Noah Ruede – Pre-Proposal

The working name for my project is the Tunewave.   The Tunewave would be a device capable of reading one’s brain waves as a means of interpreting the music being “played” in one’s head and converting it to a more permanent form which can be played back at any time in the future.  Furthermore, it would be able to project the music in real time, allowing for live “performances,” as well as improvisational “jams” amongst musicians both online and in person.

Within the scope of this project, I will need to research a few different concepts and technologies.  First and foremost, I’ll need to research how the brain works when listening to, interpreting and performing music, as well as when one is engaging in creative activities.  From there, I will need to research the capabilities of current technological applications of brain wave/activity reading, including both their interpretation and current technology’s ability to translate these brainwaves into commands.

There are plenty of musicians out there who come up with ideas for songs or melodies in their heads, only to forget them by the time they have the means to “translate” them into something more concrete.  There are undoubtedly also plenty of potentially great songwriters who never got around to learning an instrument with which to allow their internal ideas to come to fruition.  There are also plenty of musicians who have written great songs but lack the means and/or ability to record and mix them to their satisfaction.  This technology would solve all of these problems.  The product would come in useful even in situations where the stakes aren’t quite as high; for instance when one wishes to ask another about a song without knowing it’s name, especially if they have difficulty singing or humming it themselves.  The possibilities of a technology are virtually limitless.