When I was 22, my older cousins started producing

babies.

I had no idea what to do during the

frequent nephew-uncle moments.

At 26, I felt equally awkward around a bunch of

physically challenged kids at a school.

I had an insight.

DIFFERENCE, not Disability,

is the problem.

We had to find something that we could

DO TOGETHER.

Music got me friends before I could speak Dutch.

Making music is a fantastic TOGETHER activity.

It has been taken seriously for a while now.

Music therapy uses musical activities as a medium.

• Language• Palliative care• Quality of life, pain management• Mood and social interaction• Psycho-motor development• Communication skills

But the tools are a problem.

Making music requires skill, practice and years of work.

Not good for people with less than normal physical abilities.

What could I do with my passion for music and

design?

I could use my expertise and experience with

-to-start-playing, quick-to-learn,

ability-agnostic, and social.

So I designed TouchTone.

TouchTone

here:

http://youtu.be/fGzM2pI0Nl4

01. More about TouchTone.

Designed in 2009 a my MSc. thesis project

http://io.tudelft.nl/en/

http://mytylschoolutrecht.nl/

Designed in cooperation with music therapists.

Is self-funded and exists as a single prototype.

Has been tested as a concept.

Has received much academic attention.

“With Soumitra Bhat we have a lovely synthesis of music, technology and social impact. It’s a clever way of giving these children access to the joy and therapeutic benefits of making music.”

– 2literal.com

Conferences Reviews

Publications

Bhat, S. 2010. TouchTone: an electronic musical instrument for children with hemiplegic cerebral palsy. In Proceedings of the Fourth international Conference on Tangible, Embedded, and Embodied interaction (Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA, January 24 - 27, 2010).TEI '10. ACM, New York, NY, 305-306.

Found benefits for parents and Music Therapists.

What makes your work interesting for us is that my son has reduced mobility in his hands as well as legs, especially the left, and a hearing disability (he uses hearing aids to boost high frequency sounds) but is nonetheless very keen on music. He also likes computers, but then don't all kids now?If there is some opportunity to try your instrument, we'd be really interested. – Thom G , Parent, Denmark

You are doing great work, I look forward to your keyboard being made available for sale. – Lisa G, Music Therapist, Australia

It was great to see the actual product on the websites. The access is fantastic. Is there any way we can purchase one?- Tessa H, IICP, Kolkata, India

02. What I want to do.

Children are the main beneficiaries.

Rate of incidence: 2 to 2.5 per 1000 births.

Today: 3.6 million out of 1.8 billion children < 14yrs of age have CP.

Hemiplegic CP: 1/3rd of CP cases...

Which is 1.2 million children today.

Worldwide

Music Therapists and Centers are key intermediaries.

International MT Associations: 50+

Average membership: 2000

Total: 100,000 MTs growing at 10%/yr

Each MT facilitates: 2 children of 8-11 yrs.

That’s access to 200,000 children

growing at 10%/yr

03. What I need to know from you.

Benefits

Partnerships

Network and funding

. How can TouchTone benefit you as a Music Therapist, Association, Research group, Parent, etc?. What would you do with TouchTone?. What are the most valuable things about TouchTone according to you?

. Would you like to work with me to develop TouchTone, the therapy programs, retailing, advocacy, fund-raising, etc?. Would you be interested in using TouchTone for longitudinal studies about impact of music therapy?

. People and institutions that you believe I should reach out to because we share similar goals, interests and activities.. People and Institutions that can support TouchTone financially over a long-term.

04. What you can do:

1. Connect with me via email/skype.

2. Tell me what you think about TouchTone.

3. Share your ideas for possible collaboration and

support.

4. Help me spread the word about TouchTone to

people who you think might benefit from it.

More about TouchTone, me, my band, etc

1. Email: soumitra.bhat@gmail.com

2. Skype: soumitrabhat

3. www.userinnov.com/touchtone (about TouchTone)

4. www.soumitrabhat.com (about Me)

5. http://in.linkedin.com/in/soumitrabhat (my professional profile)

6. www.paravayu.com (my music)

Remember, TouchTone

To ensure that the joy and benefits of making music are accessible to

ALL OF US to partake of TOGETHER.