uniMIDIhub in action with people with accessibility challenges

Meet The Members of The Music Accessibility Standard SIG

Written by The MIDI Association on September 7, 2024. Posted in MIDI News, MIDI Stories, Music Accessibility Standard, The MIDI Association Special Interest Groups.

We thought it was time to introduce the members who regularly attend these meetings so you can get to know their backgrounds and why they are passionate about making music making accessible to everyone. The Music Accessibility Standard Special Interest Group in The MIDI Association has been meeting regularly for over a year now every other Wednesday at 8 am Pacific Time.

Juho Tomanien, Chaor of the Music Accessibility Standard Special Interest Group

Juho Tomanien- MASSIG Chair

Juho Tomanien is a student from Finland who had a vision for a Music Accessibility Standard. Just because you are blind, doesn’t mean that you can’t have a vision. Take Stevie Wonder whose Inner Visions album is considered one of the greatest records of all time.

Juho reached out to the MIDI Association after someone of KVR Audio suggested that perhaps The MIDI Association might be a good place to start up a conversation about Accessibility.

It turned out that there were already a number of MIDI Association member companies who had been working with accessibility consultants like UK producers/recording engineers Scott Chesworth and Jason Dasent and had already been adding accessibility features to their products. Juce which runs the Audio Developer Conference was also already onboard and had been hosting accessibility workshops at ADC for several years.

In 2023 at the ADC conference Jay Pocknell from the Royal Institute for the Blind hosted a packed session of developers trying to learn how to use Juce to add accessibility features to their products.

Workshop: An Introduction to Inclusive Design of Audio Products – Accessibility Panel – ADC23

MIDI Association members from Audio Modeling, Arturia, Native Instruments, Roland and more have joined together with The Royal Institute for the Blind and visually impaired producers and musicians like Juho, Scott Chesworth Jason Dasent and more to discuss how MIDI 2.0 might enable Music Accessibility and make making music accessible to everyone.

Jay Pocknell-SoundWithoutSight.org and the Royal Institute For The Blind

As a sight-impaired musician, I first considered plans for a project in 2018. I was achieving my dream of working in commercial recording studios but also found that there were significant barriers to accessing the equipment and culture. I became aware that my fully-sighted peers could be more agile within the industry. Rather than becoming frustrated, I wanted to use my experience as motivation to inspire change. I refused to believe that I was the only person to have struggled.
Jay Pocknell, https://soundwithoutsight.org/

Vanessa Faschi, MASSIG Vice Chair Person

Ph.D. student at the Music Informatics Laboratory at the University of Milan, in collaboration with Audio Modeling.

From a young age, I was captivated by the transformative power of music. However, as I delved deeper into the world of digital instruments, I began to notice a glaring gap in accessibility. The tools that are supposed to empower creativity often come with barriers that exclude many from fully engaging in music-making. This realization fueled my desire to create digital instruments that are not only innovative but also inclusive, designed to be accessible and usable by everyone, regardless of their physical abilities or technical expertise.

Through my research, I aim to challenge the status quo by designing instruments that are adaptable and intuitive, ensuring that the joy of music is within reach for all. To deepen my understanding and to extend my vision of accessibility, I joined MASSIG (the Music and Accessibility Special Interest Group). Being part of this community has allowed me to connect with musicians who face real challenges in their everyday interactions with digital instruments. These interactions have been invaluable in shaping my research, providing me with insights into the practical needs and problems that must be addressed.

My journey is driven by the belief that music should be a universal language, and to achieve that, the tools we create must be as inclusive as the art form itself. As I continue my work, I am committed to breaking down barriers and ensuring that every musician, regardless of their background or ability, has the opportunity to express themselves through digital music.
Short bio:
I’m Vanessa, and I am currently pursuing a Ph.D. at the Music Informatics Laboratory at the University of Milan, in collaboration with Audio Modeling. My passion for music and technology has led me to a research project that sits at the intersection of both fields: the ideation and development of accessible digital music instruments.

Emanuele Parravicini, co-founder and CTO of Audio Modeling

Emanuele Parravicini is the co-founder and CTO of Audio Modeling. He holds a degree in Telecommunications Engineering and a Master’s in Information Technology. With a deep passion for music and music technology, Emanuele is a strong advocate for inclusivity, particularly in the realm of musical technology.

