Rural Aid Ltd Gift of Music "Fire and Rain" Guitar Raffle

Help us bring the Gift of Music to rural Australian kids

Enter the Gift of Music Guitar Raffle for a chance to win a one of two beautiful hand made guitars generously donated by the Brisbane Guitar Making School.

Andrew Armstrong, from the Brisbane Guitar Making School, with the help of his students and a couple of sponsors has generously donated not only 1 but 2 handcrafted acoustic guitars, through their "Fire and Rain" project. Each guitar is handcrafted from Queensland timber (donated by Australian Guitar Timbers) and comes with a Hiscox case (donated by Pro Music Australia). One guitar is an OM/000 and the other is a DSD/J45. The first name drawn can choose the guitar they would like and the second name drawn gets the remaining guitar.

Gift of Music is an initiative of Rural Aid, a not-for-profit organisation helping disadvantaged children in rural and remote Australia gain access to the life-changing educational and social opportunities that music brings.

Music education is crucial for all children’s development, but for children and families isolated by location and impacted by the devastation of drought and natural disaster, music is imperative. Gift of Music is dedicated to helping improve the mental well-being of rural children, their families and communities.

We give children the chance to learn an instrument, be part of an ensemble, build self-esteem and self-confidence, develop a skill and a love that may last a lifetime. Music, learning music and being part of an ensemble, can play a vital role in a child’s life, especially a child affected by geographical, social and economic disadvantage.

To play a musical instrument however, you need more than passion, you need a musical instrument! That’s where your support of this raffle comes in. Your assistance can change lives.

Proceeds from the Gift of Music Guitar Raffle will help us in supporting rural Australian kids by providing them with guitars and ukuleles and the opportunity to experience the life-changing impact of learning music.

Listen to them being played! You can hear these beautiful guitars being played here and here.

About the guitars

Several student guitar makers at the Brisbane Guitar Making School took on the task of making not one but two exceptionally fine steel string guitars - a drop-shoulder dreadnaught and a medium-sized OM with cut-away. They used local Queensland timbers sourced from Maleny-based Australian Guitar Timbers. Owner David Linton donated some very special timbers for this project including Qld River Oak (back and sides, fretboard, bridge and headstock veneers) and Silver Quandong (soundboard, neck). The makers incorporated design elements into the decorative rosette based on traditional indigenous art elements and colours that reflect the country and the cause. Design ideas were supplied by Maurice Woodley of Picqui Arts. The design symbolises a gathering or coming together of people, the brown earth and some tentative shoots of green. The individual mosaic inlays and birds-foot purflings were hand made in the traditional (Spanish) guitar making way by BGMS students. A former guitar-making student and graphic artst, Kevin McAulay, designed a logo that reflects both the flames of fire and the cool of the rain. These are inlaid in the headstocks of both guitars in white Mother of Pearl. Inlays were cut by former BGMS student Michael Lau. Both guitars are fitted with high quality Gotoh 510 tuning machines, Elixir strings and K&K Mini-Pure soundboard transducer pick-ups. High quality Hiscox cases were supplied by Promusic Australia.

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