Music Ally

Thounds.com is a social networking site centered on the exchange of musical ideas and the creation of original pieces of music through online collaboration.

Each user has a profile page onto which they can quickly record their latest musical inspiration so that others in their network can add accompanying ideas, creating online, multi-layered compositions.

In its simplest form, Thounds functions really well as a handy musical notepad. Once signed up, it is quick and easy to lay down an idea straight away. You can either use an external interface or a built-in input or microphone to record your latest riff, bass line or melody.

Playback is available instantly and experimentation is simple by adding lines of accompaniment. At this level, Thounds’ straightforward interface provides a workable, alternative solution to more expensive and complicated recording software like Pro Tools or Cubase. For those who like to record, reference and experiment quickly and cheaply this is a free and very useful tool.

Things get a little more interesting when you throw other users, and their contributions, into the mix. The concept of crowdsourcing for musical creation is nothing new but this particular browser-based service offers a more slim-line and accessible interface than the likes of Bojam.com and its counterparts.

Its fairly primitive facilities and minimalist design are aimed at encouraging a forum where the exchange of musical ideas is as fluid and unedited as chatroom dialogue. Much like Facebook, other users only have access to content on your profile once you have accepted their request. Once accepted, you can then record an accompanying line of music to a friend’s ‘thound’ just as easy as commenting on their status. The creator of the thound can then choose which additions to keep and which ones to delete to create a number of ever-evolving musical signatures.

Inevitably, this kind of unbridled musical exchange throws up copyright questions. Quite simply, Thounds can use any recording uploaded to their servers in any way they see fit (just like Facebook can use your uploaded photos). However, the creator/user still retains the rights to the musical content (so once your idea blossoms, you’re free to go ahead and do whatever you want with it.).

Thounds’ tendency to scoot over these issues in the website’s front end sets it apart from more business-centric sites like MinimumNoise.com and highlights its developer’s keenness to create a more light-hearted environment for its users. Thounds is designed as a lively platform for experimentation where short ideas and musical sequences are born, but its limited functions could also restrict and alienate musicians looking for more serious online collaborations.

Just one month old, Thounds is still in beta and is still a little bit buggy and therefore feels slightly incomplete. An accompanying lyric notepad would be a welcome addition and there doesn’t seem to be any significant privacy settings for users to filter other members’ access to their material.

Also, more profile customisation and design options wouldn’t go a-miss. Other than that though, this neat little website will provide a good service to any musician looking for help with inspiration, whether it be from a handy recording and playback interface or from the contributions of other users.

Tags: thounds

This entry was posted on Friday, November 6th, 2009 at 5:58 pm and is filed under Reviews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.