Music Accessibility
We think everyone should be able to experience the joy of making music.
We brought together music accessibility experts from all over the world to meet regularly & discuss how to make digital musical instruments more accessible.
MIDI.Org Articles on Music Accessibility
NAMM 2026 Wrap Up
As usual, NAMM 2026 was a blur of activity at The MIDI Association booth. We hosted 21 events over three days at our booth and participated in many Tec Tracks and A3E sessions as well. We know this article has a LOT of information in it. But take your time and read through everything. Maybe…
pBone Music and Yamaha Music UK Host Music Hub Conference
There was so much going on in January for Music Accessibility. The month started with the CES show-CES Show report on Accessibility. We followed up with a year in review article about Music Accessibility On January 15, SoundwithoutSight featured Lachi from RAMPD.org Then on January 16, PBone Music and Yamaha Music UK hosted an accessibility…
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The MIDI Association Music Accessibility Initiative: A Year of Demos, Partnerships, and Practical Progress
Over the past year, The MIDI Association’s Music Accessibility work has focused on something very concrete: getting more people to the “I’m making music” moment—faster, with fewer barriers, and with better pathways for developers and manufacturers to build accessibility into products from day one. At the center of that effort is the Music Accessibility Standard…
CES 2026: MIDI Gear to Watch—and the Accessibility Tech That Can Change How We Make Music
CES 2026 ran January 6–9, 2026 in Las Vegas, and once again the show floor was full of ideas that matter to music creators: new ways to control software, new approaches to wireless “instant play,” and (most importantly) a fast-growing wave of accessibility-first products—Braille, tactile graphics, haptics, smart glasses, and autonomous navigation—built to help more…
What TiME is It?
It seems fitting that on the same day we are celebrating David Kusek from Passport Designs and Berklee Online that we would announce a new partnership with TiME UK. David was so influential in technology in music education throughout his career. There are currently two Technology In Music Education organizations. One is TI:ME which is…
RAMPD + MASSIG: Turning Music Accessibility Into Real-World Standards
When we talk about “music accessibility,” we’re not talking about a single feature—or a single community. We’re talking about the real-world ability for disabled music creators and professionals to build careers, collaborate at the highest levels, and use music technology with confidence and independence. Why this new relationship matters The MIDI Association’s Music Accessibility Standard…
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The MIDI Association At Audio Developers Conference 2025
After the whirlwind tour around the world at Music China, The Kakehashi Foundation, Tokyo Gakki Fair and Music Tectonics, The MIDI Association MASSIG was well represented at Audio Developers Conference in Bristol, UK. Workshop 5: Interactive Panel: Accessibility in Audio Tech Tim Yates from Drake Music and Liza Bec discuss the social model of accessibility…
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The MIDI Association at Music Tectonics 2025
After a week in China and a week in Japan, we got on a plane headed back to the US on November 3. The plane was three hours late taking off so we left at 11 pm and arrived at LAX at 5 pm the same day. Rather than heading home, we went straight to…
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The MIDI Association at Tokyo Gakki Expo 2025
The Tokyo Gakki Fair was held on November 1 and 2 at The Science Museum 1F Exhibition Hall 〒102-0091 Kitanomaru Park, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 2-1. The MIDI Association had a booth that featured the winners of the 2025 MIDI Innovation Awards. You might wonder why the featured image for this article is a traditional gate to…
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MUSIC ACCESSIBILITY AT MUSIC CHINA
We had a lot going on at Music China, but one of the most popular areas was the Music Accessibility demo. The Filisia Cosmos dots, an AFK Audio Drum Beam, a ThisIsNoise MIDI Blaster and an Arcana Strum were all connected to the Connect Through MIDI software created by Ableton Drummer’s Tobi Hunke to showcase…
Music China 2025 Day 1 Report
The MIDI Association has been coming to Music China for many years, but each time we come we are inspired and invigorated by the energy around innovation and new technology here. The Music X Stage and the MIDI Association booth next to it are at the center of that innovation. We went in early before…
The MIDI Association at Music China 2025
The MIDI Association has a lot of plans for Music China 2025. We will have a booth similar to what we had in 2024, but it will be in the new Hall N3. To give you some perspective each of the 16 Halls (W1-W5, E1-E7 and N 1-3)at Music China are about the same size…
SoundWithoutSight and Accessible Gaming
MIDI Association partner Soundwithoutsight are excited to announce their next Monthly Meet-up on Thursday 21, August 2025-a presentation and Q&A with the award winning and multi-credited accessibility consultant and gamer SightlessKombat who will share how audio innovations are improving access to gaming. You can click here to register for the event or on the button below. Register for…
The PhotoSYNTH and accessible music making
The Royal Society is a Fellowship of many of the world’s most eminent scientists and is the oldest scientific academy in continuous existence. For over three decades the Royal Society has opened the doors to its building in central London (6-9 Carlton House Terrace) and welcomed thousands of visitors to meet the researchers behind some…
Accessible Musical Instruments In The 2025 MIDI Innovation Awards
Three of the five winners of the 2024 MIDI Innovation Awards were clearly focused on accessibility -the Arcana Strum, the UniMIDI hub from Audio Modeling and GEP Contraption. In the 2025 MIDI Innovation Awards, there were 13 entries devoted to accessibility. Click on the button below to see them all or click on the images…
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Music Accessibility Webinar June 5th 10 AM Pacific
Date: Youtube Premier On Saturday June 5, 2025 at 10 am Pacific https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Yx-cyXuGKA The Music Accessibility Special Interest Group will host a Youtube Premier on June 5th at 10 am Pacific time. The primary focus is on discussing advancements in making music creation more accessible for individuals with disabilities, along with updates and demonstrations from…
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Shifting the Soundscape: Highlights from the 2025 ABLE Assembly on Arts and Accessibility
The 2025 ABLE Assembly: Arts Better the Lives of Everyone conference, hosted by the Berklee Institute for Accessible Arts Education, delivered a powerful and inspiring program that continues to shape the future of inclusive music education and accessible performance. With more than 50 sessions, this year’s conference offered a deep and wide-ranging look at how…
Drake Music: Pioneering Inclusive Music-Making Technology
Leaders in Music, Disability & Technology Drake Music is a UK-based charity and a global leader at the intersection of music, disability, and technology. For over 20 years, this disabled-led organization has been “pioneering the use of accessible music technology” to break down barriers in music-making. They believe that “everyone has the right to express…
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Sound Without Sight: Empowering Blind and Partially Sighted Musicians Through Community and Innovation
In the evolving landscape of accessible music technology, Sound Without Sight (SWS) emerges as a pivotal community-led initiative dedicated to supporting blind and partially sighted musicians and audio professionals. By fostering collaboration, sharing resources, and advocating for inclusivity, SWS aligns closely with the objectives of The MIDI Association’s Music Accessibility Standard Special Interest Group (SIG),…
Able Assembly At Berklee College Of Music
The MIDI Association and Music Accessibility The MIDI Association has been exploring the possibilities of a Music Accessibility standard for several years now. We started by working with Children’s Music Fund back in 2020. Since then we have held numerous webinars and events about the possibilities of using MIDI to improve music accessibility. https://midi.org/an-introduction-to-music-therapy-by-dr-deforia-lane https://midi.org/the-healing-power-of-music-webinar-mimm-2021-week-1…