Kurv is a stringless digital instrument that allows anyone to play music using touch, motion & gestures.
Learning the guitar is not easy and takes years of practise to master. As a result many people give up. We believe the joy of playing the guitar should be available to everyone. So we've removed some of the barriers to get you rocking in minutes.
Wearable
We designed Kurv to fit the shape of your hand and reach of your fingers. Your fingers can comfortably touch eight distinct places on your palm. There are eight notes in an octave, eight notes in a scale and eight chords in a Key.
Touch
The pad detects the pressure of your fingertips, enabling fine control and subtle manipulation of sound.
Gesture
Captures your movement to control sound. Enabling you to transition from one sound to another, moving seamlessly up and down a virtual fret board.
Gesture
It senses the strumming or plucking movements just like a normal guitar. Reacting to your tempo fast and slow.
SKY NEWS "Virtual Instrument Makes Air Guitar A Reality"
BARRON'S "Nifty ‘Kurv’ Guitar is a Nice Example of A.I. Meets Sensors"
BUSINESS INSIDER "This musical device could turn air guitar players into rock stars"
REUTERS “Stringless guitar lets you make music from thin air"
WIRED "Kurv, guitar for those who can not play guitar"
GIZMAG "Play It Loud: Kurv brings some realism to the air guitar experience"
THE TIMES OF INDIA “ Just strum in the air: Virtual guitar has no strings attached"
DOWNLOAD Install the app on your iPhone or iPad
CONNECT Via Bluetooth
PLAY Sound is generated and output through your device speaker (iphone or ipad). Alternatively plug in the stereo jack any compatible speakers, headphones or amplifier .
60 Hit Songs
Kurv Guitar app comes with 60 hit songs for you to play right away. Within minutes, you could be jamming rock classics like Deep Purple’s ‘Smoke on the Water’ or strumming Taylor Swift’s ‘Shake it Off’.
Intelligent Tutorials
Our intelligent tutorials are intuitive and make learning effortless. The app will guide you through the finger positions using animated notations. It's like having your own personal tutor that tracks your progression and gives you instant feedback.
Compose
Already a musician? Don’t let inspiration slip away. Kurv fits in your pocket so you can compose on the go and create your own songs.
The app gives you access to a full palette of chords, the chromatic scale, and links to recording software.
Kurv responds to a wide variety of programmable gestures. This is achieved by using machine-learning: ‘show' the Kurv examples of a particular movement (e.g. flick of wrist down), and then associate this with a desired output (e.g. change from a single chord to note). After showing the Kurv many examples of such gestures, the system learns to recognise this as a distinct gesture.
Here are a few examples of what's possible:
Downward flick of the wrist will change from chords to single notesA sideways slide will shift the octaveShaking the Kurv will give you vibrato
Control your favourite software instruments with MIDI / OSC. Kurv seamlessly integrates with your favourite Digital Audio Workstation (DAW) giving you new way to express yourself through motion, gesture and touch. Your body as a controller combined with the dexterity of your fingers allows for real-time shaping of sound in 3D space. DJs, dancers, choreographers...this is the controller you have been waiting for! Control Package includes two Kurvs, one for your left hand and one for your right.
There are hundreds of instruments in the world and we want you to bring the magic of these to the Kurv.
Unleash the power of motion gesture (9-axis motion) and touch-3D (pressure sensitive) to control the "Internet of Things" and more with our SDK. Make Kurv your own by joining our developer community. Channel your creativity and transform how people play music, perform, present, control and interact in VR.
Our Developer Portal will have everything you need, to get you started. Features of our SDK include:
- Customise samples: Supported files .wav, .aif, .mp3, .aac or any iOS audio file format.
- iOS pro audio ecosystem: Inter-app communication developer drivers to connect up to other apps using AudioBus and Jack for iOS.
Beta Tester
Together let's redefine musical expression. We want to take you on our journey. You'll be first to receive your Kurv and become involved in helping develop our product and experience. We'll ship your first set of Kurv's pre-production and you will also get a final set, post-production.
The Kurv app used in our demonstrations is running on iOS. Our app will be released on the App Store at the time of delivery and will be compatible with the following devices running iOS 8 or later:
iPhone 4 and above
iPad 2 and above
iPod Touch 5th Gen and above
Although we have conducted months of software beta testing, we may still need your assistance in reporting any bugs or issues with our software.
We've packed the latest most powerful sensors inside Kurv to ensure it delivers instant feedback similar to what you’d expect from a traditional musical instrument.
High resolution Bluetooth 4.0 (50 frames per second)
Our team has extensively studied the ergonomics of the human hand. We have engineered the Kurv sizes and shapes to fit like a glove so you feel great when playing.
Kurv comes in 3 sizes S, M, L to help you get the perfect fit.
Once the campaign is complete we will send you a measuring guide and a print-out so you can choose which size will suit you best.
