LoopBoxes - Evaluation of a Collaborative Accessible Digital Musical Instrument

Andreas Förster, Alarith Uhde, Mathias Komesker, Christina Komesker, and Irina Schmidt

Proceedings of the International Conference on New Interfaces for Musical Expression

Abstract:

LoopBoxes is an accessible digital musical instrument designed to create an intuitive access to loop based music making for children with special educational needs (SEN). This paper describes the evaluation of the instrument in the form of a pilot study during a music festival in Berlin, Germany, as well as a case study with children and music teachers in a SEN school setting. We created a modular system composed of three modules that afford single user as well as collaborative music making. The pilot study was evaluated using informal observation and questionnaires (n = 39), and indicated that the instrument affords music making for people with and without prior musical knowledge across all age groups and fosters collaborative musical processes. The case study was based on observation and a qualitative interview. It confirmed that the instrument meets the needs of the school settings and indicated how future versions could expand access to all students. especially those experiencing complex disabilities. In addition, out-of-the-box functionality seems to be crucial for the long-term implementation of the instrument in a school setting.

Citation:

Andreas Förster, Alarith Uhde, Mathias Komesker, Christina Komesker, and Irina Schmidt. 2023. LoopBoxes - Evaluation of a Collaborative Accessible Digital Musical Instrument. Proceedings of the International Conference on New Interfaces for Musical Expression. DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.11189094

BibTeX Entry:

  @inproceedings{nime2023_4,
 abstract = {LoopBoxes is an accessible digital musical instrument designed to create an intuitive access to loop based music making for children with special educational needs (SEN). This paper describes the evaluation of the instrument in the form of a pilot study during a music festival in Berlin, Germany, as well as a case study with children and music teachers in a SEN school setting. We created a modular system composed of three modules that afford single user as well as collaborative music making. The pilot study was evaluated using informal observation and questionnaires (n = 39), and indicated that the instrument affords music making for people with and without prior musical knowledge across all age groups and fosters collaborative musical processes. The case study was based on observation and a qualitative interview. It confirmed that the instrument meets the needs of the school settings and indicated how future versions could expand access to all students.
especially those experiencing complex disabilities. In addition, out-of-the-box functionality seems to be crucial for the long-term implementation of the instrument in a school setting.},
 address = {Mexico City, Mexico},
 articleno = {4},
 author = {Andreas Förster and Alarith Uhde and Mathias Komesker and Christina Komesker and Irina Schmidt},
 booktitle = {Proceedings of the International Conference on New Interfaces for Musical Expression},
 doi = {10.5281/zenodo.11189094},
 editor = {Miguel Ortiz and Adnan Marquez-Borbon},
 issn = {2220-4806},
 month = {May},
 numpages = {10},
 pages = {30--39},
 title = {LoopBoxes - Evaluation of a Collaborative Accessible Digital Musical Instrument},
 track = {Papers},
 url = {http://nime.org/proceedings/2023/nime2023_4.pdf},
 year = {2023}
}