Interactive Panel: Accessibility in Audio Tech
Building on ADC24’s ‘Inclusive Design in Audio Products: Why, Why, How?’ workshop, this symposium comprises a series of sessions that will unpick the systematic barriers to accessibility within the audio industry, and highlight solutions that you can embed into your practice. Disabled musicians, accessibility consultants, and representatives from organisations driving change will share insights into the opportunities for a more inclusive industry.
The concepts covered will be suitable for beginner, intermediate, and advanced audio programmers, though the sessions will not delve too deeply into code examples.
Speakers
• Jay Pocknell (RNIB; Sound Without Sight)
• Mxshi Mo (Musician)
• Tim Yates (Drake Music)
• Tim Burgess (Accessibility Consultant)
• Sam Prouse (Accessibility Consultant)
• David Shervill (Global Music Visions)
Agenda topics to include:
Introduction to the social model of disability
- Overview of the model that underpins inclusive design principles.
- What the social model means in the context of music-making.
Structural access barriers within the audio industry, and opportunities to be part of the solution
- Problems: access features are commonly undocumented in commercial products; academic and bespoke solutions struggle to propagate into the mainstream.
- Solutions: examples of good documentation within the industry; Drake Music's initiatives in supporting a global collaborative approach.
- Maintaining accessibility features and customer support.
Framework-agnostic screen reader implementation principles
- What makes software accessible using a screen reader and keyboard navigation? What do these terms mean?
- Where to start with screen reader accessibility and keyboard navigation, no matter which development framework you are using.
- How to learn to look at an app from an accessibility perspective.
Usability, not just accessibility
- Workflow considerations: can software really be considered accessible if functions take screen reader users many times longer to access?
- Replicating glanceability for blind users.
- The importance of working with blind community members to get user experience feedback.
Bridging the gap between web accessibility and audio software design
- How standards such as W3C’s Web Content Accessibility Guidelines and Web MIDI API offer opportunities to improve accessibility.
- Signpost attendees to further detail in their 50 minute session.
Jay Pocknell
Music Support Officer
RNIB
Jay is a mixing and mastering engineer, producer, and guitarist. He is also partially sighted, making him a prime contact for matters relating to music and visual accessibility.
He is Music Support Officer at RNIB - the Royal National Institute of Blind People - where he is tasked with improving access to music-making for blind and partially sighted people, including advocating for improved accessibility within music and audio hardware and software.
Jay is the also the founder and Project Manager of Sound Without Sight, a community-driven online hub that connects blind and partially sighted musicians to each other, and to resources, opportunities, and support.
Jay is a graduate of the Music and Sound Recording (Tonmeister) course at the University of Surrey and is credited on several top-10 releases including a UK Number 1 album. He has a proven track record of working with emerging independent artists to help them obtain their first radio plays.
Tim Burgess
Raised Bar
Tim played in a number of local bands in the 1980s and also did a little session work as a keyboard
player. He lost his sight in his early 20s so sold his gear thinking that his days as a musician were over.
After attending a rehabilitation course that taught him white-cane mobility, Braille and touch-typing,
he worked for Coventry Council’s Social Services department for a couple of years before studying
computer science at BTEC then degree level. After graduation he worked as a product trainer and
script developer for an IBM Special Needs Services agency, supporting IBM’s DOS and OS/2’s Screen
Reader products. He moved to Microsoft in 1995 as a support technician, followed by a role in another
accessibility consultancy where he developed and trained on workplace solutions for visually-impaired
people. A chance encounter with Jackie Clifton from the Royal College of Music led to him forming
his own company, Raised Bar, in 2006 with the aim of providing advice, consultancy, and
development services based around accessibility in general, but with a strong emphasis on music-
related accessibility issues.
Tim Yates
Research and Innovation Executive
Drake Music
Tim is Research and Innovation Executive at Drake Music, responsible for accessible music technology and instrument development. He is committed to breaking down the barriers to music making faced by Disabled musicians by ensuring that everyone has access to the instruments and technology they need. He is also undertaking a PhD in immersive, interactive sound art-installations using spatial audio at the University of Greenwich. He is a musician, sound-artist, and technologist, and co-founder and co-organiser of Hackoustic.
Samuel John Prouse
Owner
Alien Instruments
I'm a music technologist with a lifelong passion for sound and synthesizers, shaped by the energy of the 1980s. After years of DJing, building rigs, and performing, I made the leap into formal study in 2008. Around the same time, I was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis and registered visually impaired, which brought unexpected challenges but also shaped my focus on accessibility in music technology.
Through my academic journey—earning a BA Hons and MSc—I explored the intersection of sound, design, and inclusion. I've developed skills in C++ and interface design, particularly around visual accessibility, and continue to contribute ideas through the Music Accessibility Standard group. My aim is to help shape a more inclusive future for music-making tools and technologies.
David Shervill
Founder/ Lead Facilitator
Global Music Visions C.I.C.
I am David Shervill a Sound Producer, with an Extended National Diploma in Music Technology. I have also studied Music Technology and Sound Engineering at the Royal National College for the Blind, Hereford, and a Fellow of the School for Social Entrepreneurs Hampshire. I am the founder of Global Music Visions C.I.C. We facilitate inclusive music workshops for people of all ages and abilities. This could be 1to1 or small group sessions, and can include recording, editing and creating sounds, all within participant led projects and activities. I also work with people who would like to bring their ideas to life through sound and music, including creating soundscapes and music for videos and working with local authorities, aligning sessions to the National Curriculum. I am passionate about making music, music production and the creative process accessible and inclusive for all.