Music is a universal language – or at least it should be. But what if having a physical disability makes it difficult – or impossible – for someone to learn and play a musical instrument?
As part of the wider Inclusive Access to Music Making (IAMM) initiative, Creative United has partnered with a coalition of high-profile musical experts, innovation partners and academics to launch the IAMM Hackathon.
The IAMM Hackathon will see virtual teams, including disabled and non-disabled musicians, instrument makers, designers, manufacturers, technologists, inventors, innovators, music teachers, academics and students, being asked to address a specific set of innovation challenges that currently limit opportunities for disabled people to play and produce music.
These innovation challenges include the supply of adaptive musical instruments in schools, improving on the design of existing one-handed wind instruments and exploring the potential of virtual music making environments. The virtual teams will have four months to develop innovations and solutions to these challenges before sharing their findings at a major event to be held on Saturday 3rd October 2020.
The Accessible Instruments Challenge aims are to:
Bringing together expertise in digital innovation and design technology, musical instrument making and lived experience of disability, multiple teams will build on existing work and aim to take further steps forward in making adaptive musical instruments more affordable, music education in schools more inclusive, and uncovering new solutions that haven’t been tried before.
From supply chain issues in schools to making music production software accessible for visually impaired musicians, find out more about the challenges each team will be undertaking here.
Ready for a challenge? Join a team
We’d love for you to get involved and join us. Here’s an overview of who we’re looking for to make up each team:
Disabled and non-disabled musicians — Instrument makers — Designers — Manufacturers — Technologists — Inventors — Innovators — Music teachers — Academics — Students
Are you one of the above?
Application deadline 17th July 2020
