Speaker vibrations allow deaf to feel music

A NEW kind of loudspeaker that can allow the deaf to “feel” music through their fingertips has been unveiled.

The "Vibrato" speaker converts musical sound into vibrations that can be felt.

Five finger pads respond to music in a way that allows the user to distinguish between notes, rhythms and different instruments.

By connecting the speaker to a computer, budding deaf composers can also make their own music.

The system adopts a technique already discovered by Ludwig van Beethoven 200 years ago.

Beethoven continued to write music even when he was profoundly deaf. He would bite his piano to feel the vibrations his music was making.

Inventor Shane Kerwin, a design graduate at Brunel University in south-west London, hopes the device will have a positive impact in schools.

He said: "Vibrato will mean deaf children can join in with music classes in a way that would previously have been impossible. I hope that Vibrato will help us to integrate deaf students into mainstream musical education and enable schools to encourage deaf children to take up music as much as hearing children."

Paul Whittaker, artistic director at the British charity Music and the Deaf, said: "Although there are many deaf people who enjoy music, music technology particularly speakers and keyboards has been largely inaccessible to them until now. The lack of tactile sensation means deaf people cannot easily perceive the sounds being produced, so Vibrato is a very welcome resource indeed."