Sound Therapy

Soundbeam - Help, Support, Questions

At Decoda we’ve been using Soundbeam for four years on an almost-daily basis. We use both Soundbeam 2 (the stand alone version) and the desktop Soundbeam plus a laptop – this one for changing images rather than sounds. As our work focuses on engaging individuals with profound disabilities the Soundbeam offers a simple way of achieving that.

We find Soundbeam amazing for the way it can bring about changes in different sorts of people, especially when the person doesn’t have a great deal of muscle control or can only move certain parts of the body.

It’s non-invasive and it’s a tool which crucially enables someone to make choices:

1. whether to move or not: for some who move all the time the choice may be to stop for long periods of time and sit in complete quiet.
2. how far or fast to move.

We agree with Phil Ellis that what’s happening at the point where someone is obviously involved is worthy of the description “composing”.

The Soundbeam isn’t a cure-all and not everyone takes to it, but where someone does engage with it then its use can be taken further. If the person is enjoying using the Soundbeam to make music why not use it at other times to enable them to express a choice?

Questions

Can you use the Soundbeam to play a recognisable tune?

Yes – there are two ways

1. by playing it into the Soundbeam on a midi keyboard, and saving it as a pitch sequence. This allows you to choose that and use it again.
2. by writing it into the Soundbeam note by note.

How do you set up the Soundbeam for someone who can only move their eyelids?

This is one instance where the sound is turned on as the sensors etc are adjusted so explain what you are doing all the time.

1. It’s best to use short sounds, ie single notes, for instance the guitar or piano sounds.
2. In arranging the sensor – it’s best to point it from an angle slightly behind and to one side of the person. This way you can catch the flicker of the eyelids but not movement of the nose.
3. Adjust the maximum and minimum lengths so they’re as close together as possible. Set the number of divisions to 30 in that short space. This gives a good range of notes and pleasant musical results.

If you have any further questions regarding Soundbeam, please contact us by phone on 01424 444322 or email us and we’ll try to answer the question here on the blog.