Deaf children will be able to access music through their hands and feet after their school won a £5,000 grant to purchase specialised equipment.
Royal School for the Deaf Derby, in Ashbourne Road, has been awarded the money by The Worshipful Company of Innholders to contribute towards the cost of vibrotactile equipment.
The pupils first tested out the technology when the school was approached by professors from the University of Liverpool acoustics research unit to help with a ground-breaking project.
They wanted children aged between five and 11 to try out their latest technology in an educational setting to see if it improved their ability to understand music.
The results were breath-taking, with children able to feel the difference between high and low notes, follow rhythms and create music on different instruments collectively – inspiring the school to fundraise for its own equipment.
Pupils at the Royal School for the Deaf Derby, in Ashbourne Road, will be able to enjoy the sound of music via the specialised equipment.
RSDD headteacher Helen Shepherd applied for the grant at the start of the academic year and was told it had been accepted by the committee last month after sharing it was very impressed by the school’s video showing the children creating music with the equipment.
Helen said: “We are extremely grateful for the grant, which will allow us to purchase our own vibrotactile equipment for our pupils. It is extremely hard to explain music to someone who has never heard sound. However, with the equipment they are able to distinguish high, low and medium notes as each frequency vibrates in a different way.
“When the pupils used the equipment before they were also able to ‘feel’ their own voices by using a microphone which was incredibly exciting for them. It’s impossible to imagine having little idea of the sound that comes out of your own mouth – but suddenly feeling the noise is incredible for them.
“We’re hoping the equipment will improve engagement in lessons from students. They showed a genuine interest and enthusiasm in using the equipment last time and the teamwork we saw was impressive too. The grant will be a great help to improve the pupils’ learning experience.”
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During the loan from University of Liverpool, children at the school were able to play different kinds of electrical instruments and feel the sounds by placing their hands and bare feet on mechanisms called shakers.
Music is normally delivered to the brain through vibrations in the ear, but the vibrotactile technology uses vibrations through the skin to allow a person to perceive music.
Since deaf people lack one of the five senses, their other senses, through brain plasticity, work together to make up for the loss of hearing.
Therefore, the part of the brain that recognises tactile, or touch, feedback works harder in deaf people making them more receptive to the vibrations from the music.
Not only did the equipment allow children at the school to access music, it also allowed them to access emotions and staff say the equipment will also be used to aid wellbeing.
Music teacher Matthew Taylor said: “Music can be a powerful tool in arousing emotion and typical listeners will associate basic or primary emotions such as happiness, sadness, fear, and anger to musical compositions.
“This has been more difficult for deaf children before, but thanks to the technology some of the pupils were able to pick up the inference of a piece of music.
“The equipment could certainly be useful for wellbeing or music therapy classes as another method for our children to express themselves.”
The Worshipful Company of Innholders charity foundation makes awards to support the young, the elderly and people connected to the hospitality industry. Find out more about the Company and its Charitable Foundation at www.innholders.org.uk
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