At Audio Modeling, he leads the development of innovative products, including the UniMIDI Hub, a software platform designed to integrate various accessible devices. This platform enables real-time control of digital instruments or music production software by multiple users simultaneously, whether they are individuals with disabilities, students, amateurs, or professionals.

Emanuele’s commitment to making music technology accessible to everyone is the driving force behind his involvement in the MASSIG – Music Accessibility Standard Special Interest Group. His expertise and dedication to inclusivity in the field align perfectly with the group’s mission.

I am Emanuele Parravicini, co-founder and CTO of Audio Modeling. I hold a degree in Telecommunications Engineering and a Master’s in Information Technology. With a deep passion for both music and music technology, I am a strong advocate for inclusivity, especially within the realm of musical technology.

In my role at Audio Modeling, I oversee the development of our products, including one of our latest projects, the UniMIDI Hub. This software platform aims to integrate various accessible devices, allowing real-time control of digital instruments or music production software by multiple users at once, whether they are individuals with disabilities, students, amateurs, or professionals.

My commitment to making music technology accessible to everyone is what led me to join the MASSIG – Music Accessibility Standard Special Interest Group. I believe that inclusive technology can empower people to create and enjoy music, and I am dedicated to contributing to this important mission.
Emanuele Parravicini

Haim Kairy- CEO – Arcana Instruments

Our vision is to make music accessible for everyone. Our goal was to create an instrument that meets the special needs of those with physical and cognitive disabilities, children, elderly and other audiences, globally.

Micheal Strickland , Specialized Faculty in Music Technology at Florida State University

Michael Strickland is a passionate advocate for music education and accessibility, leveraging his expertise in music technology to create innovative learning and performance environments. As a member of the MIDI Association, he participates in the Music Education and Accessibility Special Interest Groups, where he promotes the use of MIDI as a tool for enhancing musical expression and inclusion. He is also a skilled performer, engineer, and researcher, with a diverse background in physics, music, and improvisation. He is honored to serve as a judge for the MIDI Innovation Awards and celebrate the creative potential of MIDI.

Sam Prouse- Music Technologist

Sam Prouse demoing accessibility settings to the Music Accessibility Standard SIG

Samuel Prouse is a passionate music technologist whose journey with sound began in the vibrant 1980s, inspired by the iconic synths that defined the era. Growing up, He channelled this passion into building rigs, DJing, and live performances, initially as a hobby. In 2008, a deep love for music technology led to a bold career shift, prompting him to pursue formal education in the field. However, just before beginning these studies, life took an unexpected turn with the sudden loss of sight in the left eye, later leading to a diagnosis of multiple sclerosis. By the end of his BTEC studies, He was registered visually impaired, which brought unique challenges to his educational journey and professional aspirations.

Despite these obstacles, Samuel demonstrated remarkable resilience, earning a foundation degree, a BA Hons, and an MSc in Music Technology. Throughout this academic journey, Samuel explored the creative implications of device interfaces, both hardware and software, with a particular focus on visual accessibility. In 2021, when JUCE released version 6.1 with enhanced accessibility features, he developed skills in C++ and interface design, driven by a commitment to improving accessibility in music technology.

After graduating with distinction, Samuel ‘s PhD bursary proposal was accepted, allowing him to focus his research on universal design concepts within the music technology industry. As an active member of the Music Accessibility Standard Special Interest Group, Samuel has found a collaborative space to share innovative ideas and concepts, further strengthening his research. Being part of such a committed group has provided constant inspiration to develop new ways of interacting with music technology. Today, he is dedicated to pioneering new ways of interacting with music technology, ensuring that the industry evolves to be more inclusive and accessible for all.

Same Prouse Highlights Music Accessibility on YouTube

Demystifying screen readers #1 We can drag and drop.

Accessible prototype synthesiser with voice activated parameters

Accessible piano roll and break point generator prototypes

Designing Plugins for low vision

Music Accessibility at Music China and ADC

We are planning a number of upcoming Music Accessibility events – one at Music China in October and then another led by Jay Pocknell at Audio Developers Conference in November.

Stay tuned to MIDI.org for more information comign soon.

Here is a promo video for the event at Music China.

Audio Developers Conference 2024

Written by The MIDI Association on August 13, 2024. Posted in Interactive Audio Special Interest Group, MIDI 2.0 Resources for Developers, MIDI Association Event List, MIDI News, Music Accessibility Standard, The MIDI Association Special Interest Groups.

