Drum Garden

Nick Caruso and Maxwell Glenn

Nick's Brief: The Drum Garden: a device that brings a drum set to a wheelchair without having to carry around big and heavy equipment. The Drum Garden was designed for Sara, who is a teenage student at the Cotting School and she has cerebral palsy. This device is designed to help her be able to drum without getting out of her wheelchair. She has difficulty with holding onto things and sometimes with controlling her muscles. She can use her left foot really well; in fact, she writes and makes paintings with her foot. She has the same a good sense of humor and social awareness, as any teenager and she has a lot of energy. When asked her if she was interested in anything musical. She said, “Drumming”. The Drum Garden is not a regular drum set. It attaches not only to Sara’s wheelchair, but also to other drums . A wire is connected to Sara’s wrist by a conductive fabric wristband which all connect to a computer. The computer provides the sound by a through makey makey software. Using PVC pipes, connected to a drum frame and a clamp for other drums, the makey makey wires go along the pipes while being connected to conductive fabric which comes back to the circuit . Sara controls what sound and rhythm is through the pads and pedals. The drums can help not only Sara, but anyone who wants to drum but has trouble with their muscles or is in a wheelchair that can't drum on a real kit. The hope is to highlight the way music enriches people’s lives and that it is something anyone can engage in, This reminds people that music is everywhere and anyone can play music. It shows how important music is and it is possible to give that to anyone, no matter what physical difficulties one has.