Music to help quit smoking, and accessible recipes for the visually-impaired

COLLEGE OF MUSIC IN BOSTON ARE PUTTING THAT RESEARCH INTO ACTION. ♪ WHETHER IT IS CUTTING DOWN ON SUGAR, ILLUMINATING SOCIAL MEDIA, OR EVEN QUITTING SMOKING, BREAKING A HABIT IS NOT EASY. >> IT DOES NOT JUST HAPPEN OVERNIGHT, THERE ARE VARIOUS STAGES OF CHANGE THAT A PERSON MIGHT GO THROUGH TO ULTIMATELY SUCCEED IN CHANGING THAT HABIT. ANTHONY: THE BERKELEY HEALTH AND MUSIC INSTITUTE AT BERKLEE COLLEGE OF MUSIC, HOPES TO HELP BREAK ONE OF THOSE HABITS WITH A NEW PROJECT. SMOKELESS BREAK BEATS. >> WE CAN CONTINUOUSLY THROW OUT HERE IS A HEALTH CHALLENGE THAT WE KNOW IS HAPPENING WITHIN OUR COMMUNITIES. HERE IS WE KNOW ABOUT MUSIC THERAPY LITERATURE, MUSIC MEDICINE, PSYCHOLOGY OF MUSIC, HEALTH CARE, RESEARCH. HOW DO WE COME UP WITH A SOLUTION? IN THIS CASE, WE HAD THE CLIENT, WHO WAS VERY INTERESTED IN SAYING WHAT CAN WE DO? ANTHONY: FOR TWO WEEKS, 34 STUDENTS AT BERKELEY COMPOSED ORIGINAL SONGS THAT SHOULD STIMULATE THE SAME AREAS OF THE BRAIN THAT ARE TRIGGERED BY SMOKING A CIGARETTE. >> THE RESEARCH SHOWS THAT MUSIC MAY ACTIVATE THOSE SAME FEEL-GOOD CHEMICALS IN YOUR BRAIN THAT ALSO CIGARETTES DO AS WELL. ANTHONY: WHEN COMPOSING THE BEATS, BERKELEY HEALTH AND MUSIC INSTITUTE CONSIDERED CONFIDENCE, PHYSICAL RELEASE, FOCUS, AND RELAXATION. TRAITS THEY SAY SMOKERS ARE SEEKING WHEN TEY REACH FOR A CIGARETTE. THEY SAY THEY CREATED THEIR TRACKS WITH THOSE FOUR PRINCIPLES IN MIND. >> IT IS CURATED TO EACH INDIVIDUAL PERSON, WHAT YOU NEED IN THAT MOMENT. SO IF YOU ARE NEEDING TO FIND CONFIDENCE IN THAT MOMENT, YOU WOULD GO TO THAT PARTICULAR TRACK. >> COMPOSING MUSIC FROM THAT SCIENTIFIC STANDPOINT OF WHAT NEURONS ARE ACTIVATED WHEN YOU HEAR THAT TYPE OF MUSIC REALLY HELPS YOU TO CREATE A BETTER, ROUNDER AND MORE EFFECTIVE TRACK. ANTHONY: NOT ONLY DOES THE PROJECT PROVIDE REAL-LIFE EXPERIENCE FOR THESE MUSIC STUDENTS, BUT IT IS A CHANCE TO HELP OTHERS ON THEIR JOURNEY TO QUIT. >> COMING FROM MY PERSONAL EXPERIENCE AS A FORMER SMOKER, WHEN I WAS IN THE ARMY, THAT WAS MY — BASICALLY, THAT WAS MY EXCUSE TO TAKE A BREAK. COMING FROM THAT ASPECT AND HAVING SOMETHING THAT IS HEALTHIER, SOMETHING THAT I CAN PUT MY MUSIC AND SOUL INTO, TO HELP OTHER PEOPLE, THAT IS THE MOST REWARDING THING THAT YOU CAN HAVE. >> THIS IS GOT TO BE COOKED FOR TWO AND A HALF HOURS. I’M GOING TO POP IT BACK IN. ANTHONY: BRIAN CARLSEN IS A CHEF AT HIS WATERTOWN HOME. >> I START WITH A CLASSIC, DOING IT EXACTLY THE WAY IT IS WRITTEN AND THEN BEGIN MORPHING OFF ABOUT INTO SOMETHING THAT NEEDS — MEETS FAMILY TASTE, WHICH US TO DRIVE A HOME COOKED. ANTHONY: FOR CARLSEN, COOKING IS DIFFERENT. >> AT 11 YEARS OF AGE, I BECAME A BLIND PERSON. ANTHONY: CARLSEN SAYS NAVIGATING THE KITCHEN CAN BE A CHALLENGE, BUT WITH THE RIGHT SYSTEMS IN PLACE, HE CAN CREATE GOURMET MEALS. >> THAT COMES TO THE SECOND THING THAT PEOPLE WORRY ABOUT, WHAT BLIND PEOPLE ARE GOING TO DO. AND THAT IS WORK WITH SHARP OBJECTS, LIKE KNIVES. I PUT MY HAND ALWAYS ON THE BACK AND REACH DOWN TO FEEL WITH THE BLADE LOOKS LIKE. I ALWAYS PUT THE KNIVES DOWN HANDLE TO THE RIGHT. ANTHONY: WHILE CARLSEN HAS HIS KITCHEN IN ORDER, HE SAYS HE STRUGGLES TO FIND RECIPES THAT ARE ACCESSIBLE TO A BLIND PERSON. >> WHEN I FIRST GOT STARTED, I WORKED FROM VERY, VERY FEW RAIL COOKBOOKS. IT IS HARD TO COOK AND READ WITH YOUR HANDS WITHOUT DAMAGING WHAT YOU ARE TOUCHING. ANTHONY: TODAY, MILLIONS OF RECIPES ARE AVAILABLE ON THE INTERNET FOR SIGHTED PEOPLE. FOR CARLSEN AND OTHER BLIND PEOPLE, ACCESSIBILITY CAN BE A MAJOR CHALLENGE. IN 2020, PERKINS ACCESS, A BRANCH OF WATERTOWN’S PERKINS SCHOOL FOR THE BLIND, PARTNERED WITH AMERICA’S TEST KITCHEN, TO CREATE RECIPES ACCESSIBLE TO ALL. >> PEOPLE JUST ALWAYS LIKE TO COOK. THEY LIKE TO COOK AT HOME. ANTHONY: FLASHY WEBPAGES LITTERED WITH ADS WILL NOT DO HERE. PERKINS ACCESS DIRECTOR, JEFF, SAYS SIMPLE CHANGES MADE TO THE AMERICA’S TEST KITCHEN SITE HELPED THE ROUGHLY ONE MILLION BLIND PEOPLE LIVING IN THE U.S.. TO FIND WHAT THEY’RE LOOKING FOR. >> COOK THE NOODLES. >> WHEN THEY ARE USING COLOR ON A WEBPAGE, THERE NEEDS TO BE A SUFFICIENT CONTRAST RATIO BETWEEN TEXT IN THE BACKGROUND. THAT IS TO ENSURE THAT PEOPLE WITH LOW VISION CAN SEE AND READ THE TEXT CLEARLY. BUT THAT BENEFITS EVERYBODY WHO COMES TO THE WEBSITE. ANTHONY: WHEN SEARCHING FOR NEW RECIPES, BRIAN CARLSEN SAYS THE AMERICA’S TEST KITCHEN WEBSITE WORKS FOR HIM. STILL. >> I CANNOT SAY THE WEBSITE IS 100% ACCESSIBLE. ANTHONY: JEFF AND HIS TEAM AT PERKINS ACCESS HOPE BY TEACHING WEB DESIGNERS TO BUILD ACCESSIBLE SITES FROM THE GROUND UP, CREATORS AND USERS WILL HAVE AN IMPROVED EXPERIENCE ALL AROUND. >> IT IS REALLY COOL WHEN YOU ARE NOT ONLY SHOWING PEOPLE HOW TO FIX SOMETHING, BUT THEN THEY TAKE THE CONCEPT AND THINK FROM NOW ON, WHEN I CREATE THIS NEW VERSION OF A WEBPAGE OR WEBSITE OR I CREATE A NEW COMPONENT, I AM GOING TO THINK ABOUT ACCESSIBILITY FROM THE BEGINNING, AS OPPOSED TO AFTER I HAVE CREATED IT. SHAYNA: PERKINS ACCESS DIRECTOR JEFF, AS YOU JUST HEARD HIM SAY, SAYS THAT THESE CHANGES MADE TO THESE WEBSITES ARE NOT JUST FOR THE VISUALLY IMPAIED. ANTHONY: ACCESSIBLE WEBSITES HELP PEOPLE WITH OTHER DISABILITIES, FOR EXAMPLE, IF THEY CANNOT USE A MOUSE OR KEYBOARD, WEBSITES WILL HELP THEM AS WELFORD AS FOR BRIAN CARLSEN, AS YOU SAW, HE IS A VERY TALENTED, CREATIVE, INNOVATIVE CHEF. HE EVEN HAS WOOD BECAUSE A CHEAT