Where
We will be shipping to most countries in the world barring the following countries due to logistical issues: Belaru, Iran, Iraq, Lebanon, Libya, Myanmar/Burma, North Korea, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen. For seamless delivery in Europe we will be dispatching from the UK and for US customers with a local distribution partner.
When
First come first served. The sooner you back us, the faster your Kurv will arrive. We plan to start shipping:
2016 May-Jun: Beta Tester
2016 Sep-Oc: Developer Editions
2016 Nov-Dec: All pledges
Please note that all our ship dates are estimated and may vary. We will keep you updated if any changes.
Pre-order
We will share with you regular project updates inside news, and more.
After the project ends we will send you an official backer survey to collect your shipping information. We'll also ask for your size and left or right handed preference.
Until then, help us spread the word about our campaign when you can, and know that you've got an awesome piece of music technology coming your way.
If you have any questions, please feel free to get in touch and we promise to get back to you as soon as possible.
We are a passionate team of musicians, computer scientists, product designers and music industry executives. We've come together with a shared vision to developing new interfaces for musical expression.
The Idea
In 2013, co-founder Suran was working with gesture recognition technologies. He became particularly interested in sensors used for body measurement. Reflecting on this research, and his very short-lived guitar career, the idea for Kurv Guitar was born.
Our Mission
To introduce the world to a whole new generation of virtual instruments and control surfaces, starting with the Kurv
Mick Grierson
Mick is a Reader at Goldsmiths, University of London where he specialises in real-time interactive audiovisual research. He is also a founder member of the Goldsmiths Digital Studios Embodied Audiovisual Interaction Group (EAVI). Mick is also part of a EU-funded project called Rapid Mix that is conducting research into the design and evaluation of wearable human-computer interfaces in creative fields such as computer games and music. He is also the research lead on SoundLab, a project testing out which digital music devices and apps can help people with learning disabilities make the music they want to make.
Suran Goonatilake
Suran has a background in artificial intelligence and machine learning. He has co-founded several start-ups based on research conducted at University College London. At the age of 10, he convinced his parents to buy him a guitar and pay for guitar lessons, but he couldn’t master barre chords (found them way too difficult) and after a couple of months gave up learning guitar forever.
John Kennedy
John was the former President and COO of Universal Music International and the Chairman and CEO of IFPI (International Federation of the Phonographic Industry), an organisation representing the recording industry worldwide. He has been involved in Live Aid since its inception and in 2005 he produced, with Bob Geldof and Harvey Goldsmith, the ten Live 8 concerts. During his tenure at Universal, he led the investment in Mamma Mia!, was made Chevalier de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres by the French government and was awarded an OBE for his work for Live Aid.
Tania Fauvel
Tania is the driving force behind the look and feel of the Kurv and provides creative direction for the company. She holds a Bachelor of Design from the University of the Arts London, and has over 10 years of experience in running a luxury-retail body-mapping business in Selfridges, Harrods and Bloomingdales.
Chris Kiefer
Chris is a computer-musician and researcher at the University of Sussex. His research focuses on the design of new digital musical instruments using novel sensing and AI.
Alex Fauvel
Alex is a mechanical engineer with experience in precision engineering in the automotive sector. He has worked in structural design, modeling, engineering, and delivery of complex components for Bugatti, Bentley and Land Rover.
Will Campbell
Will is a musician with a background in recording, performance, management and booking. He started playing the guitar when he was 9, but gave up because the strings on his old acoustic left him with blisters and cuts. He decided to pick up the guitar again at 14, when he listened to an Iron Maiden!
Iñaki Serna
Iñaki is a creative advertising and multidisciplinary designer with a background in brand development, digital marketing and strategy. He is interested in user experience and startup businesses. He graduated in communications at the University of Alicante and then he moved to Madrid to pursue a career in the creative industries. Yellow is his favourite colour.
Petya Stoyanova
Pet is a visual designer with a passion for all things digital. Recently graduated Brunel University, her field of expertise includes graphic design, visual communication, user experience design and branding. When she isn’t in the office she’s binging on MMORPGs.
We need your support to finish development and begin manufacturing the Kurv. Currently we are in the process of getting ready for production. Your pledge will help us secure parts and tooling, to finalise the enclosure, improve our gesture recognition engine and put the final touches to our tutorial system.
Risks and challenges
We’ve worked extremely hard to ready our product, but like any startup, there are always challenges to be aware of:
Product Adjustment
As we gears up for production, Kurv will undergo adjustments. We’ll be building more pre-production prototypes, so our engineers and beta testers can assess any issues and iron out bugs. Although this process takes time, we have taken this into account and the final product will make it worthwhile!
Fulfillment
Our primary manufacturer has years of experience delivering excellent products in large quantities. Sometimes though things don't go as planned: a supplier misses a deadline, a machine breaks down, or a shipment gets lost. To minimise the possibility of manufacturing setbacks we have secured reliable back-up suppliers.
We truly care about every backer and having an open dialogue with our community is extremely important to us. We will do all we can to ensure you receive your Kurv exactly as expected.
Thank you for your support!
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FAQ