Announcing Audio Developers Conference 2024

The 10th Audio Developer Conference (ADC) returns in 2024 both in-person and online in a new city, Bristol, UK.

The in-person and online hybrid conference will take place 11-13 November 2024.

Talks at ADC range from audio research, to professional practices, to standards in audio development, as well talks about application areas and career development. Experimental projects are welcome.

Topics include, but are not limited, to:

Digital Signal Processing
Audio synthesis and analysis
Music technology, DAWs, audio plug-ins
Game audio
3D and VR/AR audio
Creative coding
Other applications of audio programming (e.g. telecommunications, multimedia, medicine, biology)
Design and evaluation of audio software and hardware systems
Programming languages used for audio development (e.g. C++, Rust, Python)
Software development tools, techniques, and processes
Performance, optimisation, and parallelisation
Audio development on mobile platforms
Embedded, Linux, and bare metal audio programming
Low-latency and real-time programming
Best practices in audio programming
Testing and QA
Educational approaches and tools for audio and DSP programming
Planning and navigating a career as an audio developer
Other relevant topics likely to be of interest to the ADC audience

The MIDI Association and ADC

The MIDI Association is a community sponsor of Audio Developers Conference and several MIDI Association companies are paid sponsors of the event.

ADC is run by PACE Anti-Piracy Inc., an industry leader in the development of robust protection products, and flexible licensing management solutions. PACE acquired JUCE a few years ago.

JUCE is the most widely used framework for audio application and plug-in development. It is an open source C++ codebase that can be used to create standalone software on Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS and Android, as well as VST, VST3, AU, AUv3, AAX and LV2 plug-ins.

Several MIDI Association companies are sponsors of Audio Developers Conference including Gold Sponsors Juce and Focusrite, Silver sponsor Avid, and Bronze sponsor Steinberg.

Franz Detro from Native Instruments will be doing a talk introducing ni-midi2, a modern C++ library implementing MIDI2 UMP 1.1 and MIDI CI 1.2 and also the open source software available on MIDI2.dev.

Description of Franz Detro's talk introducing NI-MIDI2 at ADC

Franz is on The MIDI Association Technical Standards Board and an active participant in the MIDI 2.0 Working Group, the DAW working group which is working on open source software for how plugin formats including Apple Audio Units, Avid Audio Extension, Bitwig CLever Audio Plug-in, and Steinberg VST3.

He will be available at ADC to answer questions about MIDI 2.0 and The MIDI Association. The Interactive Audio Special Interest Group (Tom Poole from JUCE is on the IASIG steering committee) will hold an online meeting during ADC.

The MIDI Association will have both in person and on line representation at ADC and ADCx Gather.

The ADCx Gather one-day online event is free and open to everyone in the audio developer community (registration required). ADCx Gather is hosted in Gather.Town, a browser-based virtual online platform that allows attendees to interact and collaborate in real-time.

ADCx Gather takes place on the 1st of November starting at Noon UTC.

Registration for this event has not yet started. Sign-up for the ADC newsletter and be the first to know when ADCx Gather attendee registrations begin.

Tickets for ADC

There are different tickets available for ADC with in person tickets for corporate, individual, academic and also the same categories for online participation.

Learn More About ADC Tickets

Fast Company on Music Accessibility

Written by Athan Billias on February 10, 2024. Posted in MIDI News, Music Accessibility Standard, The MIDI Association Special Interest Groups. No Comments on Fast Company on Music Accessibility

Fast Company recently contacted The MIDI Association about the Music Accessibility Standard.

Janko Roettgers from Fast Company reached out to us and we arranged some interviews with members of the Music Accessibility Standard Special Interest Group (MASSIG).

It really seems like this Music Accessibility initiative is gaining more and more traction.

The MASSIG meets every other Wednesday at 8 am Pacific to accommodate the many EU based members.

You can join The MIDI Association’s Music Accessibility Standard by registering on the site and indicating Music Accessibility as one of your interests or send an email to info@midi.org and we can get you set up.

Here are some quotes from the article.

The MIDI Association’s work in this field includes an effort to create a technical standard that could help vision-impaired musicians to more easily control their recording and production gear by loading accessibility settings whenever they plug one of their devices into another. The nonprofit also plans to help spread the word about accessibility, and potentially steward open source software efforts in the field.

