Release the musician in your students with disabilities!
Barbara Landsberg, Brian Dillon, Ken Owen
Music is often a powerful motivator for students with disabilities. Unfortunately, opportunities for students with significant physical or intellectual disabilities to actively participate in music making have been limited in the past. Two new technologies have addressed this issue and will be presented in this workshop.
The first is the Quintet, developed in Ireland. Up to five students using switches can play music with the Quintet. By pressing their switch or by using direct access, notes and complete phrases of music can be played. Within the Quintet there are 128 different instruments to choose from! Brian Dillon, the Quintet's designer will present the range of musical possibilities which it offers.
The second is the SoundHouse Special Access Kit (incorporating the Banana Keyboard) - a SoundHouse Music Alliance product developed in Australia by Peter Sych. Ken Owen, musician from the SoundHouse will show why this tool is popular in Special Education settings throughout Australia. He will demonstrate how "any keyboard note can play any sound at anytime" - even playing voice recordings! It is accessible to students who are switch users as well as those capable of using direct access.
We will finish this workshop with a fun walkthrough of popular music making software programs suited to the needs of students with disabilities. Programs demonstrated will include Super Duper Music Looper, Musical Leaps and Bounds, Music Factory and more.