There are several ways that assistive technology can be used in music. By using special computer programs, music teachers can convert music notation to braille, enabling blind students to participate in music classes. Cochlear implants and hearing aids make it possible for the deaf to enjoy and perform music. For those with severe motor disabilities, special devices can be attached to valve instruments such as the tuba or trumpet so that they may be played by the disabled.
Active participation in music as as important for the handicapped as it is for anyone else. Assistive technology allows the disabled to become more independent, recording or playing their own music, learning an instrument and even communicating with assisted keyboard technology. This is important not only for their general education but for all life skills, including social interaction, self-expression, and sensory and cognitive development.
Fractunes is a program that uses an electronic piano keyboard that, when played, generates colored images on a computer screen, causing a very sensitive cause-and-effect experience. Switch Ensemble uses a computer keyboard, joysticks, touch screens and other switches, all of which function as musical instruments, giving the disabled a creative outlet. Dancing Dots allows the visually impaired to read music, magnifying the music up to 10 times the original. It uses a touch screen that allows musicians to write their own notes on the score with a stylus while the "pages" are turned with a foot pedal.
The disabled are often unable to be involved in music classes and ensembles that use traditional learning methods. With assistive technology, anyone can create, perform and participate. With a more well-rounded education that includes music, these individuals can go on to enjoy more opportunities and more job options in their adult life.
While assistive technology can help the disabled in nearly all subjects, its use in music education is vital. According to Laurie A. Farnan of the Central Wisconsin Center for the Developmentally Disabled, "Music education is an excellent medium for working on typical goals in the areas of mobility, functional hand use, socialization, peer interaction, self-expression, communication, sensory development and cognitive development, in addition to music skills."