Unlimited festival at Southbank  has always brought ambitious creative projects by disabled artists to new audiences, this year is almost all online and almost all free. It makes sense that a festival of disabled artists should be accessible and the pandemic has in fact made this festival very accessible to all, being online. This year, the 5-day festival features 33 online events.

Among the things to watch we can suggest Augmented, a theatrical show created by Sophie Wooley who became deaf when she was young and has started hearing again. 111 presents a dance performance by a disabled couple while Here/Not Here combines BSL with hip hop. 

In addition to this, you will also find children’s events, discussions and an outdoor exhibition at Southbank. You can see the entire calendar with the 33 events here.

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