Tuomas Ahva.
Sound Designer and Musician.
Tuomas Ahva
I'm a sound designer and a musician. My main instrument is iPad. I make music with it, play live and also teach others how to use iOS devices for music making. I have a strong background in software projects but I'm currently concentrating on projects that deal with music and sounds.
I'm open for hire for projects that involve technology and sounds. Drop me a line.
Sound Design
As we move towards a society where computers are merely an abstract layer to our daily life, we are interacting with them more and more through sound. We speak to computers, computers understand us and speak back. This human-to-machine interaction can be enhanced with sound design. It doesn't have to be overwhelming, already by introducing cue sounds we can significantly speed up the interaction.
Every digital service deserves a sensible sound design. Sometimes the best sound can be silence. It's good to evaluate each digital service from a perspective of sound.
I love to help with projects that involve sounds in any form: capturing or recording, podcasting, smart speaker applications, creating and inventing new sounds and sound effects, helping planning and setting up an audio systems for events or installations, or robots. I also do sound design for games and animations, as well as compose original music.
Music
I use the same skills for creating music as I do for designing sounds. The biggest difference to me is that sound design is functional whereas music is a means for artistic expression.
My main musical instrument is iPad – and has been so ever since the introduction of the first model. Thanks to all its sensors, portability and big touch screen, I got interested in the possibilities of iPad as a musical instrument.
I graduated as a Master of Arts in Sound in New Media from Aalto University in Helsinki in 2016. Big part of my studies was how touch screen devices can be used as musical instruments. I also did my MA thesis on the topic: Padworks – Building a solo live performance with iPad. I give workshops on iOS music and how to use iOS devices for music making and performance.
My main musical projects are Ahva and Small Peaces.
Services
Cases
Some example cases
Túlka
Notification Sound Design
I designed a notification sound for Túlka, a company that provides interpretation services via a mobile app. The notification sound was designed to be as audible as possible and at the same time carry the brand of Tulka.
Workshops
Workshop, Lecture
As part of my sound design and musical activities I also talk about it and teach others. I've given a 'How to make music on your iOS device' workhop as part of Slush Music 2017 and also in Ääniaalto 2017 festival in Helsinki.
Party of Ö
Sound Design
I designed sounds to a short animation film 'Party of Ö' by animator Teemu Hotti. The whole animation can be viewed here.
Links
Contact Me
Tuomas Ahva