Research Questions

 

• What are the social and personal barriers that may hold back musicians with disabilities achieving their full potential within the music industry[1]?  

• What support can be put in place for musicians with disabilities to be able to promote their work to a wider audience? 

• How can song writing workshops with disabled people around ‘disability taboo’ be approached in a manner that is not biased or facilitator-led? 

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As a community musician, I always strive for my work to be inclusive, for everyone to be able to have a voice, in whichever way it manifests itself best and have some input into a session, regardless of ability level. Too many times throughout my education and work life I have been overshadowed by societies perception of my disability and what I cannot do, rather than what I can do. This experience is one of the reasons behind my aims for this project; for disabled people to be viewed by society equally and for their musicianship and ability to be recognised.

 

Much Taboo About Nothing aims to give disabled people a voice in a musical context and build confidence and a sense of agency in their wider lives. Through doing this I will also gather an understanding of the challenges and barriers they may face along the way.  

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Project Aims

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• To produce a show with musicians with and without disabilities to promote our shared identity as musicians  

• To break down the barrier of disability being a taboo subject through music and humour 

• To create new repertoire with young people with the aim of sharing it with wider audiences

• Through the process of developing, performing and analysing Much Taboo About Nothing, to identify the barriers that musicians with disabilities face when gaining a profile in music performance

• To highlight the support that can be put in place to enable musicians with disabilities to excel in their field and promote their work 

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[1]When referring to the music industry throughout this project; which as a general term covers: 1) Live performance, 2) Record companies 3) Music publishing companies and 4) Artist management, I also refer to it in terms of settings that artists do work in, such as venues and rehearsal spaces and community music settings I work in.