Problem Solvers: Music to help quit smoking, and accessible recipes for the visually-impaired

Berklee College of Music and Perkins School for the Blind are each on a mission to help others

Updated: 8:10 PM EDT Aug 3, 2022

Whether it’s cutting down on sugar, eliminating social media, or even quitting smoking, breaking a habit isn’t easy.The Berklee Health and Music Institute at Berklee College of Music hopes to help break one of those habits with a new project: Smokeless Break Beats. Partnering with Nicorette and Spotify, 34 Berklee students composed original songs for two weeks. The hope is that the songs should stimulate the same areas of the brain that are triggered by smoking a cigarette.Millions of recipes are available on the internet for sighted people, but for Watertown’s Brian Charlson and other blind people, accessibility can be a major challenge. In 2020 Perkins Access, a branch of Watertown’s Perkins School for the Blind, partnered with America’s Test Kitchen to create recipes accessible to all.

NEEDHAM, Mass. —

Whether it’s cutting down on sugar, eliminating social media, or even quitting smoking, breaking a habit isn’t easy.

The Berklee Health and Music Institute at Berklee College of Music hopes to help break one of those habits with a new project: Smokeless Break Beats. Partnering with Nicorette and Spotify, 34 Berklee students composed original songs for two weeks. The hope is that the songs should stimulate the same areas of the brain that are triggered by smoking a cigarette.

Millions of recipes are available on the internet for sighted people, but for Watertown’s Brian Charlson and other blind people, accessibility can be a major challenge. In 2020 Perkins Access, a branch of Watertown’s Perkins School for the Blind, partnered with America’s Test Kitchen to create recipes accessible to all.