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Synthesize Me! Using a tablet for inclusive music making

learning disabled musicians using musical app on ipad

As part of our project Synthesize Me! We are looking at ways of creating synthesized music using a variety of approaches. In a previous post I have detailed how we made our own sound samples and used MIDI instruments to trigger them. In this blog post I want to share a little bit of insight into our use of apps for tablets.

Music apps have been around for a while, they transform a tablet or even a mobile phone into a musical instrument. Touch screen technology means a tablet came be turned into a digital instrument which is accessible for people with limited motor skills. Some apps make use of the tablet's camera so the instrument can even be controlled by gestures in the air!

We have been using music apps in our sessions and our learning disabled artists have been reviewing them. These experiments will form part of our musical recording for this project as well as informing reviews of apps which we will publish here and for inclusion in a project document which will be created for our planned follow up work in SEN schools. 

Not all music apps are suitable for our work with learning disabled artists, there are many to chosse from so we have been researching and acquiring ones for the project that have a resonably easy user interface. As part of this project we will be looking at the work of Daphne Oram, co founder of the legendary BBC Radiophonic workshop. One of her great achievements was her work exploring the relationship between mark making and sound. 'Oramics' was a drawn sound technique invented and devloped by Daphne in the 1950's. She was famously developing an audio-optic machine that would translate drawn marks into sound, although she created a prototype the machine was never fully completed.

Many modern apps combine drawing marks on the ipad as a way to generate / compliment sound creation. In particluar we will be looking at these kinds of visual / audio apps to further explore the relationshop between mark making, sound and how artists with learning disabilities respond to this kind of creative format

The first app we would like to review is called 'singing fingers'. It has at its core a simple concept but it is a very effective app. The user draws shapes onto the screen whilst simultaneously recording sound through the tablet's microphone. Multiple sounds can be played back individually or together by tracing your hand over the marks you have made. You can also trace your hand accross the marks made in the opposite direction and the sound samples play backwards! Its lots of fun and a great way of introducing the concept of sample creation and creative playback possibilities. We started by doing an activity based around looking at how a persons name sounds backwards. One of the integral parts of this project has been ensuring our learning disabld artists understand the ways technology can be used for modulating sound and are therefore engaged in creative decision making. This app was an ideal way of exploring reversing sound samples, a form of sound manipulation originally exploreed by Delia Derbyshire and Daphne Oram with reel to reel tape machines. Most of all the learning disabled band members found the app engaging and fun

Here are some thoughts from them:

‘Doing a sound and a drawing of a trumpet, great!’

‘I think its funny how you can make the sounds go backward, it’s a funny app to use it makes me laugh’

‘It makes different sounds, I can say my name backwards, I think its great!’

Singing fingers is currently available from the app store for around £1!

 

Please visit the links below to find out more about Carousel, a learning disability arts organisation based in Brighton, UK.

Website:

www.carousel.org.uk

Twitter:

www.twitter.com/carouselartuk

Facebook:

www.facebook.com/carouselartuk

Instagram:

www.instagram.com/carouselartuk