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Gearwire ยป Trade Show Coverage

DOT Music's Tactile Metronome

September 30, 2006
DOT Music's Tactile Metronome
Summer NAMM 2005: DOT Music presents the Tactile Metronome. This ingenious device attaches to the body and pulses so music students can literally feel the beat. This device has a wireless option that extends for 250 yards, so it works well in group settings as well as solo rehearsals. There is no traditional metronome click, and you may need a few sessions to get used to this method of keeping time, but music newcomers probably won't have the same learning curve. The Tactile Metronome could also be a handy tool for more established young musicians who want some extra help keeping time in live-mic situations.
Presenter: DOT Music
Location: SUMMER NAMM 2005, Indianapolis, IN
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Story Transcription:

CHRISTOPHER PARSONS: Hi. My name is Christopher Parsons with DOT Music LP. I'm a teacher down in South Texas and I've been working with students for years with metronomes and constantly been telling them to feel the beat. Finally one day, I decided to develop something that really would make them do that. We've designed and patented the DOT Music DOT Tactile Metronome. This is designed for a person to feel the beat rather than hear it. The pulsation is tactile. It clips to the body in any location you like, at the hip, at the waist, at the neck, and while it's on, what you're doing instead of hearing the beat, you feel a pulsation that allows you to understand tempo, rhythm, understand your measure. It's a fantastic teaching tool.

I got this inspiration also from one of my deaf students who could not use a traditional metronome at all. Now, through training over two years, he is in conservatory studying music and very successful.

We have two models. One that is an individual unit then we also have our multiple-use unit which is wireless. All three of these can be linked together in a 250-yard radius.

In addition, both of these metronomes are designed to teach the student the architecture of the measure and also subdivision of beat. So initially, when we set the tempo to 2/4 for instance, there will be a stronger pulse on the downbeat of every measure, so that if a student does get off with a metronome, they're able to get right back on. In addition, that stronger pulse is designed with our subdivisions of beats: sets of eighth notes, triplets, and sixteenths. Dotted rhythms as well will all receive a stronger pulse at the beginning of each set of subdivisions.

It's been a wonderful teaching tool for students to understand quickly going from quarter note to eighth note to triplet to dotted rhythm. It's been a wonderful teaching tool.

Thank you very much for inquiring about DOT Music. Our metronomes are designed to really be innovative to help the professional, the student, and teachers involved in music education and performance.

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