Music education, music therapy, and everyday life
We are planning the development of a unique learning app – TunyStones Voice. It is aimed at children, teenagers, and adults – including people on the autism spectrum. The app is research-based and inspires enthusiasm for singing like no other.
WHY INSPIRE PEOPLE TO SING?
The positive effects of singing on our well-being, our health, and even our longevity have been widely researched. Inspiring as many people as possible to sing is our primary goal.
However, not everyone feels comfortable joining a choir right away. One reason for this is that singing is not very common in many households. With our app, we aim to counteract this: as many people as possible should have the opportunity to discover their own voice as a singing voice.
We are convinced that everyone can sing. This is where the TunyStones Voice app comes in: with its playful, educational, and research-based approach, it motivates users to sing in a particularly effective way. The results of our predecessor apps demonstrate that this approach works.
THAT IS WHY WE ARE CONFIDENT
You may already be familiar with one of our predecessor apps: TunyStones Piano or TunyStones Guitar. Both feature a sound recognition algorithm that allows players to control a game character using the sounds of their instrument. Our experience shows that players often try to move the character with their singing voice as well.
To fully enable this, we are now developing the TunyStones Voice app. It combines the proven game concept of the predecessor apps with a method and sound recognition system specifically developed for singing.
MUSIC THERAPY
An important area of application for our method is work with people on the autism spectrum. Music therapists report that teenagers who are otherwise reluctant to use their voice do so with great enjoyment in connection with our Piano app.
It has become clear that our playful approach works exceptionally well in the context of music therapy. The reports from music therapists were a key reason for launching this campaign and continue to inspire our team.
MUSIC EDUCATION
From a music education perspective, the ability to sing from sheet music is highly relevant. Our app begins with the fundamental discovery of one’s own singing voice but playfully goes far beyond that, systematically developing music reading skills.
We draw on one of the most successful solfège methods in music history: the exercises of Zoltán Kodály serve as the primary source for our approach. In our project, we combine this masterpiece with a contemporary concept and innovative technologies to create an engaging game that systematically introduces and trains music reading and sight-singing.
The Team
Our interdisciplinary team of educators and app developers has already produced three successful apps: TunyStones Piano, TunyStones Guitar, and TunyStones Rhythm.
Our team consists of:
Dr. Jan Gazdzicki – Project Lead, educator, lecturer in piano didactics, founder of Swiss MusicLab, and creator of the TunyStones apps and methods.
Miguel Barros – Lead App Developer. Miguel has been working on the TunyStones apps for many years. In addition to his strong expertise in IT, he is also a passionate bass player.
Adorabelle Tan and Cindy Chuang – Design and animation. What would all our apps be without their unique designs? Adorabelle and Cindy gave the beloved game characters their distinctive look and bring them to life through animation. We also plan to rely on their artistic designs for the new app currently in development.
This is what we need backing for
With your contribution, the development of the TunyStones Voice app becomes possible. It is divided into the following areas of work:
(i) Didactic and Musical Content
The didactic and musical content is carefully developed and tested – in close collaboration with experts in music education and music therapy.
(ii) IT: Programming and Sound Recognition
The app is programmed and a sound recognition algorithm specifically tailored to voice is developed and implemented. This allows users to use their own voice directly within the app.
(iii) Design
New design elements are created, while also building on existing design assets.
(iv) Project Management and Communication
The development processes and testing phases are professionally guided and coordinated.
We look forward to an exciting development journey at the end of which we expect a truly outstanding product – one that aims to inspire thousands of people to make music.