Beathoven by Alveus
Music, and sound in general, play an integral and very important role in the life of hearing people, but unfortunately, as it often happens, we overlook a huge demographic in our approach to sound. What about the rest of the population? Can someone, either deaf or hard of hearing, enjoy or even compose music? And most importantly, if they want to, are there tools available for them to use?
The teams in the AD&PR Lab were tasked with presenting their very own audio innovation idea in collaboration with Antenna Music and under the guidance of Betty Tsakarestou and Domnika Skreta. Amongst them, our team, Alveus, decided, after many, many, many, changes, to present to you: Beathoven.
But first, how and why did we get here?
Our Journey
As we explored the market, seeing what it had to offer in the sound sector, referencing our friends and family involved in the field, we decided to focus more concretely on the aspect of digital music creation. We asked people we knew for their opinions, and though they had their requests and smaller grievances, most issues were rather minor. However, all of the people we asked were able-bodied, young people, so most systems in place were already tailored to their needs. So we had a realization: how many of these apps and websites are actually accessible for anyone outside of the norm? Are they accessible for people with visual impairments, cognitive disabilities, motor issues, etc.?
That’s when an idea hit us: what if you’re deaf? Or can barely hear? And though we initially shrugged it off as a silly idea, one of our members jumped in and pointed out how Beethoven grew deaf as he aged and is still managed to become one of the greatest compositors of all time. So, how did he do it?
The Insight
When we’re able-bodied, we tend to dismiss different experiences of living life. Looking into how Beethoven made his music whilst being unable to hear, we found that not only our ears can experience music. Technically, we had always known this, we just never paid attention to it. For instance, in a concert, we can physically feel the vibrations of the music through our bodies. It’s not just our ears that feel sound. That’s exactly what Beethoven did: he felt the music through the vibrations.
Our Solution
So, we decided to propose the idea of Beathoven. A play on words with the man that inspired our work and the product we offer. Beathoven is an app that serves the function of allowing those deaf or hard of hearing to create their own beats by feeling them, using the already existing technology of phone vibrations. After all, everyone should at least be given the option to experience music, in their own personal way.
The Business Element
This whole idea takes advantage of the gap that we located in the Greek market. The competitors in our specific area of expertise are pretty much non-existent. On top of being ahead of the competition, we’ll make space for the knowledge in music that many people have to shine, by emphasizing the importance of Beathoven’s community. A well designed user interface is also crucial along with partnerships with producers, creators and music schools.
The project will be supported financially through advertising included in the free version of the app. On top of that we will offer a premium version that will provide users with starting beat samples that they will be able to modify as they wish on top of having no ads.
Work ethic and accessibility
Last, but certainly not least, we must not forget about the diverse profile of Beathoven behind the scenes. We aim to offer diversity in one of the most fundamental, yet unfortunately lacking in our country, areas: our workforce. We will provide a virtual work environment that enforces the disability etiquette, respects maternity and sick leave and ensures flexible hours.
Aside from the workers, we will strive for a wider accessibility in our platform. Our mobile app will be screen reader friendly with a very well integrated voice feedback system, for obvious reasons, along with other features that help people with learning disadvantages too.
This and many more, always being open to what our community and users suggest.
Team members: Vasillis Nakkas, Christos Aggelos Magriotis, Zoe Mahera, Tzanos Thanasis and Panagiotis Georgopoulos.
