The disconnected keyboard: Inclusive learning and musicking practice with modular synthesis

Abstract

Since the 1960s, electronic sound synthesis and the keyboard interface have been so closely associated that many young musicians have come to see them as inseparable components, if not interchangeable terms. In this article, we ‘disconnect the keyboard’ and explore an alternative history of electronic sound synthesis – modular synthesis – that has remained largely overshadowed by keyboard-based synthesizers since the Minimoog. Researchers in music education signal that Eurocentric aesthetic norms, ableist performance ideals and exclusionary practices are interwoven in keyboard technologies, creating barriers that extend into popular music education. Drawing upon critical discussions in music education and science and technology studies (STS), we examine the underexplored opportunities of using modular synthesizers for music learning. We examine how modular synthesis, liberated from the keyboard-controller, serves as a basis for exploring an alternative model for sound-based inquiry and for rethinking the possibilities of instrument design and ways of musiking that are more inclusive.