Aims
The workshop aims at creating new technological solutions which will enable children with low motor abilities to make music through novel physical interfaces. Participants in the workshop will combine design and engineering skills for the implementation of new musical instruments, offering children a joyful play experience, as well as new means for expressing themselves through music.
Course
In preceeding lectures at the University of Innsbruck, students will get to know the essentials of music theory, sound engineering, psychology, mathematics, and programming. Lectures start on 21st of November 2017 and will take place weekly (for detailed information see below). Throughout the lectures, students will from groups and develop their own concept. At the end of the lectures, ten students will be selected to represent the University of Innsbruck at a joint Enabling-Technology workshop at the MADE Multidisciplinary Assistive Design & Engineering Lab at Holon Institute of Technology in Tel Aviv. The workshop lasts three days and will culminate in a musical happening event at a special education school, whereby children will be invited to try out and play the instruments developed throughout the workshop. Additionally, all projects will be presented at the end of the workshop in front of a jury panel, consisting of representatives from HIT, Innsbruck and partner institutions. One winning project will be selected for a prize. The workshop in israel is organized by AIANI (Austria-Israel Academic Network Innsbruck) and financed by the "1669 - Wissenschafft-Gesellschaft - Förderkreis der Universität Innsbruck.
Expected Outcomes
In course of the lectures, students gain an insight in the fundamentals of music theory, sound engineering, psychology, mathematics, and programming and develop ideas for novel interactive music instruments for children with motor impairments.
The joint workshop will produce a number of working prototypes - new physical instruments allowing children with motor impairments independently and meaningful means for creating music. Selected projects will be considered for a trial integration within the partner institution in order to evaluate their potential as real-world products. All projects will be documented for PR purposes, and press will be invited to cover the workshop and its outcomes.
Dates & Registration
Lectures take place on Tuesdays, 15.00-18.00, starting on November 21. For detailed information on dates and to register for the lectures, please visit LFU:online.
To check whether you receive course credits for attending the "Enabling Music" lectures, please contact the respective supervisor.
Preliminary Schedule
2017-11-21: Introduction; Needs of Motor-Impaired Children, Means of Mobile Apps, Psychology of Music Perception
2017-11-28: Music Theory
2017-12-05: Machine Learning, Recommendation Systems
2017-12-12: Mathematical Models of Music
2018-01-09: Sound Engineering (Workshop)
2018-01-16: Programming
2018-01-23: Psychotherapy & Music Therapy (Workshop)
Supervisors
Prof. Dr. Markus Haltmeier - Department of Mathematics
Prof. Mag. Dr. Alexander Ostermann - Department of Mathematics & Research Area Scientific Computing
Prof. Justus Piater, PhD - Department of Computer Science
Hannah Strauß, MSc - Department of Psychology
Dr. Eva Zangerle - Department of Computer Science
Further Information
