by Author simonsteptoe

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Controlling Sound

An observation from a recent workshop with PMLD students using some cutting-edge music technology. 

"Sound Control" is one of the subprojects running under the banner of our current Fund B project, "Music Forge" and is a partnership initiative with Dr Rebecca Fiebrink from the Computer Music Department at Goldsmith's University. Rebecca's research revolves around developing  approaches to machine learning that enable new bespoke and highly personalised digital musical instruments to be designed and constructed using off-the-shelf interface devices and, eventually, set-up without needing programming skills. (Of course, the whole machine learning thing is a rather complicated subject for the unititiated - myself included - but you can find out more about Rebecca's approach and software here:  http://www.wekinator.org/)

Personally, I had been really keen to encourage the use of rich, complex synthesised sounds that modern day computers are now capable of generating in real-time. However, on a recent visit to a special school to work with three PMLD students, it was clear I had been over-thinking what would be stimulating and interesting for these students... imposing, to some extent, my own preferences and preconceptions about what would be a rich and fulfilling musical experience. 

For one of the students, using a digital camera to capture and map his very limited and slight movements onto the changing pitch of a sine wave, this very simple music interaction captured his attention for nearly 50 minutes and was truly a wonderful thing to observe. In fact, everyone in the room was so captivated that none of us had realised just how much time had passed!!  

The whole experience was a timely reminder that:

- For many students with profound and multiple learning difficulties, the simple ability to have some control and mastery over one's envrionment, however seemlingly limited it might appear to be, and perhaps something the rest of us might take for granted, is a magical thing in and of itself; 

- There is always a danger that, even with the best of intentions, we will impose our own world view of what music is and should be about... and potentially overlook the many and various different ways in which young people enjoy and take part in music. 

For me, this relates closely to the issue being raised by Youth Music and other organisations around diversity, inclusion, and the general state of music education across England, particularly in the current climate. And it's also an instance of where successfully engaging SEND children with music can have profound implications across the board for all young people... as well as adults!