Exploring Life & Business with Andy Tubman

 

Today we’d like to introduce you to Andy Tubman.

Hi Andy, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstories.
In addition to being an inventor, my dad was a singer. In the early 60s, Dad was in basic training in the army and he would sneak off base in New Jersey and go to opera lessons in New York. At the time in the opera, there was a person called the opera prompter. The person’s job was to feed the lyrics to the singer when the singer forgot the libretto.

My Dad decided that he wanted to have the opera prompter in the car. Of course, the technology infrastructure wasn’t there yet to support his idea. Cassette tapes were not yet invented and Steve Jobs was in kindergarten. So Dad got married and had me and my sister, Rachel. For a while, my sister and I took our paths. In the mid-90s, Rachel got an early start on the internet, spending a decade learning the ins and outs of digitizing the world and building businesses. Meanwhile, I pursued a degree in Music Therapy.

One day in college, I realized that not only does regular singing come with a host of health benefits, but the lyric coaching idea my dad was so passionate about was also an evidenced music and speech therapy protocol with the ability to help restore speech after a traumatic brain injury. This technique also enables people with dementia to sing joyfully, elevating their mood and decreasing agitation as well as bringing them out of their fog and into their positive presence.

With only 7,000 certified music therapists in the United States and the body of evidence for the benefits of music as medicine exploding, the waiting list for my practice grew with every passing year. In 2012, the app economy had finally developed to the point where my dad’s idea of a multi-track lyric coach had finally arrived. It was time, we all decided to pool our collective ideas and experiences and create Musical Health Technologies.

Though my dad is no longer with us, Lou lived long enough to see his ideas at work, bringing singing as a therapeutic tool to improve the health and happiness of tens of thousands of people experiencing dementia with our first lyric coach-based solution, SingFit PRIME. And now Musical Health Technologies continues to build and expand on Dad’s original idea.

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Though music as medicine has been established as a proven science and the body of evidence continues to grow, we are faced with not only having to build a company but also constantly building awareness of the new industry that is being built around this new science.

Another challenge has been making sure we are getting the best songs to use for our therapeutic music process as well as the proper licenses for our music while making sure the people who wrote the songs are properly paid.

We’ve been impressed with Musical Health Technologies AKA SingFit, but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
SingFit/Musical Health Technologies has grown from what would be considered a SAS model to an algorithmically driven, scalable, and functional therapeutic music platform. SingFit/Musical Health Technologies specializes in creating therapeutic music programming to support a variety of healthcare populations and conditions. Right now, our focus is on improving the lives of older adults.

Many large and small companies are creating passive-listening products which can be effective in specific scenarios.

However, at Musical Health Technologies, we create programming that enables active music-making which engages the whole brain as well as the body. Also, we are now launching a first-of-its-kind platform that uses machine learning to guide the participant, caregivers, and professionals through a musical process that generates individualized song-singing playlists based on the participant’s history, musical preferences, mood state, etc. With less than 10,000 music therapists, we can now scale active therapeutic music and enable everyone to use singing as a healthcare tool.

In terms of brand, we are most proud of our effort and attention given to correctly portraying older adults as the purpose-driven, vibrant, and engaged beings that they are. We are also proud to increase the general perception that music, used with informed intention, is medicine. In addition, we are also proud of increasing awareness around the science and benefits of singing.

We would like to let your readers know that our new, algorithmically driven, scalable, and functional therapeutic music platform is launching this year. And though the platform has flexibility designed into it to be able to adapt to many healthcare challenges, the initial algorithms and music focused on those struggling with cognitive challenges, their caregivers, and their therapists. The science supports that with the right lifestyle, which for those living with dementia includes regular music practice, people can live happier and healthier lives.

What makes you happy? Why?
After our first national rollout, where we trained 70 activity directors from 30 communities under a northeastern senior care provider, the next week thousands of people 65 plus living with dementia were all singing for their health. I eventually had to give up my one-to-one private practice which I loved to fully focus on SingFit.

The realization of that rollout showed me how powerful the scaling of therapeutic music and all the benefits that come with active music-making could be. The idea of positively impacting millions through intentionally programmed musical experiences powered by technology was a welcomed and unexpected purpose in my life.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.singfit.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wearesingfit/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WeAreSingFit
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/musical-health-technologies/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/WeAreSingFit
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@iSingFit 

 Image Credits
Musical Health Technologies