Synopsis: Spontaneous Jam Session Member Finder

“This idea hopes to bring musicians together in an easy and approachable way through the use of mobile tracking and sharing small profile cards of individual users upon passing one another on the streets. Users should be given the ability to list their musical talents, personal music tastes, and whether or not they are looking for a band or a band member.”

Summary:

The initial proposal for this application was initially a secondary idea, with connections to the ideas and direction of the main idea proposal. We have decided to stay with the idea of using a proximity-based matching system to connect musicians with one another as they pass by each other on the street, but we are still in open discussion regarding the range/radius of the proximity width. The application will maintain a list of connections, with each user represented by a set of details such as musical interests, talents, what they are looking for in terms of band formation, jamming, and availability. It will then be up to the users to reach out to other users in their catalog of people they have passed by.

The design direction for this idea has not changed directions in any significant form. Though, the clarification of which direction the approach will take has been further solidified.

Task Examples:

Task Example 1:

Jeffrey is a 2nd year UBC student who loves to play music, especially the guitar. He’s looking to comfortably meet new people and make new friends who also play music in the upcoming school year. Unfortunately, he didn’t make many new friends in his first year because he lacked time to join clubs and time to meet new people. He wants to meet people on his own leisure and be notified when people around him are into music playing, like playing in a band, having small jam sessions, or playing in a 2 person band. He walks to UBC every weekday passing the same students, which some he knows some must play music, multiple times a day on his way to class. Jeffrey knows there are multiple ways of meeting new people in a community like UBC but like 1st-year, he lacks time to commit himself to clubs and smaller communities within UBC. Jeffrey has posted on the UBC bulletin board for 3 weeks, indicating his willingness to join band sessions and his interest in forming a band. However, he has not received any responses after posting the bulletin, he believes it could be that people looking at bulletins are looking for other things, like tutors and housing opportunities. As he is a UBC student, Jeffery would like to pick and choose to meet other musically talented UBC students. Once Jeffery meets new people he wants to be able to carry on a conversation that isn’t awkward or non-lasting, while also feeling prepared to talk to those new people.

Task Example 2:

Alexander is a shy, introverted jazz bassist who has had difficulty trying to find friends to jam with. He has asked around in his friend circle to see if anyone would like to play together, but unfortunately the only friend he knows that is a musician plays the clarinet. He has also had issues with finding musicians with similar styles, particularly with finding other jazz players.  He has browsed sites such as Craigslist to connect with other like musicians but hasn’t been able to find jazz players in particular. Alex has thought about posting an ad on a classified website such as Craigslist, but he doesn’t feel comfortable talking to strangers online without knowing any background details about them prior to messaging them. Although he is shy and doesn’t reach out to strangers in public very often, once he feels comfortable with someone he can be quite social. Alex would really like a way to connect with other jazz musicians but feels too shy to reach out to find people he thinks he would jive with.

Task Example 3:

Sharon is a 4th-year SFU student majoring in chemistry who also loves to play music. She plays in small jam sessions casually with her roommates. She has always wanted to form a long-term band and perform at local coffee shops. Sharon can play a variety of instruments like electric guitar, electric bass, and a novice on drums, but she is most comfortable playing the piano as she has been playing piano for 10 years. Her 2 roommates are also excellent guitar players, varying from classical, acoustic, to electric. She is looking for a drummer for her new band. She has tried making a post on Craigslist to recruit quality players. She is looking for someone who lives near around town and who has at least played drums in a band before. She found the problem with Craigslist was that not only the response rate was low, but also the response time is long, sometimes taking even up to 2-3 weeks to get a response. Sharon knows that there are other alternatives of recruiting new band members such as asking friends and friends of friends or making a post on the school bulletin board. Unfortunately, she has had no luck finding a suitable drummer even with the other alternatives. Sharon wishes that there would be a platform that helps musicians to connect with other musicians more easily and quickly.