INSTRUMENTSANDACCESS:THEROLEOF INSTRUMENTSINMUSICANDDISABILITY jacob harrison INSTRUMENTSANDACCESS:THEROLEOFINSTRUMENTS INMUSICANDDISABILITY jacob harrison Submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements of the University of London Degree of Doctor of Philosophy School of Electronic Engineering and Computer Science Queen Mary University of London supervisors: Dr Andrew McPherson April 2020 Jacob Harrison: Instruments and Access: the Role of Instruments in Music and Disability © April 2020 ABSTRACT In the past several decades, society’s understanding of disability has progressed from an individualised model based on functional limitations, to the identification of disabling barriers in society which are imposed upon people living with phys- ical, cognitive and/or sensory impairments. Alongside this, there is increased in- terest in new creative technologies which are capable of addressing these barriers. In this thesis, I explore the development of Accessible Digital Musical Instruments (ADMIs) in terms of their ability to address the technical and social barriers that prevent access to music-making. I begin with a review of relevant literature from the fields of Disability Stud- ies and Digital Musical Instrument (DMI) design. This is followed by interviews with two disabled musicians, who discuss how their approach to music perfor- mance and instrumentation relates to their disability identity. I then report three performer studies with purpose built DMIs. The first study explores adapting the bass guitar for one-handed playing, using a prototype mechanical adaptation. The second study continues the theme of preserving the role of the guitar, but asks questions around the role of interaction modality and global form, and how they relate to an instrument’s identity. The final study is an ethnographic account of a long-term situated research project with a community of learning-disabled mu- sicians, in which we observe how bespoke guitar-like ADMIs are used alongside unadapted instruments. This thesis introduces a ‘performance-focused’ approach to ADMI design, in which sociocultural roles of musical instruments are considered alongside the tech- nical requirements of accessibility. Using theories and methodologies from third- wave HCI, Disability Studies, and DMI design, I aim to interrogate what ‘access to musical performance’ really means. It is hoped that this thesis can provide a critical counterpoint to existing approaches to accessibility in DMI design, and in doing so, introduce methodologies which are capable of capturing and uplifting the creative potential of disabled people. v ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS It would be hard to overstate the level of gratitude I feel towards the friends, family and colleagues who have supported me throughout this PhD. It seems strange to call this work ‘mine’, given that none of it would have been possible without this constant support: from encouraging words, to welcome distractions. I wish to thank everyone who has taken any kind of interest in my work - it’s a privilege to have been able to discuss my research with so many people, and every one of those discussions has shaped the way I have done things. I have been incredibly fortunate to have worked with Dr Andrew McPherson as my supervisor. His constant enthusiasm for the project, generosity with his time and insightful discussion have both supported me to keep going and pushed me to strive towards being the best possible researcher I can be. I am also very grateful to my advisory panel, Simon Dixon and Elaine Chew, for their constructive feedback during the PhD process, as well as my thesis examiners Rebecca Fiebrink and Tom Mitchell, for a rigorous and insightful viva discussion. I have been lucky to be part of two incredible communities at Queen Mary: ev- eryone from the Media and Arts Technology PhD programme, and the Augmented Instruments Lab. The MAT group and Augmented Instruments Lab represent the best qualities of research communities: support, enthusiasm, curiosity, and most of all laughter. In particular, I would like to thank Vanessa, Shivani, Astrid and Sophie for having my back at various points throughout the PhD. Thanks also to Robbie for being an excellent collaborator and a joy to work with. Thanks to Adan and Giulio for various Bela-related technical support; to Courtney for her stats wizardry; Giacomo, Jack, Luis and Andrea for assistance with workshops and Strummi Sessions; Lia for organising our lab concerts; Fabio for ‘kickstarter-of-the- week’ rants, and everyone else who I’ve had the pleasure of working alongside during these five years. I also want to thank the amazing MAT programme staff: Nick, Jonathan, Geetha and Karen for looking after us so well and keeping this exceptional programme running. This work has been supported in many ways by three incredible organisations: the OHMI Trust, Heart n Soul and Drake Music. These three