Foreword

Abstract

Introduction. - . - Technology has, over the past decades, yielded new ways to creatively explore sound and music, to interact with computers and to engage in social interaction. The change from analogue (device-determined) to digital (program-determined) created a major shift in the interaction paradigm, touching all areas of everyday life. Likewise, the analysis of, and critical reflection on, the use of digital music technology has advanced at a similar pace, feeding into developers’ methodologies. It is hardly surprising that professionals and users across different fields are excited to explore that which materialises when they bring together their skills. The anthology ‘Music, Health, Technology and Design.’ collects articles from a set of international research projects but the most from the national interdisciplinary RHYME project where professionals, children, parents and caregivers have collaborated. In this project they have investigated what interactive sound and media technologies, that integrate hearing, sight, touch and physicality, can bestow upon the health and wellbeing of children with severe disabilities and developmental disorders. When considering the articles as a collection, a number of universal threads can be traced: affordance, transparency, collaboration, appropriation and design needs in terms of system, interaction and relevance. The essence of these threads is discussed in the following.