Accessibility and Social Inclusivity: A Literature Review of Music Technology for Blind and Low Vision People
Shumeng Zhang, Raul Masu, Mela Bettega, Mingming Fan · 2025 · ASSETS 2025: 27th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility · doi:10.1145/3663547.3746466
Summary
This systematic literature review examines 54 papers on music technology designed for blind and low vision (BLV) people, following the PRISMA methodology. The authors searched ACM Digital Library, IEEE Xplore, Scopus, and Web of Science to identify research published through 2024 that addresses how technology can make music more accessible to BLV individuals. The review addresses two primary research questions: what types of music technology have been developed for BLV people, and what design insights emerge from this body of work. The authors organize the identified technologies into six categories: Technology for Reading Music (systems that convert standard music notation into accessible formats like Braille music or audio representations), Technology for Learning Music (tools supporting music education for BLV students), Technology for Studio Activities (systems enabling music production, mixing, and recording), New Digital Musical Instruments (novel instruments designed with BLV accessibility in mind), Music Technology for Non-Musical Skills Acquisition (using music as a medium to develop other abilities like spatial awareness or programming skills), and Musical Games (accessible gaming experiences centered on music). The paper situates its analysis within the broader context of social inclusion, arguing that music technology serves not only functional purposes but also facilitates social participation and community belonging for BLV people. The authors note that while most research focuses on individual music-making, there is growing recognition of the importance of collaborative and social dimensions of musical engagement.
Key findings
The review identifies four key design insights that cut across the six technology categories. First, music technology can foster spatial awareness for BLV users by leveraging audio-spatial mappings and haptic feedback to build mental models of space. Second, alternative representations of music—including sonification, haptic notation, and verbal descriptions—can effectively replace visual music notation when designed thoughtfully. Third, embodied interactions and physical engagement with music technology support memory formation and skill retention, with tangible interfaces and gestural controls proving particularly effective. Fourth, multi-sensory feedback combining audio, haptic, and sometimes thermal or olfactory channels facilitates non-verbal collaboration between BLV and sighted musicians, enabling more inclusive group music-making. The review reveals that Technology for Reading Music and Technology for Learning Music are the most extensively researched categories, while Studio Activities and New Digital Musical Instruments receive comparatively less attention despite their importance for professional and creative participation. The authors also find that most technologies are evaluated with small sample sizes and short-term studies, highlighting a need for longitudinal research and larger-scale deployment.
Relevance
This review provides a comprehensive map of the music technology accessibility landscape that is valuable for researchers, developers, and accessibility practitioners working in creative and cultural domains. The four design insights—spatial awareness, alternative representation, embodied interaction, and multi-sensory collaboration—offer transferable principles applicable beyond music to other creative technologies and collaborative tools. The emphasis on social inclusion challenges practitioners to think beyond individual task completion toward designing technology that enables meaningful social participation. The identification of under-researched areas like studio activities and new instruments points to opportunities for impactful future work. For organizations developing media or creative tools, this review underscores the importance of multi-sensory design approaches and the value of involving BLV users throughout the design process rather than retrofitting accessibility.
Tags: blind and low vision · music technology · assistive music technology · systematic literature review · social inclusion · accessible music · multi-sensory feedback · digital musical instruments · music education
Standards referenced: WCAG 2.1 · Web Content Accessibility Guidelines