Musical Paint Brushes as Assistive Technology by Katie Butzu and Mark Lyons

The Why

Working on the ability to write and form letters starts at a very young age. However, if a child is delayed in their fine and visual motor abilities this can come as a challenge and often can quickly become a non-preferred task.

The ‘Musical Paint Brushes’ offer a variety of therapeutic benefits to include: improving fine motor coordination, improve grasp, improve visual motor coordination, improve cause/effect understanding and improve social play.

The intended population for this project was initially children preschool and older who may struggle with their grasping and/or play skills but quickly has become an activity that can be used with older children and adults as it can be used as a means for calming and improving regulation!

Step Two: Prep the Materials

In order to get started you will need to measure out and cut your speaker wire to your desired length. Next you will need to strip both ends of the speaker wire so that the wire is exposed about 1 inch on each end.

Next, if you are using paint brushes that have metal parts near the bristles you will want to cover up the metal parts using your electrical tape. If your brushes do not have metal parts you can forego this step.

Step Three: The Build

Now it is time to build and assemble your musical paint brushes! Begin by taping your speaker wire to the paint brush so that one end of the speaker wire is in line with the bristles on the brush.

Now use your fingers to intertwine the wire into the bristles. 

Step Four: Hook to Makey Makey 

Now it is time to put your finished musical paint brush to use and get painting! Begin by preparing the painting surface. In order to do so begin by placing your paper on your work surface and using a sponge or wet cloth wet your paper using water in order for your paper to become conductive. 

Now make sure your Makey Makey is ready by plugging the USB cable into your Makey Makey board and hooking it to your computer.

Now take one alligator clip and secure it to the edge of your paper and hook the other into the designated ‘EARTH’ area of the Makey Makey.

Take a second alligator clip and hook it to the end of your paint brush ( make sure it is touching the exposed wires) and hook the other end into the desired directional keys, ‘SPACE’ or ‘CLICK’ area of the Makey Makey, dependent on the app/extension you are accessing.

Step Five : Play, Share, or Extensions

You can ensure that your musical paintbrush works by testing out your switch using one of the following Apps/Extensions:

Makey Makey Bongos (Using the ‘Space’ key)

Tar Heel Game Play (Pairing with any YouTube video using the ‘Click’ key) Watch the video below to see how Katie uses Tar Heel Game Play and Musical Paintbrushes to help her students work on fine motor skills.

Make-along Webinar

Learn more about how Katie and Mark make therapeutic exercises fun in this live workshop!