''SingingCoach'' is a downloadable, learn-to-sing software

program Program, programme, programmer, or programming may refer to: Business and management * Program management, the process of managing several related projects * Time management * Program, a part of planning Arts and entertainment Audio * Programm ...

from Electronic Learning Products, Inc.

Development and early years

Brother and sister Carlo and Alix Franzblau of

Tampa, Florida Tampa () is a city on the Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The city's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and the seat of Hillsborough C ...

, founded Electronic Learning Products, Inc. in January 2000. In 2003, their first product, a learn-to-sing program was released with the name of ''Carry-a-Tune''. The name was changed to ''SingingCoach'' in 2004.

Versions and releases

The original software disk version of ''Carry-a-Tune'' was released in 2003. In 2004, the trademark “Carry-a-Tune” was replaced with “SingingCoach” in an effort to clarify the software’s specific function as the software was gaining publicity and notoriety by various publications such as ''PC'' magazine. SingingCoach was sold in software brick and mortar giants, Best Buy, Comp USA, and Target. In 2012, Franzblau opened his software up to exclusively e-commerce shoppers by offering a

downloadable In computer networks, download means to ''receive'' data from a remote system, typically a server such as a web server, an FTP server, an email server, or other similar system. This contrasts with uploading, where data is ''sent to'' a remo ...

version of SingingCoach, allowing customers to download the program directly from the website as opposed to picking up the software in a brick and mortar store.

Pitch recognition technology

''SingingCoach'' utilizes a pitch recognition technology that was developed by Carlo Franzblau and engineered by his team of

programmers A computer programmer, sometimes referred to as a software developer, a software engineer, a programmer or a coder, is a person who creates computer programs — often for larger computer software. A programmer is someone who writes/creates ...

. Its technology uses a white tracking line on screen to record and display the pitch of one’s voice in reference to the "in tune" bars of the song. This allows the user to understand whether or not they are singing in tune, and to adjust their voice accordingly. A score is given after completion of a song based on the percentage of time the singer was in tune.

Development of Tune''in'' to Reading

In 2006, Franzblau realized that struggling readers who used ''SINGINGCoach'' also became more effective readers – an unintended response derived from using the software. Franzblau approached literacy researchers from the University of South Florida in Tampa who performed research studies over a period of five years that documented the benefits of the singing approach on all reader levels. In 2011, white papers were published describing the mechanism that made the singing approach so effective. Researchers dubbed the instructional method "

melodic learning Melodic Learning is a multimodal learning method that uses the defining elements of singing (pitch, rhythm and rhyme) to facilitate the capture, storage and retrieval of information. Widely recognized examples of Melodic Learning include using the ...

" or the combination of music with

visual imagery A mental image is an experience that, on most occasions, significantly resembles the experience of 'perceiving' some object, event, or scene, but occurs when the relevant object, event, or scene is not actually present to the senses. There are ...

in the

learning process Learning is the process of acquiring new understanding, knowledge, behaviors, skills, values, attitudes, and preferences. The ability to learn is possessed by humans, animals, and some machines; there is also evidence for some kind of learni ...

. Melodic learning is the simultaneous use of traditional multi-sensory/multi-modality learning in which the auditory and kinesthetic modes embody significant rhythmic and tonal elements. Tunein to Reading Graph of Educational Gains

Tunein to Reading Graph of Educational Gains

Patents

In September 2007, Franzblau’s patent # 7,271,329 covering a "computer-aided learning system that employs a pitch tracking line" was issued. Other patents protecting surrounding inventions are currently pending.

References