Performance without Barriers: Improvising with Inclusive and Accessible Digital Musical Instruments

Abstract

Performance without Barriers research group, and currently Programme Manager at Drake Music NI. Koichi is a music researcher and electronic musician. He completed his PhD research on inclusive music in a collaborative study with Drake Music NI and Sonic Arts Research Centre, Queen's University Belfast. His current research and work focus now is in music and social inclusion, creative economy and music technology. Franziska Schroeder is the founder of the 'Performance without Barriers' research group, based at the Sonic Arts Research Centre, Belfast. Funding for ongoing work has been received by the UK's Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC), allowing the group to benefit from PhD and post-doctoral researchers and to expand work into emerging technological fields.Franziska is a saxophonist, improviser and senior lecturer at Queen's University Belfast where she teaches digital performance, improvisation, and critical theories. Performance without Barriers: improvisation and accessible digital musical instruments in inclusive music makingThe 'Performance without Barriers' 1 research group (PwB), based at the Sonic Arts Research Centre at Queen's University Belfast has been exploring the potential of sonic arts practices and music improvisation for enhancing social inclusion. To date the group has primarily focussed on research activities related to the inclusive potential of providing access to music improvisation for people with physical disabilities via the use of digital technologies. In this paper we discuss the critical thinking behind our work which draws together the social and connective functions of music making, the open and relational practice of music improvisation and technological solutions utilising open, adaptable and accessible digital technologies. Three case studies of our work are discussed and the voices and experiences of participants in these projects are introduced.In this article we argue that activities in music improvisation have inclusive potential for opening constructive dialogues between performers, their instruments and people of different backgrounds and abilities. Furthermore, as we have approached our research activities reflexively, we reflect on the contradictions, dilemmas and points of learning we have discovered when engaging in collaborative and public engagement work between researchers working in a university context and the wider society.

Accessible Music for Everyone: Discovering Resources

“…Some of these adapted instruments can serve as facilitators of interaction in different contexts with children, youth and/or adults with neurological limitations [28,[30][31][32], others are musical interfaces that can assist, for example, in the interaction with users with autism spectrum disorders [17][18][19][29][30][31], others constitute musical technologies for children, young people and adults with hearing impairment [12,[17][18][19] or blindness and/or visual impairment [17][18][19]27]. Furthermore, a wide variety of interfaces can be successfully created to collaborate with the development of personalised instruments, such as some accessible instruments, technologically designed to be similar to traditional instruments [17][18][19][20][21].…”

“…Furthermore, a wide variety of interfaces can be successfully created to collaborate with the development of personalised instruments, such as some accessible instruments, technologically designed to be similar to traditional instruments [17][18][19][20][21]. These instruments can enhance the participation of their users with SN in musical ensembles and groups, promoting true inclusion [26,30,31]. Based on the information collected in the selected articles, we identified a set of ADMI that can support the teaching of music for children and young people with SN that we will present in Table 73.1.…”

Inclusive Improvisation: Exploring the Line between Listening and Playing Music

“…One such group of researchers leading the way in forming this community of practice is the "Performance without Barriers" research group, based at the Sonic Arts Research Centre at Queen's University Belfast [70]. They argue that a community of practice could work toward "common goals through the sharing of resources, knowledge and skill, forming a participatory element of the broader musicking ecology" [53].…”

Enabling Communities of Practice Surrounding the Design and Use of Custom Accessible Music Technology

“…The majority of custom AMT devices developed by DMNI are a result of short-term collaborative projects such as hackathons, involving disabled artists, access music tutors, and instrument makers. In 2015, in the first of these events, music technology students from Queen's University Belfast partnered with DMNI artists (Samuels and Schroeder 2019). The event, "Designing Inclusive Interactions," was designed with Matt Ratto's (2011) critical making methodology in mind.…”