Our Impact

Read about our projects making an impact supporting deaf, deafblind, deafened, hard of hearing people and their surrounding communities to engage meaningfully with the arts, language, technology and creative opportunities by removing barriers, championing accessibility and amplifying lived experience.

Are You Listening / Listen To Me – Interim Report

Our interim report to The National Lottery Awards For All. This project fostered better relationships with organisations & professionals within the creative industries to help better understanding, created opportunities & brought together deaf and hearing & people for meaningful dialogue, creativity & celebrating especially after the pandemic.

Creating music through Technology for Deaf & Disabled Young People

The Sobell Foundation grant has enabled Decibels to organise a series of activities entitled “Creating Music through Technology”. This has included lectures, seminars, workshops and events for those who are deaf, hard of hearing and have other related disabilities.

Are You Listening?

A BSL interpreted event in partnership with Wells Cathedral School

Listen to Me

Eloise Garland & Ken Carter secure a National Lottery Awards for All grant for Decibels “Listen to Me” Project

Makey Makey – Creating Music Through Technology

Decibels Project - "Makey Makey": Creating Music Through Technology funded by the Sobell Foundation

Decibels Unlocked

Sponsored by Arts Council, Unlocked is the name of our ongoing research project evaluating how the ever-expanding range of arts-based technologies can maximize the creativity of Deaf and disabled people and how they are being used by professional Deaf and disabled artists. Once our findings have been logged, we will create an online resource detailing our findings.

Raising the Bar

The ‘Raising the Bar’ project was developed by the National Deaf Children’s Society in 2015 to drive expectations of what deaf children and young people in the UK can achieve in dance and music.

Playing Music Together – Short Interim Report

A number of workshops have been ran at a range of locations as part of our Playing Music Together project, Sponsored by the Sobell Foundation. It was felt that the students had come a considerable way in their understanding of cause and effect, the ability to work as part of a team and also their ability to listen to the sounds they were producing.

Hands On Shakespeare

This ambitious Decibels pilot project aimed to encourage, promote and develop young people’s visual and literacy skills, have a greater understanding of the English language and its components, develop confidence, creative skills, artistic development & stronger communication skills, improve interaction and reduce isolation, communication breakdowns.

Decibels Pre-Christmas International Event 2013

We hosted the Decibels Trust Pre-Christmas International Event on Sunday, December 1st 2013. Here are some videos from the event.

Deafness… No Barrier to Music?

A literature investigation on the challenges deaf musicians are faced with in society. By Sannah Gulamani (May 2007) University of Wolverhampton, BA Hons. Music

Embodied Music Theory: New Pedagogy for Creative and Aural Development

This article written by Decibels Adviser Dr Nicholas Bannan presents a snapshot of pedagogical practice that integrates singing, expressive physical gesture, aural development, music theory and creativity.

Singing for the Brain

A paper by Decibels Adviser Dr Nicholas Bannan published in the Royal Society for the Promotion of Health 2008, the paper reports the activities of a pilot study of group singing for people with Alzheimer’s and their carers.

Kidz Aloud

Kidz Aloud was a free olympics music workshop for autistic children. This project is now closed.

Sign Along with Music

This project will allow children and young people to get together in the local community, using one fundamental national language of communication and expression; sign language.

Colour Music Pilot Project 2014

This pilot project has started working with young deaf and hearing children so that they express their emotions, thoughts and feelings in understanding music through the use of art.