Learn the art of making music through your hands’ movements and touch using our wearable technology.
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Create music in any style, sound or instrument with a device that connects to your smart device or computer wirelessly over Bluetooth.
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Use GripBeats® in multiple ways; as an extended controller for each hand, the wrist, or even on a flat surface.
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Our patent-pending adaptable multi-instrument design makes use of 3-dimensional space, acceleration, and direction for making music.
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Make use of your hands’ motion and touch controls with over 100s of apps like Garageband or Ableton using BLE MIDI (100% wireless).
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The GripBeats® App (iOS/Android) allows growing gestures-to-music configurations and lessons on how to play music virtually, through movement.
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Design new instruments and configurations for making music in your own way as well as with over a dozen preconfigured modes in the GripBeats® App.
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A collaboration of designers and engineers by musicians from the Royal Academy of Music in London and The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology.
GripBeats® isn’t just any ordinary musical instrument; it’s wearable. And because it’s wearable, it uses your hands’ movements and touch to make music. Everything you thought you could do with an instrument before you can do now, but without it!
The term ‘wearable technology’ doesn’t even scratch the surface. GripBeats® was made to be a fashion accessory as much as a musical instrument. Take it anywhere, enjoy it anywhere.
At GripBeats® we wanted to make something versatile and that meant not needing to have to continuously put it back and take it out of your bag every time you wanted to use it. The rotational strap design allows you to wear GripBeats® as a standalone bracelet, otherwise called ‘Wrist Mode’. When extended to fit around the palm of your hand in a double loop fashion, ‘Grip Mode’, GripBeats® allows the full interactivity and sensitivity of your fingers’ and palms’ touch as well as your wrists’ motion. Finally, ‘Surface Mode’ is your traditional piano or drum pad layout that allows you to play flat out on any surface. A fourth option allows you to use GripBeats® however you want!
GripBeats® is tri-functional as i) an everyday bracelet (with a unique, slick, spiral design) in “Wrist Mode”, ii) an extendable Grip controller for the hand in “Grip Mode” and iii) a drum pad or surface-piano device in “Surface Mode”.
If you’ve ever tapped a rhythm, waved your hand or bopped your head to music then you’re halfway to making music – you just didn’t know it! GripBeats® allows you to transform these movements and gestures into music that you now can control and understand.
Yes! Not only can you use GripBeats® but you can dive straight into some of the more advanced ways of using GripBeats®. Since you already know about making melodies, chords and rhythms, how about you design your own movements for controlling these? Better yet, why not add some levels of intricacy so that perhaps: the faster you accelerate your hand, the more complex your rhythms are, or by squeezing multiple fingers each one triggers a different interval of the chord you’re playing, or even by reaching out in front of you at different angles you activate a preset series of melodic patterns? The possibilities really are endless as we continue to expand in-app features and work with musicians to best simulate their ideal music experience.
Play with a friend or as many as 4 GripBeats® users all connected to one or more GripBeats® App devices. Play in your own style and musical instrument. Jam wirelessly on separate devices, save and share what you create.
Tapping on your body, the air or a surface has never been so underrated! Now you’ve got yourself a virtual music controller for translating these body drum techniques into actual drum sounds!
Wondering how much freedom the GripBeats® motion sensors have to offer? The answer is a 9-axis motion sensor that gives you a full 360 degrees of movement in every direction as well as detects how fast you’re going.
Wondering if GripBeats® is too advance for your kids? It’s not! GripBeats® is intuitive enough for even the simplest entry-level musician, even if that means just tapping on 1 of 32 individual pressure sensors to make different sounds before gradually learning more complex functions such as chords and motion control.
Virtual drums!? That’s right! In fact, ever since we could detect motion and acceleration, it was a simple process to configure these specific movements to actual drum sounds.
Multiple modes mean you might enjoy playing beats in Grip Mode while your buddy plays synths in Surface Mode. This versatility allows you and your friends to simulate the feel and sounds of every instrument to make an actual soundtrack together, or by yourself.
Connect GripBeats® to your favorite DAW such as Ableton, Logic, Garageband or 100s of other MIDI-compatible apps all over Bluetooth MIDI.
