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1 Usefulness You know the old notion that everything chock full of nutrition tastes bad and vice versa? Well, SingFit turns that notion on its head because it employs singing, an activity so valuable, engaging and positive that nearly every culture on earth has made it a part of the way it celebrates, communicates, entertains, prays, nurtures, and educates since before the written word. Now, cutting edge medical research tells us that singing is a holistic, noninvasive, non-pharmacological approach to a variety of healthcare concerns from pain management and mental health to speech therapy and physical rehabilitation. The songs in the SingFit catalog (90 titles and counting!) are hand chosen by certified music therapists. All songs are scrutinized under a strict therapeutic protocol, which analyzes musical and vocal elements such as tempo, vocal range, and density and complexity of lyrical content. This review process means that SingFit meets the singer at where they are, whether it s a person with Alzheimer s connecting to Summer Wind by Frank Sinatra or a teen on the autism spectrum using SingFit to increase their attention span and focus with No Doubt s It s My Life. SingFit s music catalog continues to grow so that every singer can find a song they love to sing whether it is in English, Spanish or German (the languages currently represented in our catalog) or in Chinese, Navajo and French (the languages planned for first quarter 2012). Singing is a healthy activity that many people choose to participate in over unhealthful behaviors such as eating junk food and watching too much TV. Crowded karaoke nights, singing programs on all major TV networks and every person you ve ever caught singing in their car or shower demonstrates that singing is one of our most loved and cathartic forms of expression. Given the right amount of privacy (or publicity) it doesn t take much arm-twisting to get someone singing. Because of this, singing with SingFit, in addition to providing a therapeutic activity in its own right, can act as a gateway to many other healthful behaviors. Innovativeness SingFit: Winner of Most Innovative Presentation award at the American Telemedicine Association 2011 Fall Forum As evidenced by native cultures in North America and Australia, singing is one of our most ancient forms of healthcare. Western medicine took notice of music and singing as a therapeutic tool when

2 musicians were brought in to Veterans Hospitals to play for wounded soldiers in the wakes of WW II and I. The noticeable improvements in the psychological, cognitive and emotional states of the patients led to music therapy becoming a unique academic discipline and accreditation in the 1950s. Yet only in the past decade has medical science taken a hard look at what can seem like a crazy, fruitcake notion; music in general and singing in particular have the ability to heal us, mind, body and spirit. SingFit s innovation is that it enables just about anyone to facilitate a fully expressive and successful singing experience without any musical training. SingFit allows everyone to be a better caregiver including: 1.7 million home health aids 400,000 physical, speech and occupational therapists 3.2 million doctors and nurses 52 million non professionals responsible for an someone with a significant healthcare concern over twenty More then thirty million parents at least 10% of whom are caring for a child with disabilities The hundreds of millions of people looking to improve their own health and wellness Evidenced-Based or Data-Driven Approach The past decade has seen an explosion of research in the effects of music making on all of our health related systems. Recent studies reveal that that different types of singing therapies can: Decrease pain and anxiety in cancer patients[viii]. Create a more positive pregnancy for first time mothers[ix] Help non verbal children on the Autism spectrum speak[x] Promote brain activity and plasticity [xi] Reduce prescription drug use by seniors[xii] The songs in the SingFit catalog are hand chosen by certified music therapists. All songs are scrutinized under a strict therapeutic protocol, which analyzes musical elements such as tempo, vocal range, and density and complexity of lyrical content. This review process means that SingFit meets the singer where they are, whether it s a person with Alzheimer s connecting to Summer Wind by Frank Sinatra or a teen on the autism spectrum using SingFit to increase their attention span and focus with No Doubt s It s My Life. Usability In our user tests SingFit s Lyric Coach system produced successful singing experiences for people with autism, low and no vision, traumatic brain injuries,

3 Alzheimer s and severe speech impediments. For many people with these conditions a caregiver would need to assist with SingFit s controls. However, designed in consultation with accessibility and low vision specialists, SingFit s controls are easy to use for people with a wide range of abilities and ages. For example, there are no slider controls in the SingFit app. This is because it requires visual precision to operate a slider. Sliders also do not integrate well with Apple s built in spoken Accessibility feature, for which the SingFit app is optimized. Rather, SingFit has large + and buttons familiar to most people seven to seventy plus for volume control. Our goal is to make singing with SingFit as easy as possible for people with a wide range of abilities. Potential Impact We believe that there is almost no limit to the potential of therapeutic singing. From helping to restore speech after stroke to treating PTSD in our returning warriors, singing s ability to help tackle some of our most complicated healthcare challenges, is due in large part to the fact that singing is a therapeutic activity in which people WANT to participate. There is a lot of research to be done specifically on SingFit. And we look forward to partnering with institutions and single PR actioners alike to see how SingFit can be best utilized in a variety of healthcare settings. Right now, SingFit s catalog features mostly English compositions, with a smattering of songs in Spanish, German and Hebrew. However, we re growing and diversifying our catalog everyday. Our plans for 2012 include introducing songs in Navajo and Mandarin. We are also looking forward to working with partners who serve Native American, immigrant, inner city and at risk communities to discover the songs that will engage their communities the most. Data Downloads Right now, SingFit collects data pertaining to a singer s activity including number of songs sung and the length of time spent singing. Singers are able to share these statistics, along with recordings of the songs themselves, with therapists, family and friends through and social networking. In future iterations, SingFit s data collecting and sharing abilities can expand to include pushed survey s and polls pertaining to mood as well as integration with home medical technology that can collect information on physiological states like blood pressure, heart rate and respiration capacity.

4 Fun Factor and Health Lagniappe We re not going to try and convince you that singing is about as lagniappe-esque as an activity can be. We d rather you experience SingFit for yourself. If you have itouch, ipad and ipod hardware, we invite you to download SingFit for free right now. During this holiday season we ve loaded up our Free and Sharable section with holiday songs in FOUR languages; English, German, Spanish and Hebrew. Download SingFit now for free and try it yourself: If you don t have the requisite hardware please sing along with this video simulations: When the Saint s Go Marching In SingFit: Winner of Most Innovative Presentation at the American Telemedicine Association 2011 Fall Forum [i] [ii] [iii] [iv] [v] put.pdf [vi] [vii] ging.pdf [viii] ml

5 [ix] [x] [xi] ing. [xii]