Improvisation, Adaptability, and Collaboration: Using AUMI in Community Music Therapy

Authors

  • Mark Finch Memorial University of Newfoundland
  • Susan LeMessurier Quinn Janeway Hospital, Memorial University of Newfoundland
  • Ellen Waterman Memorial University of Newfoundland

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.15845/voices.v16i3.834

Keywords:

Adaptive design, Digital instruments, Youth culture, Improvisation, Universal design

Abstract

Adaptive Use Musical Instrument (AUMI) is a digital instrument that facilitates independent music making for people with diverse ranges of mobility. Employing the camera tracking capabilities available on most digital devices, users with even very little voluntary mobility are able to create and perform music by controlling a visual cursor within adaptable parameters to trigger sounds. Instead of requiring players to conform to an instrument, AUMI’s flexibility enables it to adapt to divergent artistic impulses and individual bodies. Building on previous studies that examined AUMI in an educational setting (Oliveros et al. 2011) this article presents three case studies that explore AUMI’s use in a community music therapy context. In addition to assessing the instrument’s effectiveness in achieving specific music therapy goals, ethnographic research methods illuminated various socio-cultural implications of integrating digital instruments into a music therapy setting that challenge conventional notions of youth culture, independence, and collaboration. We conclude with a discussion of the notions of adaptability and universal design as they apply not only to AUMI’s functionality in the music therapy sessions, but also in view of the instrument's ongoing development.

Author Biographies

Mark Finch, Memorial University of Newfoundland

Mark Finch (PhD Memorial University of Newfoundland) has published his ethnomusicological research in Popular Music and Society, MusiCultures, and The Cambridge Companion to the Singer-Songwriter. He has also worked extensively in the non-profit sector focusing on mental health, homelessness, and affordable housing.

Susan LeMessurier Quinn, Janeway Hospital, Memorial University of Newfoundland

Susan LeMessurier Quinn is a certified music therapist and a professional associate of the School of Music at Memorial University of Newfoundland and Labrador. Her clinical work is in pediatrics, rehabilitation, and mental health with research interests in community music therapy. 

Ellen Waterman, Memorial University of Newfoundland

Ellen Waterman is Professor of Ethnomusicology at Memorial University of Newfoundland, and Memorial Site Coordinator for the International Institute for Critical Studies in Improvisation, funded by a prestigious SSHRC Partnership Grant.  Her books include The Art of Immersive Soundscapes (Regina, 2013) and Negotiated Moments: Improvisation, Sound and Subjectivity (Duke, 2016). 

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Published

2016-10-18

How to Cite

Finch, M., LeMessurier Quinn, S., & Waterman, E. (2016). Improvisation, Adaptability, and Collaboration: Using AUMI in Community Music Therapy. Voices: A World Forum for Music Therapy, 16(3). https://doi.org/10.15845/voices.v16i3.834

Issue

Section

Reports