The Guthman Musical Instrument Competition provides a pivotal opportunity to showcase my instrument’s unique features to people across the hearing spectrum, and to invite feedback for potential future innovations with a diverse audience of inventors, musicians and industry professionals. By participating in such a prestigious event, I am hoping to explore professional opportunities and collaborations within the music technology field as I seek to increase accessibility within the industry.

As a graduate student at NYU ITP, I wanted to design an accessible sonic experience that would promote a more inclusive understanding of hearing. In my thesis research, I learned a lot about how existing instruments fail to serve the Hard of Hearing community. I couldn’t understand why the technology behind bone conductive headphones wasn’t incorporated into music composition in the same way it was integrated into other listening devices. I saw so much possibility and opportunity to change the way people approach and interact with sound, so I was motivated to design an instrument that uses both traditional hearing alongside sensory substitution.

As a lifelong musician, technologist, and sound artist with hearing impairments and tinnitus, I have always looked for ways to add a tactile dimension to sound to create a dialogue with the body. My struggle to hear the musical sounds I make led me away from instruments like the guitar and towards the physicality of percussion. The drum set itself inspired me to consider how my physical size and gender are disregarded when I make music. I felt a sense of responsibility to challenge the inaccessibility of mainstream instruments and to create something more inclusive for those around me who shared similar experiences.

Collaboration is essential to my work, and I am so grateful for the opportunity to connect with other artists and music technologists through the Guthman competition. These relationships allow me to develop and test my instrument with users and other like-minded inventors across demographics and abilities. By discussing the advantages and flaws of existing instruments with other musicians, I can better understand the user’s experience and consider individual preferences.