When Steve Van Dam first developed the ORO Visual Music app more than two years ago, he didn’t realize that it would ultimately transform music education for children with autism and other special needs.
Van Dam, a former member of the ‘90s rock band Everything, initially launched ORO with his partner, Craig Honeycutt, for entertainment purposes. Users could download a content set of a song they really liked, and then use the app to mix rhythms and create their own musical experience. The app generated several thousand downloads, but Van Dam felt that it still didn’t meet its full potential.
That all changed when Van Dam connected with the president of the Faison School, a specialty school in Richmond geared toward children on the autism spectrum.
"We started using the app to teach these kids the fundamentals of music, and almost immediately, there were some really magical things that happened," said Van Dam. "Seeing them come alive and shine because they were able to be creative and engage with their peers was a really big deal."
Encouraged by the Faison School's enthusiasm for the app, Van Dam streamlined his unique combination of passions—rock and classical music, entrepreneurship and teaching— to create an innovative music education program called Light the Music. Though he has no formal teaching experience, Van Dam’s 30-year background in music equipped him to establish an effective curriculum.
The ORO app allows students to create music by blending a variety of different sounds using an iPad. A visual component of rhythm-influenced light creates additional appeal and encourages sustained attention. The lessons begin with an introduction to the fundamentals of sound and then advance to instruction about rhythm, melody and pitch. Particularly attractive to many specialty schools is the fact that the teacher administering the program doesn't need to have any specialized music knowledge.
"We're filling a need in schools and programs where there's not any kind of music option at all," Van Dam said. "You don't even need to have a music teacher to be able to do this. You can learn along with the kids."
While ORO can be used for children of all ages—from preschool through high school—it’s been especially popular among middle schoolers. Maintaining interest among children in that age tends to be an uphill battle, making it difficult to carry out engaging music programming. When autism or other sensory challenges are added into the mix, creative approaches are vital.
Recent research by the NAMM Foundation suggests learning environments that are musically-rich have been associated with higher language and vocabulary test scores, better rates of school attendance, and improvements in memory and attention span.
According to Van Dam, Light the Music has experienced 400 percent growth in the past six months. The program has made its way into 12 school districts in the greater Richmond area, and to date, more than 1,000 students have used ORO. Some of those students participated in a one-day program featuring the app, while others have been using the curriculum for the past two years.
Van Dam has lofty goals for Light the Music. He hopes to begin growing the company's product offerings and digital platform to attract other specialty and private schools. To achieve that goal, he's working to get ORO into the hands of more special needs educators. Numerous educational centers from Charlottesville to Fairfax County have already expressed interest in integrating the curriculum into their classrooms next year.
"Our mission is to get more kids into music," said Van Dam. “We’re not disrupting the $3 billion music education market yet, but I certainly want to get to that point.”
