special-world-issue-1

FEATURE | MUSICBACK TOCONTENTSLet’s make musicMany children and young people with profound disabilities have a natural and sophisticated understandingof sound and music. But how do you get them involved?By Mark Hildred and Andrew CleatonI’m not a musician – I’m a drummer! I make this confessionnot just to reinforce an old joke (we drummers areoften the butt of musicians’ humour) but to illustrate animportant point. Give me pair of sticks and somethingto hit and I can express myself freely and musically, usingtechnique acquired through years of practice. However,give me a violin or sit me down at a piano keyboard and Iwill struggle to communicate anything with any coherence.I believe that everyone is inherently musical. Anecdotalevidence (and a great deal of research) shows that manychildren and young people with the most profound disabilitieshave a natural and sophisticated understandingof sound and music. They have the capacity to respond tomusical stimulus and are often motivated to reach out andattempt to express themselves through sound even whenother forms of communication (eg language) are nonexistent.It’s often just a case of finding the right tools forthe job – the drum sticks instead of the violin.In this respect, music technology can be an enormouslyuseful resource. This article is meant as a starting pointon a road of exciting possibilities. I’m joined on this byAndrew Cleaton, a ‘proper’ musician who also works extensivelywith children with a range of additional needs to helpthem make music. His experience in workshops and withmusic making is balanced by my more technical overview.Between us we hope to provide some inspiration.One thing to make absolutely clear is that this is neitheran exhaustive list of devices or a competition with a single16WWW.SPECIALWORLD.NET | ISSUE 1 | SEPTEMBER 2014