The Birth of the iPad Drum Circle!

In two days, The Musical Autist will be hosting its 9th Sensory-Friendly Concert.  We hire professional jazz and classical musicians to come perform for us (hand-flapping allowed! :^) and we also provide a great opportunity for people with disabilities, of all ages, to perform.

At the next Sensory-Friendly Concert we are going to include something new, and we’d like to hear your response!

We are going to have a facilitated drum circle which includes iPad drums!

Really? How is that going to work?

We will have live drums (djembes/congos etc) as in a typical drum circle, but our friends with iPads are going to play drums (GarageBand or any other drum app) while wearing their ear buds.  Music/Special Educators and a local Music Therapist will be facilitating the drum circle, and “showcasing” iPad drummers, if they choose, with a small amplifier, so that everyone can enjoy hearing the beats they are creating.
iPad drummers will also be encouraged to record (with GarageBand app) so that they can listen to themselves later!

But won’t all of that be too loud?

Perhaps, but that is why we have ten sets of noise-reduction headphones, which were graciously donated to us from Autism Society of America!!  iPad drummers can simply wear the headphones over their ears and adjust their iPad volume as necessary. The vibroacoustics of the drums, especially when sitting on stage with the other musicians, will ensure that the iPad drummer will be able to hear and FEEL the steady beats.

And we all know how important it is to have a steady beat!!

Check out this video on the benefit of group drumming, from a pioneer in the field of music therapy, Christine Stevens!

Many of you know that CJ Shiloh is a seasoned music educator, who will be earning her MT-BC (Music Therapist – Board Certified) next year.  Many of you know that she advocates for Neurodiversity, and you also know that we are working toward getting non-profit status for The Musical Autist.

But now we are going to announce something that you did not know!  (drum roll please!)

We are going to launch a FREE “members only” portion of our website, exclusively for Music Therapists and the “Musical Autists” they work with (and including ANY client with developmental disabilities!).  Music Therapists and clients will be able to post their musical compositions/experiences on this members-only portion of our site, and get feedback from others in this private community.

If the Musical Autist and Music Therapist so choose, there will be additional opportunities to share music (video and/or SoundCloud) with other benefactors and advocates of The Musical Autist.

Our goal is simply to provide opportunity for increased self-expression, for people on the autism spectrum and/or other developmental disabilities. Posting a music video on the internet can be a great inspiration and motivation! Especially if it is in a more supportive environment, as opposed to the big scary world of YouTube.

Exciting, new and novel stuff, eh!  We think so!  🙂

Here is a cool video demonstrating the musical potential of the iPad!

Again, we would like to hear your response!  Please leave a comment below, thanks!.