ABSTRACT
All musical instruments are a form of technology. The harpsichord, the piano, the Moog synthesizer, and even the keyboard function within Apple’s GarageBand app for iPad are examples of technology that can be used in musical performance. This chapter is an exploration of the role that technology is now playing in shaping the future of musical performance. iPad ensembles and the development of new instruments for musical performance are explored here as being representative of disruptive technologies, ways of doing and thinking that shift even conventional wisdom surrounding how we as humans engage with the notion of and practical application of musical performance (Christensen, 2011). These and other technologies add to the available options of musicians and music educators, and question what exactly a musical instrument is. In this chapter I will present some of the work that I have done with students with special needs, utilizing the iPad as a musical performance instrument.
