Akatsuki, a company based in Nagoya Prefecture, has launched "Irooto" (Color Sound) on Makuake, Japan's largest crowdfunding platform for product development. The device helps children develop absolute and relative pitch through music training by playing high-quality grand piano chord sounds when a button is pressed, while LED lights flash for six seconds to display colors. This simplifies what would normally require a parent to repeatedly sit at a piano and teach their child the correct chords and corresponding colors throughout the day.
The project was born from the developer's personal struggle with their three-year-old child's musical ear training. Rather than solving an abstract problem, it addresses a concrete daily frustration: the tedium of repeatedly demonstrating piano chords. By transforming professional music education theory into a simple button-press solution, the product appeals to busy parents seeking practical help.
Highlights
- Addresses a real parenting pain point born from the developer's own experience
- Translates complex music theory into an accessible, one-button solution
- Uses high-quality grand piano sound recordings to build credibility with music enthusiasts
- Combines market testing with presales through crowdfunding mechanics
Why this campaign attracts support
Editorial analysis based on publicly available information. It is not a confirmed account of why backers chose to give.
This project attracts support because it solves a specific, relatable problem rather than addressing an abstract social issue. Parents facing the daily inconvenience of repeated piano practice sessions immediately see the value. The purchase-based crowdfunding model lowers the barrier to support—backers aren't just contributing to an idea, they're acquiring a usable product for their own children. The attention to authentic grand piano audio quality also builds trust among parents and music educators who care about proper training methods.
Did this article help you?
A note from the editors
This project demonstrates how small everyday frustrations in parenting can be the foundation for successful product-development crowdfunding. The key lesson is that specific, relatable inconveniences resonate more powerfully than grand social causes. For entrepreneurs considering crowdfunding, identifying and addressing the concrete frustrations people face daily—rather than abstract problems—is more likely to generate both empathy and support. We recommend verifying the campaign's funding goal and backer numbers on the Makuake page to provide readers with concrete data on the project's progress.