Innovative Technology for Accessible Music-Making (a FREE course!)

We recently released a FREE course for introducing and providing basic step-by-step instructions for several pieces of innovative technology that make music-making more accessible. This course is for music therapists, music educators, specialists, teachers, and beyond!

This course is made possible through a grant from the Maine Developmental Disabilities Council.

Often traditional instruments are not accessible to my students who have disabilities that affect movement. As I began searching for ways to make music-making more accessible and autonomous for my students with limited mobility, I discovered it was hard to find basic step-by-step instructions to a lot of the technology out there. Even something like writing recipes on the iPad to pair switches with different music programs was hard to find a tutorial on how to get started. 

It was this hunt for basic instructions that inspired me to learn about some of the tech out there, trial it with the individuals I support, and then create a course to share these instructions with others.  There is a lot of incredible technology out there that could be more widely used in the music therapy field (and beyond) to enhance accessible music-making for individuals with disabilities. 

In this course we'll go over four different pieces of technology (and two additional pieces for further research): 

1. Using the Specs Switch as a head-activated switch and learning how to write recipes on the iPad to be able to have the Specs switch tap specific locations on the iPad. We'll share a tutorial on how to write a recipe using the Scratch Program.  

2. Using the Makey Makey (an invention kit for kids) to build custom adaptive instruments. We'll connect to the Scratch Program and GarageBand.  

3. Cosmo Light-up Bluetooth Switch: We'll explore these unique customizable light-up switches and learn how to create recipes on the iPad and set each switch to a note, chords, or any tap behavior on the iPad! We'll also talk about how to make changes to these switches after the initial setup. 

4. MusiKraken: This innovative app allows you to make music with your eyebrows, mouth, nose, eyeballs, and more! Large movements too like body tracking. For people who have minimal experience with a program like this, it may be tricky getting started (it was for us!), we'll walk you through the very basics on how to start making music with this incredible app!  

At the end of the course we'll share two additional pieces of innovative technology for further exploration: The Holon.ist app paired with a Movesense Movement Sensor to make music with your movements, and the Muse2 Headband to make music with your brain waves!  

This course is made possible through a grant from the Maine Developmental Disabilities Council. 

Access the course here!