Designing accessible musical instruments by addressing musician-instrument relationships

Abstract

This article explores the concept of intimacy in the relationship between a musician and their instrument, specifically in the context of designing digital and accessible musical interfaces (DMI/AMI) with disabled musicians. We argue that current DMI/AMI design frameworks are lacking in their consideration of this relationship and that this deficiency can prevent designers from understanding the specific needs and desires of disabled musicians. The paper presents an autoethnographic study of the lived experience of the first author, a disabled musician, to provide insight into the evolution of his musician-instrument relationships and his definition of “success” in this context. The authors propose that incorporating these types of lived experiences into the AMI design process, and considering cultural probes or provocations related to phenomenological experiences and characteristics that contribute to a successful musician-instrument relationship, could lead to more effective and tailored DMI/AMI designs with disabled musicians.

Analysis of Accessible Digital Musical Instruments through the lens of disability models: a case study with instruments targeting d/Deaf people

“…Ward (2023) presents a modular toolkit that illustrates use of participatory and iterative methods to address the issue of accessibility to music-making with music technology. McMillan and Morreale (2023) argue that the incorporation of lived and cultural aspects related to the experiences of disabled musicians can lead to more effective and personalized instrument design. Also, Lindetorp et al (2023) highlight the importance of ADMIs in music performances facilitated by assistants.…”