Ran Jiang

Ran Jiang

Accessibility by Design: Musical Instruments in Student Hands

Who gets to make music? Not everyone. Most musical instruments are made for an “ideal” body: ten fingers, two hands, and above-average dexterity. These norms often go unquestioned, especially by non-disabled people. But when we ask who gets excluded, awareness begins to grow.

In my doctoral research, I work with secondary school students in China who use computer software and DIY electronics to rethink what musical instruments are and who they are for. As China passed a national law in 2023 to promote an accessible society, this project brings that vision into the music classroom by encouraging students to consider access needs through hands-on design.

This research doesn’t position the students as inventors for others, but as creators who develop their own awareness, empathy, and agency through instrument making. Their work shows that accessibility is not only about disability. It is a mindset that opens up opportunities for everyone.

Ran Jiang
PhD candidate, Music
Don Wright Faculty of Music - Western University

Supervisor
adam patrick bell 

Ran Jiang is a PhD candidate in Music Education at Don Wright Faculty of Music, Western University. Ran is a four-year award winner of the Ontario Graduate Scholarship (OGS), and her research centres on the intersectionality of disability studies, sociology, and music technology education. Ran’s doctoral study focuses on building learners’ awareness of accessibility through music and technology learning, and potentially challenges the inherent ableism in the music education system in various contexts. Ran is currently serving as the Managing Editor for the Journal of Music, Technology & Education, the Convenor of Music Technology Special Interest Group at International Society for Music Education, and a guest editor for the AI & Music Education Special Issue of Action, Criticism, and Theory for Music Education.

Ran's research is highlighted in episode 533 of GradCast, the official podcast of the Society of Graduate Students at Western University.

You can connect with Ran via email.

View Ran's work as it appears in the Inspiring Minds Digital Collection.