charities are doing vital and inspiring work every day to open up access to music-making for dis- abled people. In particular, I would like to thank Rachel and Stephen from OHMI vi for supporting the adapted bass project; Richard, Lizzie and Ugne from Heart n Soul for supporting the Strummi Sessions; also Lizzie, Jenny, Richard, Ned, Ricky, Rosie and Hattie for welcoming me into the DYOT crew; and Tim and Gawain from Drake Music for inviting me into their wonderful community of instrument- makers. I am looking forward to carrying on this work in the future and hope to maintain the connections I have made with these three great organisations. I am very grateful to those outside Queen Mary who I have worked alongside on this research: Molly Joyce and John Kelly for contributing their time towards the case studies; Alan Chamberlain for collaborating on the Strummi Sessions re- search and formulating our methods and ideas; Charles Matthews, for the inspir- ing and challenging conversations we have every time we bump into each other; Alex Lucas, Joe Wright and Emma Frid for collaborating on our NIME workshop (and hopefully more in the future!). I would like to thank Ben, Sam, Alf, Ollie, Sykes and Rob for being great pals at the times when I needed it most. Thanks and love to the legend that is Zena, not only for her patience and support, but her genuine enthusiasm for what I do - I feel blessed to have been able to waffle on about my work over many pints in the Bank of Friendship. Finally, thanks to the Willingham Crew: Mum, Dad, Theo and Harry. As a family, the last few years have thrown us more than our fair share of challenges, but the seemingly endless reserves of love, patience and resilience that they have shown has been a constant inspiration to keep going. vii DECLARATION I, Jacob Harrison, confirm that the research included within this thesis is my own work or that where it has been carried out in collaboration with, or supported by others, that this is duly acknowledged below and my contribution indicated. Previously published material is also acknowledged below. I attest that I have exercised reasonable care to ensure that the work is original, and does not to the best of my knowledge break any UK law, infringe any third party’s copyright or other Intellectual Property Right, or contain any confidential material. I accept that the College has the right to use plagiarism detection software to check the electronic version of the thesis. I confirm that this thesis has not been previously submitted for the award of a degree by this or any other university. The copyright of this thesis rests with the author and no quotation from it or information derived from it may be published without the prior written consent of the author. Date: November 6, 2020 Jacob Harrison PUBLICATIONS Some ideas and figures have appeared previously in the following publications: 1. Harrison, Jacob, Andrew P. McPherson 2017. “Adapting the Bass Guitar for One-Handed Playing” Journal of New Music Research, 46(3), pp.270–285 2. Harrison, Jacob, Andrew P. McPherson 2017. “An Adapted Bass Guitar for One-Handed Playing” Proceedings of the International Conference on New Interfaces for Musical Expression (NIME) 3. Harrison, Jacob, Robert H. Jack, Andrew P. McPherson 2018. “When is a Gui- tar not a Guitar? Cultural Form, Input Modality and Expertise” Proceedings of the International Conference on New Interfaces for Musical Expression (NIME) 4. Jack, Robert H., Jacob Harrison, Andrew P. McPherson 2018. “Democratising DMIs: the relationship of expertise and control intimacy” Proceedings of the International Conference on New Interfaces for Musical Expression(NIME) 5. McPherson, Andrew P., Fabio Morreale, Jacob Harrison 2018. “Musical Instruments for Novices: Comparing NIME, HCI and Crowdfunding Ap- proaches” New Directions in Music and HCI. Springer 6. Harrison, Jacob, Alan Chamberlain, Andrew P. McPherson 2019. “Accessible Instruments in the Wild: Engaging with a Community of Learning-Disabled Musicians” Proceedings of the International Conference on Human Factors in Computing (CHI) 7. Jack, Robert H., Jacob Harrison, Andrew P. McPherson 2020. “DMIs as Research Products” Proceedings of the International Conference on New Interfaces for Musical Expression(NIME) ix CONTENTS 1 introduction1 1.1 Motivation and Aims . 2 1.2 Research Questions . 3 1.3 Methods . 4 1.4 Statement of Contribution . 5 1.5 Structure of this thesis . 6 2 background9 2.1 Music and Disability . 9 2.1.1 Disability Theory . 9 2.1.2 Music Therapy . 18 2.2 Instrument Design . 19 2.2.1 Digital Lutherie and DMIs . 21 2.3 Accessible Instruments . 25 2.3.1 A Review of Existing Accessible Instruments . 25 2.3.2 Performance-Focused ADMIs . 32 2.4 Conclusion . 39 3 case studies: interviews with two disabled musicians 41 3.1 Introduction . 41 3.2 Molly Joyce . 41 3.3 John Kelly . 50 3.4 Discussion . 70 4 adapting the bass guitar for one-handed playing 74 4.1 Introduction .