Disability in music and theatre ⏲️ 6 Minute English

Hello. This is 6 Minute

English from BBC

Learning English. I'm Neil. and I'm Georgie.

Many people love watching movies at the cinema

or going to the theatre to see a play.

But have you ever imagined what an art gallery would be

like if you were blind or how a deaf person might feel at a music concert?

In the UK, the Equality Act of 2010

guaranteed the rights of disabled people

to equal access to education, employment and services,

including music, theatre and the arts. Since then

the Disability Rights Movement has worked hard to break down barriers

for disabled artists and performers

and their audiences. In this programme,

we'll be hearing from a musical composer whose work using 'new instruments'

allows disabled musicians to express their lived experience through music.

The phrase 'lived experience' emphasises the unique experience of disabled people,

plus the fact that

this gives them knowledge and understanding that others do not have.

And as usual, we'll be learning some useful new vocabulary as well.

Great. But first, I have a question for you, Georgie.

Despite 2010's Equality Act,

it is still difficult for disabled musicians and music fans in the UK

to perform and see live music.

A study by disabled musicians' group Attitude is Everything found that

one third of music venues provided no disabled access information at all.

But which London music venue was recently given a Gold award

for accessibility for disabled musicians and audiences?

Was it a) the Royal Albert Hall?

b) The Southbank Centre? or c) Brixton Academy?

I'll guess it was the Royal Albert Hall. OK, Georgie.

I'll reveal the answer later in the programme.

Megan Steinberg is a music composer at Royal Northern College of music

where she collaborates with Drake Music,

a leading national organisation working in music disability and technology.

Megan composes music to be played by 'new instruments'.

Here she explains what a 'new instrument' is

to BBC Radio 3 programme Art and Ideas:

So they may have been mass-produced or semi mass produced,

or they may have been designed and built by the musician themselves,

just like a bespoke instrument for themselves. And

they're designed to be accessible to maybe just that one individual performer

or maybe also to lots of different performers

with disabilities or differences.

Megan's new instruments are designed to be accessible, to be used by someone

with a disability.

More generally the word accessible means enabling someone

with a disability

the opportunity to engage in the same interactions

and enjoy the same experiences as people

without a disability. New instruments

are both electronic and acoustic.

They might be mass produced,

that's when a factory makes a lot of the same thing, or bespoke,

made specially for one person in particular.

So what are these new instruments like?

Listen, as Megan introduces the Rainbow Harp,

a new instrument which was designed for harpist Morwenna Louttit-Vermaat

to BBC Radio Programme Art and Ideas: And the Rainbow Harp is a harp

that has colour-coded strings and each string colour corresponds

to a different pitch.

So, Morwenna is dyslexic and she really found that traditional black

and white musical notation was quite an obstacle for her

in learning and teaching music,

so she and her husband made these harps and they're, like,

really colourful as she uses colour in music.

Morwenna is dyslexic.

She has dyslexia, a condition which makes it difficult for her to spell,

read and write. So

when Morwenna's harp teacher wanted her to play from written down

sheet music, her brain froze.

And that's how the Rainbow Harp was invented.

The strings of a Rainbow Harp are colour-coded:

different colours are used to represent and separate out different strings

and to produce different notes.

It's a great idea and an inclusive way

for disabled musicians to share their talent with music fans across the UK.

Which reminds me of my question, Georgie. Right,

You asked me

which London music venue was awarded top marks for

making music accessible for disabled musicians and audiences.

I guessed it was the Royal Albert Hall.

So, was I right? Good

guess Georgie, but that was the wrong answer,

I'm afraid. The good news for all music fans living in London is

that the South Bank Centre is accessible, ready and waiting.

OK, let's recap the vocabulary

we've learnt in this programme, starting with lived experience,

the things that someone has experienced personally for themselves rather than

heard or read about. If something is accessible,

It enables everyone to have equal opportunities and experiences,

regardless of their abilities. To mass produce

something means to make many copies of it cheaply in a factory,

whereas a bespoke product has been made

specially for one person in particular.

A dyslexic person has dyslexia, a condition making it difficult

for them to spell, read or write.

And finally things which are colour-coded use different colours

to represent different parts or functions.

Once again, Our six minutes are up,

but remember to join us again next time here at 6 Minute

English. Goodbye for now!

Bye!