For Chesworth, the biggest thing music tech companies can do to further accessibility is to actually listen to blind and vision-impaired people. “ The best people to write a screen reader user experience are screen reader users,” he says. Chesworth believes that companies would ideally hire blind developers to work on accessibility, and he even taught himself programming to contribute to the Reaper accessibility extension.

Written for Fast Company by Janko Roettgers, a San Francisco-based reporter who has written for Variety, Protocol, and Gigaom, among other publications.

BTW, the image for this article was generated by AI with the simple prompt ” Futuristic Music Production Studio for people with accessibility challenges”.

Read The Whole Article On Fast Company

The Music Accessibility Standard starts to take shape

Written by Athan Billias on February 2, 2024. Posted in MIDI Association Event List, MIDI News, Music Accessibility Standard, The MIDI Association Special Interest Groups. No Comments on The Music Accessibility Standard starts to take shape

This is all that Ellis and Stevie see every day

Juho reached out to the MIDI Association after someone of KVR Audio suggested that perhaps The MIDI Association might be a good place to start up a conversation about Accessibility. It turned out that there were already a number of MIDI Association member companies who had been working with accessibility consultants like UK producers/recording engineers Scott Chesworth and Jason Dasent and had already been adding accessibility features to their products. Juce which runs the Audio Developer Conference was also already onboard and had been hosting accessibility workshops at ADC for several years.

Music Accessibility Standard Meeting at NAMM Booth 10302 Friday, January 26 at 3:00 PM

Jay Pocknell from
the Royal Institute of Blind People / Sound Without Sight

At Winter NAMM 2024, we had a meeting of the Music Accessibility Standard Special Interest Group and discussed the next steps in creating a standard. Audio Modeling who has been working on a reserach project into this area for several years now outlined their vision of what a music accessibility standard could bring to people.

Audio Modeling’s visions for a music accessibility standard for everyone

Stevie Wonder visits the MIDI Association at CES 2024

Written by Athan Billias on January 21, 2024. Posted in Artists, MIDI Association Event List, MIDI News, Music Accessibility Standard, NAMM, The MIDI Association Special Interest Groups. No Comments on Stevie Wonder visits the MIDI Association at CES 2024

We had a special guest at our CES 2024 booth

As you may know, we are working on a Music Accessibility Standard to make making music accessible to all.

Thanks to MIDI Association member Audio Modeling, we got in touch with Lamar Mitchell and Cristian Perez from Stevie Wonder’s team a few weeks ago and explain to them our ideas about a Music Accessibility standard.

Then a few days Tony Baras, an industry friend from Ultimate Ears called us and let us know that Stevie had some specific ideas about the needs of people with accessibility challenges.

Thanks to Tony, Lamar and Cristian, Stevie visited our CES booth and we were able to explain the goal of the Music Accessibility Standard directly to him and gain his insight on specific needs of people who are visually impaired.

Having worked for Yamaha for many years, I had the pleasure of meeting Stevie before and was actually running the Yamaha booth the year that Ellis Hall (another amazing blind musicia) was playing at the booth and Stevie showed. Ellis moved to electronic drums and they did several songs together. Yamaha also put on a clinic a few years ago at West LA that featured Ellis and Alan Parsons. Stevie showed up to see Ellis at that event too.

It was an honor to be able to share our ideas and goals with Stevie and of course he agreed that making music should be accessible to all.

Come see us at NAMM Booth 10302 on Friday, January 26 at 3 pm for the Music Accessibility Standard panel discussion and then stick around to enjoy Ellis Hall, the ambassador of soul perform.

Ellis is performing at both our booth on Friday right after the Music Accessibility Standard panel discussion and then again at Ultimate Ears booth with Matthew Whittaker, Nate Barnes and Jeremy Jeffers at the Ultimate Ears booth 10720 on Saturday afternoon.

MIDI Association NAMM 2024 Booth Schedule

Written by The MIDI Association on January 2, 2024. Posted in MIDI Association Event List, MIDI News, Music Accessibility Standard, NAMM, The MIDI Association Special Interest Groups. No Comments on MIDI Association NAMM 2024 Booth Schedule

Four Days Showcasing MIDI

The MIDI Association booth (Booth 10302 at the front of Hall A) at Winter NAMM 2024 is very different than our booths in years past.

