Programs

Adaptive Music is not a single program or class.
It is a framework that shapes how music education, engagement, and performance are designed across different community settings.

Our work applies adaptive music principles to lifelong learning programs, arts organizations, and residential communities to ensure that music remains accessible, meaningful, and socially connected.

Lifelong Learning with Friends is an inclusive continuing education program affiliated with UT Austin that offers college-style learning experiences for adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

Adaptive Music plays a central role in LLwF programming through regular online and in-person music classes.

In this context, adaptive music is used to:

• Support communication and social interaction
   
• Encourage participation and self-expression
   
• Build routine through consistent class formats
   
• Create accessible pathways into music learning
   

Participants engage in music through:

• Instrument-based classes
   
• Guided listening and discussion
   
• Movement and rhythm activities
   
• Creative music exploration
   

Instruction is designed using strengths-based teaching, flexible participation options, and predictable structure so that participants can engage at their own level while still being part of a shared group experience.

The goal is not performance or technical mastery.
The goal is connection, engagement, and belonging through music.

Adaptive Music is also embedded within professional arts organizations through a partnership between Lifelong Learning with Friends and Austin Classical Guitar.

This partnership includes inclusive ukulele classes offered at the Rosette, Austin Classical Guitar’s performance and education venue.

In these classes, adaptive music supports:

• Inclusive ensemble participation
   
• Access to high-quality music instruction
   
• Flexible roles within group music-making
   
• Confidence-building through shared performance experiences
   

Adaptive strategies such as alternate tunings, simplified parts, and flexible ensemble roles allow participants to engage meaningfully without lowering musical expectations.

In addition to classes, this partnership also includes sensory-friendly concerts, designed to make live music performances accessible and welcoming to a broader range of community members.

These concerts prioritize:

• Flexible audience participation
   
• Reduced sensory barriers
   
• Clear expectations and welcoming environments
   
• Joyful, shared musical experiences
   

By embedding adaptive music within an established arts organization, inclusion becomes part of the broader music community rather than a separate or specialized activity.

Adaptive Music is also used in music performances and interactive music sessions within residential facilities, including senior living communities and long-term care settings.

In these environments, music is designed to:

• Encourage engagement and interaction
   
• Support memory, mood, and emotional connection
   
• Create shared moments of joy and familiarity
   
• Foster social connection within the community
   

Performances are interactive whenever possible. Residents are invited to sing along, move to the music, share song memories, or simply listen and enjoy.

Rather than presenting music as entertainment alone, adaptive music performance treats music as a shared experience—one that respects the abilities, preferences, and lived experiences of residents.

Across all settings—lifelong learning programs, arts organizations, and residential communities—Adaptive Music is guided by the same principles:

• Access comes first
   
• Strengths are honored
   
• Participation matters more than perfection
   
• Music is social and relational
   
• Agency and choice are essential
   

Adaptive Music is not about simplifying music.
It is about designing music experiences that invite people in.

Your donation helps expand access to inclusive, community-based music education.

Support is used to:

• Provide adaptive music classes online and in person
   
• Purchase and maintain instruments and materials
   
• Support sensory-friendly concerts and community performances
   
• Train instructors and artists in inclusive music practices
   
• Reduce financial barriers so more people can participate
   

Every contribution helps create music experiences that build connection, confidence, and belonging.