The Bass Box

What it does

Jam sessions are a proven lift for mental health. But to most, improvisation with a musical instrument is an unreachable ideal. The Bass Box is a one-string acoustic bass equipped with a guiding system that lets anyone intuitively explore melody and join jams.

Your inspiration

Signed up by my parents for boring violin lessons as a child, I would have stopped playing long ago if I hadn’t discovered social jam sessions: In a living room or at the park, I join friends and strangers, musicians of all levels, to create music on the spot. I’m not much of a talker -to me, jam sessions are therapy; in music I’ve discovered a language to express feelings, to release stress, and to connect with others. However, in discussions with my university peers, I found that while most young adults around me wished they could join jam sessions, they didn’t believe it to be possible without taking years of boring lessons first.

How it works

In social jam sessions, musicians of all levels play, teach, and learn together, yet true beginners rarely stick around. Simple percussion like shakers is an ideal start; but it is rare for beginners to progress to melody-playing instruments. Take the guitar: five strings and 19 frets is overwhelming, and advanced players struggle to give guidance to beginners. Just try pointing out a specific note on the guitar from across the room! The Bass Box bridges this gap, inviting anyone to start improvising with melody. Played by plucking a single string, the note changes by moving the bridge along its length. “Note markers” are fastened to the sound holes of the instrument as helpful guides for the player; all notes remain playable, but placing the bridge against a marker yields a clean, predefined note. In a jam, an experienced player can help set note markers or just suggest a few notes; with the integrated tuner, beginners can even place markers themselves.

Design process

I structured my project in three design sprints, each ending with tests where beginners tried prototypes in real jam sessions. In parallel, I compiled a catalog of instruments and other relevant artifacts as inspiration for my design. In the first sprint, I threw beginners straight into jam sessions with a bass guitar, using an experimental rig that let them choose who heard them through headphones. In the second sprint, I built low-fidelity prototypes, including a one-string instrument with a sliding bridge, inspired by the japanese Koto. It was simple, expressive, and fun. However, beginners still hit false notes, felt shy, and wanted more guidance. By the third sprint, I was making hollow-bodied one-string instruments, refining the bridge shape and adding elongated sound holes that doubled as rails for “note markers”; serving as simplified guitar frets. The final prototype took a leap in size after a eureka moment: making it big enough to sit on meant it could produce acoustic bass notes, perfect for acoustic jams where bass is often missing. Low notes aren’t disruptive even if off-key, and with the instrument beneath them, beginners don’t feel spotlighted. Its size and playing posture were deliberately modeled after the cajón, a portable sit-on drum common in jam sessions.

How it is different

While the Bass Box was designed for beginners, it’s far more than a learning tool—it’s a full-fledged instrument meant to join the usual jam lineup alongside shakers, cajóns, and guitars. As an experienced jammer, I tested each prototype to ensure it was fun for advanced players too—crucial for it to be truly welcomed in jam sessions. Its format fills a clear gap: many jams are unamplified, leaving bass lines missing. Acoustic bass guitars are too quiet; double basses, too unwieldy. The Bass Box is loud enough to carry, yet easy to bring along. Traditional, theory-heavy lessons aren’t for everyone. The Bass Box turns jams into learning spaces. With just one string, it’s a steppingstone into melody that simply didn’t exist before. Note markers guide without overwhelming, nudging players to trust their ears as they start placing them themselves. And thanks to the built-in tuner, beginners can still follow jam lingo: if someone says, 'play a D,' they’re ready.

Future plans

Since finishing the latest prototype Bass Box, it's been in use regularly in my living room jams, providing me with feedback from players of all levels. Now, I’m building a new prototype to improve playability and sound, refining the sound hole geometry, testing string materials, and tweaking the bridge. The Bass Box has potential as both a market instrument and an educational tool – I plan to explore partnerships with schools, community centers, and disability programs. Through the Dyson Award and pitching events, I hope to find collaborators to bring this and other social, music-driven ideas to life.

Awards