GripBeats® is about making music through movement hence it’s all about personal expression. If you’re a dancer, now you have the perfect opportunity to finally translate your dance language into music. How, you say? Well, that’s up to you! (see The Art of Making Music below).
The Art of Making Music through Movement and Touch didn’t just come about overnight. GripBeats®’ library of configurations of gestures-to-music combined with the added haptic feedback of the technical components are the culmination of over three years of creative genius and inspiration by some of the finest musicians.
The GripBeats® App – once a concept, now a reality.
A Demo of the GripBeats® App
A Demo of the GripBeats® App
The GripBeats® App combines the fundamental controls of a DAW with all its commands specially designed for control over by using GripBeats®’ motion and touch. The in-app sequencer allows recording and looping of 3 tracks in its simplest mode with the option to overwrite, adjust and post-produce in live and rested sessions.
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A quick-release mechanism means you can quickly and effortlessly detach and reattach GripBeats® whenever you want.
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An LED ring that encompasses the core allows for visual feedback during music-making, adding to the performing and learning experience.
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A vibration motor will be embedded (since we soared past our $20K stretch goal) now providing additional haptic feedback but through feeling your music!
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GripBeats® is compact, portable, rechargeable and best of all, is customized by you.
We designed and developed our own electronics in-house. In turn, this has helped us reduce development costs which instead have been invested in the more innovative parts of development for e.g. the Art of Making Music through Movement and Touch.
The PCB casing is robust yet can be rotated to fit whichever orientation or position that your playing mode requires.
We couldn’t find the right size and length of sensors to fit on our 32 sensor strip so we made our own. Each black sensor square has its own sensitivity range of at least 0-100.
Although bulky at the core, our old designs were our first examples of what GripBeats® was capable of. Other than functionality, we validated a range of colors, mechanisms, and designs to best suit users’ needs in comfort, ergonomy, and fit.
Our ultimate design for GripBeats® saw a size reduction of the core by over 250%, along with a substantially more streamline strip and user-friendly wrist attachment. You’ll notice the integrated semi-transparent screen with embedded LEDs and (now that we met the $20K stretch goal) a vibration motor for motion feedback.
The GripBeats® team boasts experience and communication within the hub of the world’s majority supply of electronic components and hardware. The expected delivery/shipping times for May 2020 are modest but are put in place in lieu of whatever slight delays we have prepared for.
Wondering how you can use GripBeats® to play with a friend? One example is this: player 1 plays a chord progression which he changes through rotation while player 2 improvises using a scale of that key.
GripBeats® was invited to give a pitch at the IVS Convention in Japan in July 2019. Watch the full video @grip_beats on Instagram. They loved it!
GripBeats® originally began in London but as David sought out other markets and research expertise, soon hired developers from the US, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and China. This diversity in culture, skillset, and access to some of the most extensive networks provided GripBeats® with the opportunity to take its product from concept to an actual viable and tested product in less than 18 months. Between us, we share cutting edge knowledge in the development of hardware, software, logistics, design and experience running our own businesses in the past. Of course, we all love making music too!
We’re launching GripBeats® on Indiegogo because we love what we’re doing. It also brings us great pleasure to see so many people empowered by finally being able to make music, even if it’s through the most simple of controls. To innovate an industry that has used more or less the same musical instruments for centuries is mind-blowing for us and our current users, and we want to share this realization with the rest of the world. We look forward to launching GripBeats® and the list of future products we already have lined up to show. By joining us now you’re not simply buying your first GripBeats® and catalyzing a new era of music creativity, you’ll be joining us on our journey of continuing to innovate the world of music-creativity and revealing the talents people didn’t even realize they had!
After raising $178,284 on Kickstarter we decided on continuing our crowdfund here on Indiegogo.
This project is promoted by Jellop, the ad tech power behind the best crowdfunding
projects with 1,000+ successful projects with over $430MM raised between them.
Social Media
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Facebook: www.facebook.com/get.gripbeats
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/grip_beats/ (@grip_beats)
Website: www.gripbeats.com