AndroidGuys

We were fortunate enough to speak with yet another winner from the first round of the Android Developers Challenge.  This time around we spoke with Keith Sturch, the man behind Splash Play.  Without seeing the other 1700+ entries in the ADC, we have to guess that this is a one-of-a-kind application for you music enthusiasts and wanna be guitar heroes.  Read on and find out more about one of the guys gunning for $100,000 or more next month!

Of all the winners in the top 50, yours is one of the most unique apps we’ve come across.  Where did the inspiration or concept for Splash Play come from?

The idea came out of shear frustration wanting to learn the guitar. I bought Eric Clapton’s “Unplugged” album and guitar tab book and decided to try to learn; EC is a guitar God but even the most complex pieces of music can be broken down into baby steps.  The SplashPlay concept came about, realizing that I would learn far quicker if I was shown where to finger the strings, listening to the song and having full control the way the lights flashed. The way technology has now come to fruition means that the solution is now viable. Android will be an excellent platform to allow people to share and learn music with anyone else from around the world.

So with the $25,000 from round one, did you reinvest your winnings back into the development process?  Pick up any adding additional staff? Blow it in Vegas?

Any monies won will be invested in further R&D and production costs.

Your description states that other instruments will also be implemented.  Can you provide us with a list of those you plan to support?  Will each of them require a specific peripheral add on, or will one be able to support them all?

The SplashPod will be generic and we will offer different light panels for different instruments.  Development is geared towards an initial release for acoustic guitars covering the first five frets. This will be aimed at beginners who wish to learn simple chords and songs to get them past that initial stumbling block of learning the guitar. Future light panels will then be made for 12 frets of the guitar, pianos, violins, drums, etc. Using BlueTooth then allows us to set a network of SplashPods (piconet) allowing different musicians on different instruments to jam together; music has never been so easy to learn on “proper” instruments. So instead of RockBand, we will call it RockBond^TM to extol the virtues of using your phone to share music with someone on the other side of the world…in live time.

That sounds very promising!  In the age of Guitar Hero, we can imagine more people wanting to learn “real” guitar.  So what were some of the obstacles you’re facing with the Android SDK?

I’ve had the emulator freeze a few times but I don’t code so cannot comment.

Will Splash Play be ad based?  Talk about monetization for a minute.

Good question. I’m sure Google will copy and paste their web based business model to Android, so let’s see how things progress. My belief is that the Android platform will pave the way forward with the way information is used. Telecoms have had it their own way for too long with their walled-garden framework, so a Linux based Android phone will certainly stir things up. Also, digital rights on music (DRM) is another hot topic and I feel the RIAA’s of the world are hanging on to a dead business model by their fingertips. Music should be free and artists should be paid royalties by ‘pay-per-click’ or ‘pay-per action’ affiliates. They would then reach a far greater audience without having their share diluted by tyrannical music police overlords.

Have you been contacted by any specific carriers that want to load or feature your app on their network?

No comment

Hmmm.  We love it when people play the confirm/deny game!  So mysterious.  What are the minimum requirements for Android handsets to run Splash Play?  Such as processor, memory or network speed?

We only need a device that is BlueTooth enabled. You could even use your PC if you have a BlueTooth dongle. We will gear the software for anyone on any machine, a panacea of music tuition.

I think that might be the last time we see the word ‘panacea’ for a long time  It only comes around like Halley’s Comet.  Nice work!  Do you see Splash Play running on different platforms in the future?  Such as Symbian or Linux?  Are you developing for them now?

We are developing a .NET solution for PC’s and Smartphones and the Android solution. At a later date, we will port the .NET to Symbian and then finally tackle the behemoth task of developing for Java phones.

Have you looked in to how your program might be distributed?

The program will be available for download, free of charge. The hardware will be optionally available to complete the learning experience and be priced to make it economically available to youngsters or elders alike. Video tutorials will be available to help you learn songs and chords and we hope that the content will grow organically as more people upload their own creations for others to share.

We have to admit, your program really seems unique.  With the long term addition of other instruments, it just starts to open doors.  Congratulations on making it through the first round of the Android Developers Challenge.  Feel free to swing by with any news or updates for our readers!

Keith Sturch
SplashPlay Ltd - The easy way to share & learn music
www.splashplay.co.uk