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Ran Jiang (Shannon MacDonald)
Like most musicians, Ran Jiang never used to question how musical instruments are designed for people with two fingers, 10 toes and above-average dexterity.
But after completing a research assistantship (RA) under professor adam patrick bell, Canada Research Chair in Music, Inclusion and Accessibility, her perspective changed.
Now, as a PhD candidate in music education, Jiang is working to raise awareness and challenge the inherently ableist nature of instrument design.
As part of her doctoral research, Jiang conducted a workshop with secondary students in Henan, China, who used computer software and DIY electronics to rethink musical instruments and for whom they are designed.
Western News reached out to Jiang to learn more about her work and her findings.
Western News: How did your RA experience influence your doctoral research?
Ran Jiang (RJ): It helped me see how I had been unaware of the accessibility issues that exist in music education. Many non-disabled people don’t understand the accessibility issues in music learning, teaching and beyond.
The norms around instrument design often go unquestioned, especially by non-disabled people. But when we ask who gets excluded, awareness begins to grow.
I’d like my research to address how non-disabled people raise their awareness of accessibility, so they know how to address their own access needs, and further, to be more motivated to contribute to others’ access needs as well.
Why did you choose to conduct your research field work in China?
RJ: China has been developing digital technology rapidly over the past four decades, giving students the potential to be creative in making things with technology. China is also improving its accessibility infrastructure by implementing the 2023 Accessibility Law.
But there are still many access issues in society. A common feeling shared by many Chinese students studying in Canada is they see more disabled people here than in China. This is contradictory to the statistics. There are 85 million disabled people in China, but where are they? Part of the reason they aren’t as visible is because the infrastructure in China is still not accessible. In disability studies, this is called the social model of disability, meaning it is the society that disables individuals.
What do you hope your research will show?
RJ: I believe that by doing my research in China, it will help non-disabled people become more aware about the accessibility issues in our studies and our lives, so we can make further change.
Regarding learning music, my experience is that many Chinese people think making music is inaccessible anyways to both non-disabled and disabled people, so there is a potential to use digital technology – a resource that is abundant in China – to seek possibilities that eliminate accessibility issues in making music.
What did your workshop working with Chinese secondary students involve?
RJ: I worked with two other teachers, one of whom was Jimmy Jin, a PhD student in music composition at Western, to lead a 12-day workshop series for students aged 13 to 15 in Henan.
The students first attended lectures to gain knowledge in disability studies and to discuss Chinese terminology of “disability” and the social model thinking.
I also played videos to show the students how instruments such as violin, cello, guitar and music software and hardware can be modified to suit specific needs.
Students also watched a stand-up comedy routine by Hei Deng, a blind comedian who jokes that so-called “accessible” infrastructure in China is actually inaccessible to disabled people.
After the lectures, students attended labs to make instruments.
Tell me more about the hands-on aspect of this project.
RJ: No student in my study reported having a disability, so they focused on addressing their own access needs in playing music through their instrument-making projects.
The resources they used included Makey Makey (a DIY electronics kit) and Max MSP (a music programming software) on their computers, some plasticine, slime, aluminum foil and cardstock paper. Jimmy designed a Max MSP software interface and taught the students to use it to modify notes and chords, design sound quality and connect it to Makey Makey kits for making the physical instruments.
Some students paired up to make one instrument together, so they had to make sure their designs suited each partner’s needs through frequent, effective and respectful communication.
Three instruments created by students in Henan, China, as part Western music PhD candidate Ran Jiang’s workshop on accessible music education and challenging abelist instrument design. (L to R) A bowl-shaped base with cardstock on top and Makey Makey connected with foil as keys; animals and plants made with plasticine are keys that produce different notes and a styrofoam ball covered by foil with the musicians fingers serving as keys. (Submitted)
How did the students create their accessible instruments and what did they look like?
RJ: Students made instruments that were accessible in terms of their shape, sound design, numbers of keys and note or chord playability. This required them to learn music theory and a little bit of physics through electricity conductivity.
Some students connected the Makey Makey cable to their watches, so it created an electrically conductive loop with their body as they played it. Other students used metal sticks to connect to the cable so they could hit the instrument keys with the metal stick to make the sound.
One pair of students used a styrofoam ball covered by foil as the instrument body, and they wore rubber gloves to insulate their hands, putting Makey Makey cables on each of their fingers. This way, when they touched the ball, they produced different notes as they put different fingers on it.
Have any of your research findings surprised you?
RJ: Two things surprised me: How creative the students were making their instruments and how thoughtfully they engaged with the disability studies concepts from the workshop series.
For example, one student at the end of the workshop said, “accessibility is relevant to human rights because our politics textbooks tell us that ‘the greatest form of human rights is to have the right to pursue happiness.’ I think accessibility can enable people to pursue art more fully, which leads to pursuing happiness. That’s why accessibility matters.”
Students also responded critically to the concept of normalcy. In the workshops, we discussed the Bell Curve to explore how “normal” gets defined and how that definition shapes who gets labeled as “disabled.”
Students in my study understood and argued that the concept of normalcy is context-based rather than fixed. One student connected normalcy to Daoism, an ancient Chinese philosophy known for the concepts of yin and yang. He argued that according to Daoism, every life form is possible, so we should embrace those possibilities rather than defining them as “normal” or “abnormal.”
Why is this research important?
RJ: It extends the possibility of making music education more accessible, especially in the context of China. Most research in music education and disability studies focus on Western environments, but it is important to be aware of underrepresented contexts.
Having more comprehensive scholarship across the world can help develop a better understanding of accessibility and education in general. Also, people are except the fact that music learning is inaccessible and exclusive to some people. This research is important to let people know that everyone deserves access to music making, and there are ways that music education can be made more accessible than we thought.
“This research doesn’t position the students as inventors for others, but as creators who develop their own awareness, empathy and agency through instrument making. Their work shows accessibility is not only about disability. It’s a mindset that opens opportunities for everyone.” – Music education PhD candidate Ran Jiang
What do you wish people understood about accessibility?
RJ: Conventionally, we see accessibility as providing infrastructure and resources to disabled people, thinking that’s enough to solve problems.
Through my research I discovered accessibility is also about the process of humans engaging with each other, resources and their environments. Communication is key for both non-disabled and disabled people to understand access needs.
Accessibility benefits everyone. We all age and will eventually have some accessibility needs, so advocating for it is important.
What about accessibility in music education, specifically?
RJ: I often hear from musicians and music teachers that accessibility means lowering the standard for music making. My findings show no student believed having easier access to music-making meant they didn’t have to work hard. In fact, students were very dedicated in working on their instrument design and later spent hours each day playing their instruments proactively and enthusiastically. All of them successfully used their designed instruments to play their favourite songs. Two students asked to learn more complex knowledge so they could use them in their instrument designs.
Accessibility in music means having flexible and varied ways of accessing music that meets students’ needs from the beginning, rather than lowering the standard of music performance.
This interview was edited for brevity and clarity.
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