Music Accessibility

The practice of making musical experiences — including listening, performing, composing, and learning — available to people with disabilities. Music accessibility encompasses a wide range of approaches, from sensory substitution technologies that convert sound to vibration or visual feedback for deaf and hard of hearing people, to adapted instruments and interfaces for people with motor disabilities, to audio description and tactile scores for blind musicians. Research in this area recognizes that people with disabilities can and do enjoy music through multiple sensory channels, and focuses on removing barriers to full musical participation rather than assuming music is exclusively an auditory experience.