It is larger with a 30′ by 30′ footprint. A 10′ by 30′ area will be divided into thirds with displays of MIDI 2.0 products, a MIDI Showcase stage for presentations/performances and an area focused on our MIDI In Music Education, Music Accessibility Standard and Interactive Audio Special Interest Groups. But 75% of the booth is dedicated to 50 seats each with a set of wireless headphones so people can come and comfortably watch and listen to presentations and performances.

We also have Booth 10604 which is a 10′ by 10′ booth shared between Intuitive Instruments who won the Commercial Hardware category in The MIDI Innovation Awards in 2023 and the other MIDI Innovation Award winners

Audio Modeling- Camelot Pro
Hitar- augmented guitar for percussive fingerstyle
Netz-an immersive mixed reality musical instrument
Sound Sculpture-an interactive musical instrument comprised of 25 location-aware cubes

Studio 108 is a small meeting space for private meetings during the show.

We are being helped again this year by Jennifer Amaya, Associate Professor of Music at the Riverside City College Coil School for the Arts and member of The MIDI In Music Education Special Interest Group.

We will have 70 students helping with all aspects of the booth including running the Yamaha TF3 digital mixer.

We have put together over 20 different presentations and performances highlighting the innovative power of creating music and art with MIDI.

Below is a listing of all the presentations we have planned. The list starts with a Youtube video summary of the each day’s events and then includes the details of each individual event.

Each day ends with a solo performance by one of the artists who performed in our MIDI@40 celebration at the April 2023 NAMM show on the Yamaha Grand Plaza stage.

Thursday, January 25

Friday, January 26

Saturday, January 27

Sunday, January 28

Full Four Day Schedule (3 minutes and 38 seconds)

MIDI Association Companies at NAMM

37 MIDI Association companies will have booths at the 2024 Winter NAMM show.

Many are in the MIDI showcase area, but there are plenty who are spread around the show in different areas including some of the larger companies like Avid, Steinway and Yamaha.

Here is an alphabetical list of The MIDI Association companies at the 2024 Winter NAMM show with their booth numbers.

Music Accessibility Standard Special Interest Group Youtube event

Written by The MIDI Association on May 27, 2023. Posted in MIDI Association Event List, MIDI News, Music Accessibility Standard, The MIDI Association Special Interest Groups. No Comments on Music Accessibility Standard Special Interest Group Youtube event

Music Accessibility Standard Special Interest Group kicks off with a Youtube Live Stream

Members of the Music Accessibility Standard Special Interest Group (MAS SIG) outlined their vision for the future of Music Accessibility in a Youtube Live event on the MIDI Association Youtube channel.

Musicians and producers who face accessibility challenges including Juho Toumainen, Jason Dasent and Scott Chesworth joined developers and representatives from companies like Arturia, Audio Modeling, Native Instruments and Roland who are participating in the MAS SIG. The group meets every two weeks.

Juho Toumainen’s Vision for the MASSIG

The Healing Power of Music Webinar -MIMM 2021 Week 1

Written by The MIDI Association on May 9, 2021. Posted in MIDI Association Event List, MIDI News, Music Accessibility Standard, The MIDI Association Special Interest Groups. No Comments on The Healing Power of Music Webinar -MIMM 2021 Week 1

Saturday May 8, 2021, May Is MIDI Month 2021 Webinar The Healing Power of Music

The webinar kicked off with Michael Boddicker who has played synthesizer, vocoder, accordion and keyboards on albums by many notables such as Quincy Jones, Randy Newman, The Manhattan Transfer and The Bee Gees and worked on many soundtracks including Saturday Night Fever, Battlestar Galactica and The Wiz.

Boddicker is a Board Member of The Society of Composers and Lyricists (SCL), and he owns an audio post production facility, Sol7 (aka Sol Seven).
In 2019, he co-founded the Los Angeles synthesizer music festival, Synthplex.

He described his relationship with music and music therapy and his chance meeting while out for a neighborhood walk with Raffi Tachdjian.

Check out Synth Wizards interview with Micheal where he show off some sounds from his Moog System 55.

Next Raffi Tachdjian MD, MPH, UCLA professor of allergy and pediatric pain specialist and founder of Children”s Music Fund talked about meeting the young patient pictured above during his time a Massachusetts General Hospital and that inspired him to get involved with music therapy (Raffi is a musician himself) and found Children’s Music Fund.
In the past decade, CMF has become a leading organization to deliver research on the positive effects of music therapy in sick children and young adults.

