Hearing Music
Persona
Anna
Goal
Anna wants to experience live music with the aid of haptic technology.
Scenario
Anna, who became hearing impaired in later life, attends a concert by The Blockheads at the Stables music venue with a friend Ben who is deaf from birth, and her hearing friend Caroline. In order to enhance their experience of the concert, they decide to use the haptic bracelets offered by the venue. Anna is a big fan of the bass player Norman Watt Roy, whereas her friend is interested in the drums played by John Roberts. For tonight’s performance, the Stables are offering a live automatic haptic transcription of the bass part. The Stables have also hired a musical interpreter for the hearing impaired who will be communicating the overall performance using an electronic drum kit from which a haptic feed is available. As a third option, a chest-worn transducer is available that takes the audio feed and turns the wearer’s chest cavity into a bass woofer. Anna used the bass transcription. Ben opted for the live interpretation. During ‘Hit me with your rhythm stick’ Anna grabs the hand of her hearing friend Caroline in excitement and puts it on her wrist to feel the bass rhythm. Anna and Ben sign to each other during the first two songs, and decide to swap feeds for the third.
When they hand the equipment back in at the end of the gig, the Stables staff point out that there is a summer workshop being run for hearing impared beginner drummers using a full drum kit and bracelets on all four limbs.
Competency questions
CQ1: What is the rhythm of the bassline?
CQ2: What is the rhythm of the electronic drum kit?