When Robert Mayfair met eight-year-old James at a party in 1994, he gave him the gift of an ocarina. James was blind, and so thankful for the gift that he later contacted Robert and asked for lessons. A new bond was instantly formed between the two.
The full article can be found in The MagPi 49 and was written by Alex Bate.
Over the years of friendship, Robert and James have collected nearly 30 different instruments, with James’s love for music ever-growing, especially toward the ocarina. The joy of learning music together, however, is often clouded by the inability to truly share the experience; resources are limited for the visually impaired.
Recently, Robert discovered that the Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB) had published a Braille book of ocarina music, and though this was a wonderful advancement in accessibility for the visually impaired, Robert realised that sighted people were unable to interact with the content:
“On buying the book I realised that the Braille book was of no use to the sighted person, as it was like looking at a landscape covered with snow.”
Aiming to find a solution, Robert found his answer far quicker than anticipated when he came across a HackHorsham display in a shopping centre last November. The display, using pieces of fruit to produce music via conductivity, gave him the inspiration he needed to change the way he and James read music together.
Robert produced a prototype of plastic and cardboard, and later brad nails, that James was able to interact with, recognising Twinkle Twinkle Little Star via touch. After a few alterations, a tablet was produced where nails formed the notes of the song in Braille, James reading them with one finger.
In April this year, Robert attended The Rebel Maker Club, a monthly event hosted by HackHorsham, and met Jonathan Tyler-Moore. Jonathan already had experience of building with Pi and finding solutions for issues using tech. So it was no surprise when the 13-year-old quickly introduced a Pi and speaker to the setup, allowing the appropriate note to be played aloud as split pins were touched on the tablet build.
Each split pin is wired, with sets of notes connected together. All A notes, B notes and so on are then connected via crocodile clips to an Adafruit Capacitive Touch HAT. Touch an A note on the board, and the HAT recognises the connection and tells the Pi to play the appropriate sound. Jonathan used an ocarina to record each note onto his mobile phone, later copying them to the Pi as OGG files.
The build was a success; James and Robert now have access to the technology that will allow them to learn music together, through both touch and sound.
The project was finally showcased at the HackHorsham event at the Capitol Theatre in July, receiving praise from musicians and educators alike. Backed by the Blue Flash Music Trust, a community-based music charity within Horsham, the Tablet Ocarina Project is still a work in progress and a promising starting point for a broader scope of builds.