Raffi connected with Suzanne B Hanser who was at Berklee College of Music at the time. Dr. Hanser has a long list of accomplishments.

Professor and Chair Emerita of the Music Therapy Department at Berklee College of Music.
Past President of the World Federation of Music Therapy
Past President of the National Association for Music Therapy
Current president of the International Association for Music and Medicine.

It was an incredible honor to have someone who is so important to the world of music therapy attend our webinar and give an impassioned speech about the healing power of music.

Recently there were studies done on the number of people who feel that they are having symptoms of anxiety. In 2019, the percentage of people in the US was 8 percent. In studies completed last month, that number has risen to 30 percent. Given all that is going on the in world. we all could use the healing power of music so we wanted to share one of the many free Youtube videos from Berklee College of Music that are targeted to help ANYONE apply the basic principles of and reap the benefits of music therapy.

In this episode, Suzanne explains the ISO principle. Simply put, most people think that if you are feeling anxious, you should start listening to calming music right away. But that is actually not how your brain works. This video will teach you how to apply the ISO principle and develop your own music playlist to get from one mood to another.

As with all music therapy, this has been researched, tested and documented and it just works.

Walter Werzowa is the founder of Healthtunes.org. HealthTunes® is an audio streaming service designed to improve one’s physical and mental health by pairing medical research with active music links. Binaural beats and isochronic tones are embedded within HealthTunes® music which are two different methods used for brain wave entrainment.

A binaural beat is an auditory phenomenon when two different sine waves, with a close frequency rate, are perceived by an individual through each ear. This experience enables the listener to perceive a third tone. The third tone is a binaural beat.

HealthTunes has been endorsed by UCLA Health Nephrology, UCLA Center for East-West Medicine, and the music artist Moby.

You may have heard much more of Walter’s music than you know. He has designed the sonic branding for Intel, T Mobile, Fox Sports, Samsung and many others.

HealthTunes – Music for Health

HealthTunes® is a streaming audio service designed to improve your physical and mental health.

https://www.healthtunes.org/

Musikvergnuegen | Audio Branding and Custom Scoring

Experts in audio branding, custom scoring and sound design for film, broadcast, advertising, and VR. We are an all-inclusive music production studio. Home of the Intel sonic branding mnemonic audio identity.

https://www.musikvergnuegen.com/reel

There is a new project that we didn’t get to cover in the webinar, but wanted to share here. Walter is using AI and MIDI to work on Beethoven’s Unfinished Symphony.

That’s a project that sounds like it deserves a complete article on MIDI.org in the near future.

With an extensive background in the music field, Lori Frazer is the lead program facilitator and technical specialist for the Yamaha Music and Wellness Institute. She trains and supports hospital and clinical staff, as well as research teams. Lori’s expertise extends into medical, as well as retirement communities, senior centers, and special programs that enable people with a host of challenges to enjoy the benefits of creative musical expression. She described her work over the past decade with the Yamaha Music and Wellness Institute.

Yamaha Music and Wellness Institute (YMWI) continues to be actively engaged in exploring the impact of creative musical expression on the human genome as presented in two peer-reviewed scientific research investigations

YMWI

human genome as presented in two peer-reviewed scientific research investigations

https://www.yamahainstitute.org/

Alton Mitchell, the Minster of Worship and Arts at Rodman Street Missionary Baptist Church. He spoke to us from his piano lab and explained how the church pioneered a study on using creative musical expression as a catalyst for reducing cardiovascular risk factors. Active participation in vocal and instrumental gospel music is not only enjoyable but good for the heart and soul. Rodman Street’s Health Ministry is making waves, and creating national news.

Help Sick Kids with the Healing Power of Music and MIDI

An introduction to Music Therapy by Dr. Deforia Lane

Written by The MIDI Association on May 2, 2021. Posted in MIDI News, Music Accessibility Standard, The MIDI Association Special Interest Groups. No Comments on An introduction to Music Therapy by Dr. Deforia Lane

If you don’t know anything about music therapy, this 18 minute Tedx Talk Youtube video is a great way to understand how music and medicine work together to heal.

