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Mat Dalgleish (Staffordshire University)
Beneath the Front Panel, Accessibility? Revisiting the Commercial Modular Synthesizer in the age of NIME
The annual international conference on New Interfaces for Musical Expression (NIME) was founded in 2001 (Fasciani and Goode, 2021) and its community of designers and performers has grown significantly over the last two decades. Reflecting better understanding of the demands placed on players by traditional instruments and how these can limit participation, recent years have seen increased emphasis on accessibility and diversity (NIME, 2023), as well as critique of NIME’s focus on newness (Morreale et al., 2023). However, if there are few examples of widely adopted NIMEs in general, there are still fewer examples of their long-term use by disabled players. This is partly because many candidate accessible NIMEs are player or disability-specific, but it also reflects that the majority of accessibility-oriented NIMEs still do not meaningfully involve disabled people in their design.
Early commercial electronic musical instruments (CEMIs) such as the theremin (1920) and Moog’s modular synthesizer (1964) are seemingly extremely well known (to the extent that they are culturally significant), but there has been little exploration of their potentials as accessible instruments. Drawing on autoethnography as a research method, as well as music-historical and HCI research, the author reflects on their dual experiences as a one-handed (amateur) musician and a NIME practitioner-researcher for seventeen years. More specifically, this presentation examines the potentials of a small Eurorack synthesizer as a one-handed instrument, including consideration of three dedicated interaction strategies applicable to performance and composition. This is followed by broader discussion of accessibility and modular synthesizers, including aspects such as tactility, adaptability, and mass customisability. The presentation concludes with suggested directions for future work.
Jemma Roberts (Independent Musician)
Everyone’s a bit ADHD these days- who cares?
Awareness of neurodivergence is growing with 20% of the population thought to be neurodivergent and a higher percentage working within music. But what is neurodivergence and how can it affect music making and career progression? Do neurodivergent people feel supported and welcome to be themselves within the learning environments we create? What more could be done to make Electronic music and instruments more accessible and appealing to those who feel marginalised and not part of the culture?
When conducting research for a Masters dissertation into how to improve self efficacy in music creators with ADHD this researcher trialled ideas such as using a bio-psycho-social approach to further understand how a persons’ physical, social and psychological environments affect their ability to make music- utilising occupational therapy tools such as activity analysis and grading to build a holistic profile of the neurodivergent music creator. It is well documented that people with ADHD often lack sustained focus and intrinsic motivation and often benefit from interventions such as body doubling and external accountability with imposed deadlines.An initial 2 month long experiment in conducting peer to peer online body doubling sessions for focused personal work naturally extended to the current day which has provided consistency and accountability for the researcher and participants, leading to an improved sense of self efficacy, belonging and acceptance. This research has led to funding for in-person networking and coworking sessions for neurodivergent creatives in Bristol. Part of the funding is for an audio-visual event made by and for neurodivergent people which also involves surveying venues and assessing their “neuroinclusivity” and how they can adapt- including building awareness of access riders and how they can improve the lives of neurodivergent music creators.