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Personal Music

By Peter Lloyd

Inventor Tod Machover makes what he calls hyper-instruments for great musicians from Prince to Yo Yo Ma—instruments that respond to more than the fingering and bowing that a cello, for example, normally responds to. But it’s what he invents for non-musicians that make him a creative hero in my book.

After dispelling the myth of the Mozart Effect—that just listening will raise your IQ—Machover explains why he’s into inventing hyper-instruments for non-musicians. Because, he says, “Music can change your life, more than almost anything. It can change the way you communicate with others, it can change your body, it can change your mind.”

So Machover has extended his work to creating toys that make it easier for children to make complex music. His aim with his Toy Symphony products is to make music-making addictive at a very early age. He wants to make kids want to make music. Toy Symphony and the popular Guitar Hero come from Machover’s Media Lab at MIT. So does his Hyperscore software package that allows the non-musician to write big music that other musicians can perform.

In the 20-minute TED video below, Machover surveys his work and the passion behind it. After a look at his products, including his opera, Death and the Powers, which uses his tools to run robotic musical instruments as characters, Machover introduces Dan Ellsey.

Ellsey’s ability to move has been severely limited by cerebral palsy. Machover and his team have created a software system that allows Ellsey not only to compose music but to perform it. About 17 minutes into the video, you can see Ellsey perform his first musical composition, entitled "My Eagle Song."

If you need any more evidence for Machover’s claim that music has the power to transform lives, consider a few other facts he shares in the video. Music therapy helps stroke victims regain the ability to speak, and the ability to remember music is the last thing an Alzheimer’s patient loses. I’m convinced, but then, I’m a musician. With me, music is definitely personal.

See also: Are Musicians Smarter than You? by Kimberly Sena Moore, Your Musical Self, Psychology Today

Peter Lloyd is co-creator with Stephen Grossman of Animal Crackers, the breakthrough problem-solving tool designed to crack your toughest problems.