Music therapist, Dr. Deforia Lane takes you inside University Hospitals Seidman Cancer Center to experience first hand the response of patients to music therapy: hear of music’s effects on an unborn child; watch the reaction of a laryngectomy patient; see how therapeutic singing helps a man with stroke to speak again.

Dr. Lane shares her personal challenge with cancer and how music benefited her healing. She ends with a probing question for each all who will hear.

Internationally acclaimed music therapist, Dr. Deforia Lane is the founder and Director of Art & Music Therapy at the University Hospitals Case Medical Center in Cleveland, OH. She oversees a 9-member team of art and music therapists who serve the 1000-bed hospital. She is a researcher, clinician, clinical training director, teaches at the Case Western Reserve School of Medicine and the Frances Payne Bolton School of Nursing and has experienced a pioneering career spanning 4 decades.

by TEDx Talks

Donate to help sick kids through the power of MIDI and Music

May Is MIDI Month 2021-Helping Sick Kids Through The Healing Power of MIDI and Music

Written by The MIDI Association on April 28, 2021. Posted in MIDI Association Event List, MIDI News, Music Accessibility Standard, The MIDI Association Special Interest Groups. No Comments on May Is MIDI Month 2021-Helping Sick Kids Through The Healing Power of MIDI and Music

Donate To Help Sick Kids Today

Was May Is MIDI Month 2020 really only a year ago?

It seems that everyone has had a bit of trouble keeping time this year. Not musically as that is the one place where time remains constant.

But in talking to people , they often say that one moment last May seems like it was last week and the next it seems like it was 10 years ago.

In the late spring of 2020, the world was in the beginning of the global pandemic and there was a huge amount of uncertainty about what the future would hold. The MIDI Association decided that instead of raising money for ourselves for May Is MIDI Month 2020, we would raise money for people affected by the global pandemic.

Our first plan was to give the money to the Grammy Foundation’s Musicares Coronavirus Relief Fund. Joe LaMond, president of NAMM urged us to find something we could be more directly involved in.

We were on a call with LA studio legend and Grammy award winner Michael Boddicker discussing our Orchestral Articulation profile.

He mentioned his long-time affiliation with the Children’s Music Fund (CMF), and that’s when we knew we had found the perfect partner.

UCLA professor of allergy and pediatric pain specialist Raffi Tachdjian MD, MPH founded the organization in 2002, after he was inspired by a patient during his pediatric residency at Harvard’s Massachusetts General Hospital.

Here is a picture of Raffi with the young patient who inspired him to form Children’s Music Fund. That patient sadly passed away, but lives on in the work that Raffi continues to this day.

In the past decade, CMF has become a leading organization to deliver research on the positive effects of music therapy in sick children and young adults.

The MIDI Association and Children’s Music Fund

CMF maintains a network of carefully screened, board-certified music therapists (MT-BC), and follows the practices and standards established by the American Music Therapy Association.

Due to the pandemic, CMF music therapists were unable to do in person sessions and had to switch to remote telehealth sessions. The MIDI Association donated the $18,000 we raised from our May Is MIDI Month 2020 donation drive to help support CMF’s move to telehealth.

After a few meetings with the CMF board, The MIDI Association realized that we should not just be donating money to CMF, but working closely with them on an exciting new area, using MIDI for remote music therapy.

Many MIDI controllers bring a level of accessibility and ease of use that is impossible with traditional instruments and Web MIDI has the capability to add smartphones and tablets to that mix.

This is a vast as yet untapped area in music therapy and we know we have the right partners to significantly improve the lives of many sick children for years to come.

Watch Lisa Harriton from Smashing Pumpkins, Serj Tankian from System of a Down, Scott Shriner from Weezer, and actress/singer/songwriter Minnie Driver explain the important mission of Children’s Music Fund.

You Give a Dollar. We’ll Give $10. Let’s Give 24 in 21.

It’s just that simple. If we can raise $2000 in donations from individual MIDI Association members, our MIDI Association corporate sponsors will match it with $22,000.

Where else can you spend $1 and get $11?

The MIDI Association is committed to raising $24,000 to help sick kids through the healing power of music and MIDI with caring sponsorships of Art+Logic, Audio Modeling, Bome, imitone, IK Multimedia, Korg, NAMM, Steinberg, Steinway, Sweetwater, and Yamaha.

Donate To Help Sick Kids Today