Arts in Education

The Music Cre8tor is an interactive music composition device particularly suitable for the physically and cognitively challenged. The user can create musical landscapes by manipulating various aspects of composition — pitch, timbre, tempo and dynamics — using Nintendo Wii controllers. These controllers can either be held or attached to a person’s wrist, arm, or leg, and their sensitivity can be adjusted to the parameters of each individual user’s range of motion. Up to four people can play and interact with each other, record their creations and edit sound playback files. More information below»

Music Cre8tor

This program is designed for use by all ages and a diverse set of populations within special education, and has been successfully tested for use in middle and high school. During our trials, the Music Cre8tor was enjoyed by students with limited mobility and cognitive capacity.

The Music Cre8tor, which is in its final stages of development, was conceived by the late Paul Nash, founder of the Manhattan New Music Project, was fine-tuned by his successor and co-conspirator Julia Reinhart, and is currently being finalized by Jane Rigler, a renowned musician and experienced teaching artist, and musician and programmer Zachary Seldess.

The Music Cre8tor was developed with the generous support of the Mitsubishi Electric America Foundation, the Hyde and Watson Foundation, and the Mary Duke Biddle Foundation.

A view of the Music Cre8tor interface: