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2026 CSUN Assistive Technology Conference Report

The MIDI Association

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For three days The MIDI Association participated in the CSUN Assistive Technology conference at the Anaheim Marriott.

It was a wonderful chance to connect with people from the accessibility community and we learned a lot.

Emanuele Parravinci from Audio Modeling, Mike Kent from Amenote and Athan Billias from MIDI2Marketing manned the booth. Haim Kairy, co-chair of the Music Accessibility Special Interest Group was planning on attending, but as he lives in Tel Aviv, there were no flights available for him to come.

We taught a lot of people that anyone (regardless of their ability) can experience the joy of making music especially with the kinds of accessible instruments that we have been demonstrating around the world for the past few months.

We thought we should start our article with the very last thing that happened at the CSUN conference on Friday afternoon just before the convention closed.

Andrii came to our booth and shared his experience as a Ukrainian veteran and how MIDI technology has helped him continue to express his passion for making music.

Andrii was wounded on the battlefield about a year ago resulting in the loss of both of his arms and his sight. The realization that he could no longer play music was heartbreaking for him. He searched for solutions and discovered MIDI instruments that made his dream of playing music possible again. He now plays a MIDI harmonica, (the DM48X MIDI controller harmonica) which gives him “full full accessibility to any MIDI instrument”.

When Andrii said at the end of our interview ” MIDI is great”, we realized that all the work we do is worthwhile if we can help people like him enjoy making music again.

We had a constant stream of people at the booth and here some photos of people who checked out the booth and provided permission to take photos and videos of them enjoying making music with MIDI.

A smiling exhibitor in a gray blazer demonstrates an accessible music device to two attendees at a busy conference booth, featuring adaptive technology and informational displays on the table.
Two people assist a man with a white cane and backpack at an exhibition booth with a red tablecloth reading Association. Another person stands nearby. The booth has banners, tech equipment, and informational materials.
A child wearing glasses uses their hands to interact with a tactile electronic device featuring multiple buttons and wires at an event, with informational booths visible in the background.

It was truly inspiring to watch how Tobi Hunke from Ableton Drummer.Com‘s Connect Through MIDI brought smiles of joy to so many people.

It was also a perfect fit with the Aptiplay from Amenote (more info at the end of this article).

You can see the young boy in the picture reaching out as he was fascinated with vibration of the speakers.

The picture below is typically of the smiles that we generated.

Three people smile and interact at a conference booth with a joystick control panel, surrounded by display booths and red curtains in the background.

Three strangers came together to form a band at CSUN and immediately start making music.

Here is a gallrey of people who came by to say hi and make some music.

A man with long dreadlocks, sunglasses, and a fedora plays a theremin at a technology expo booth. Laptops and audio equipment are on the table in front of him. People and banners are visible in the background.
A man holding a white cane uses a tactile display at an exhibit booth, surrounded by people at a busy conference with informational tables and red and white curtains in the background.
Three people stand at a booth with audio equipment and a computer; one man points at the laptop screen while others observe. The table has speakers, a large accessible controller, and informational materials.
A group of people gather around a red table at a convention or expo, interacting with electronic equipment and laptops. Booths and banners are visible in the background, and attendees are engaged in conversation.
Two women stand at a booth with music equipment at an expo. One woman holds a white cane and uses a drumstick on an electronic instrument, while the other observes. People and display booths are visible in the background.
A young woman tries an accessible video game controller at an indoor event, while a man assists her. People walk and interact in the background near booths and informational posters.
Two men pose together in a busy convention hall. One wears a brown shirt and badge; the other wears sunglasses, a striped suit, and a cap. Other people and booths are visible in the background.
A group of people gather around a red table at an indoor convention booth, interacting with staff and materials. Red curtains and banners are visible in the background, along with informational displays.
People interact with electronic music devices at a conference booth. A man demonstrates equipment on a table, while two women observe and engage, surrounded by other attendees and exhibition booths in a large hall.

Chris Jones worked for some large tech companies like Meta and Google. He was incredibly articulate so we got him to tell some stories about his journey as blind musician.

Another big hit at the show was the Arcana Strum.

A young boy wearing dark glasses uses an accessible electronic device with large buttons and a joystick at an event booth. A printed page with QR codes and text is on the table in front of him.

Haim, it’s too bad you could make it, but the Arcana Strum did and many people got introduced to how easy it is to play guitar with the Strum.

We are going to follow up in the next few days with individual articles about UniMIDI Hub, the software developed by Audio Modeling that was featured at the show and a new product from Amenote that had its world premier at CSUN Accessibility Conference.

The Amenote Aptiplay is a music controller that uses MIDI 2.0 to provide accessibility for music creation. It features eight inputs that accept simple on/off switches and levers. These inputs are converted into MIDI data to trigger individual notes, chords, beats, or other musical components.

A table displays laptops with colorful screens, a SharpSpy device, several connected sensors with wires, and a document. Two people are visible on one laptop screen in a smaller video feed.

The device can be used with various switches, including Logitech switches designed for Microsoft and Sony gaming controllers. It is also compatible with any switch made for the Microsoft Adaptive Controller.

It happens to be a perfect match for both UniMIDI Hub and Connect Through MIDI.

A close-up of an electronic music setup on a red table, featuring a laptop, MIDI keyboard, audio interface, two circular drum pads on a tablet, drumsticks, and various cables connecting the devices.

Our final article will be about all the companies and organizations we connected with over the course of our three days a the CSUN Accessibility Conference 2026.