This week’s presentation regarding accessible technology and digital inclusion offered systems, technologies, and strategies for creating accessible learning for students with diverse learning needs. Elements like zoom for distance participation and generative captioning were familiar to much of the class, as it was through these technologies that we were able to engage with our classes through the early Covid19 pandemic. Since our session, I have been reflecting on how accessible learning can be facilitated in a music classes.
Inclusivity in music has been on the rise, from digital technologies and resources to physical tools and systems for students with physical disabilities. The rise of digital music production has provided a new avenue for students with physical disabilities and learning disabilities to engage with music in ways that were previously inaccessible. Digital Audio Workspaces (DAWs) and digital soundboards have been gaining popularity for their approachability for individuals who may not have access or the physical facility to use traditional means of making music. Persons with learning difficulties like dyslexia or dysgraphia don’t have to lean on the formalized written musical language typical of music classroom environments in the western art music tradition, and individuals who may not have the physical capacity to use traditional instruments can create music piecemeal without temporal constraints. Digital soundboards have gained popularity for persons without physical mobility, and can be programmed with sound-bytes to be played in sequence to create music in real-time.
Physical tools and accommodations in music are on the rise as well; from instrument stands to bear the weight of instruments or even hold them in playing position for persons who have suffered a stroke, have cerebral palsy, or other physical ailments that prevent typical function of an instrument. There is even an instrument technician in Seattle who will completely rebuild a brass instrument backwards such that persons who have suffered strokes can play their instrument with the side of their body that has mobility.
Music as a class that is often seen as a safe space for students has a great deal of potential for students who may not see themselves respected or accommodated in other classroom environments, so it is greatly heartening that there is an ever-increasing body of accommodation systems for students with disabilities.