Technology and the future of inclusive music production
Music has the power to change lives and see our situations in a new light. From teenagers who say “music is my life”, to protest bands who highlight political issues, to national anthems that inspire patriotism, to the universal sadness we all feel when we listen to Mad World.
Music has the power to change lives and see our situations in a new light. From teenagers who say “music is my life”, to protest bands who highlight political issues, to national anthems that inspire patriotism, to the universal sadness we all feel when we listen to Mad World.
Music is something we should all be able to experience and produce, but for many years the opportunities for people with disabilities to get involved with music has been severely limited. Inaccessible venues, assumptions about ability based on outdated stereotypes, or the sheer ignoring of people with disabilities for those who are easier to access means people have been left behind when it comes to the music making opportunities in many parts of the nation.
Particularly when we consider the positive effects music can have on people with disabilities, this exclusion can be seen as ill-thought out at best and a tragedy at worst. Music therapy is a well reputed field on its own, but now music has been proven to help everything from mental health to pain relief.
On top of the benefits of passively listening to music, engagement with its production has some very obvious benefits for all people. Giving people the opportunity to produce their own creative work can be an outlet for the frustrations and issues that come with having a disability. Being able to produce your own work, something you are proud of, can also raise self confidence and belief in your abilities. This can greatly benefit people with disabilities who may at times feel limited by their condition.
Technology is now becoming one of the greatest tools to allow people with disabilities to have access to music making opportunities. At Motion Sound Lab, run by the South-East based music charity Rhythmix, musicians, dancers, product designers and tinkerers came together to work out how they can use technology to enhance the access to music making for all.
The useage of light-sensitive inputs that controlled sound, with light hitting different points on a board, was one innovative new instrument. Using torches like bows and the sound board like a violin gives someone the opportunity to experience the physicality that comes with playing an instrument and feeling their movements making sound. One participant, a dancer who uses a wheelchair, strapped a torch to his chair and moved to create sounds, producing mesmerising light and sound in unity.
A product designer demonstrated an instrument created using a thin straw like tube to control the level of sound, and conductive paint painted on a specially adapted piece of wood created a programmable midi keyboard, free of the often difficult to use constraints of a keyboard’s design. By taking the musicians need first, and their abilities and desire of how they wanted to play an instrument, the designer was able to create a functional and accessible midi instrument.
As children in hospitals can use iPads to record tracks, and technology allows us to deconstruct a keyboard and assemble it in an ergonomic fashion, the road to inclusive music making looks a lot brighter. The more innovation and technology can support music, the more all musicians will have a chance to produce work that matters to them.
Miriam Steiner