Eight participants enter a circular space lined with chairs and percussion instruments of various sizes. First, each participant puts on an orange wristband.
This is the key to the ratatap experience, although the method is yet to be revealed at this point.

First, a quick warm-up. The participants slap their bodies with their hands, or take turns drumming on each seat, and let the sound travel around. While participants are absorbed in the sound games proposed by WSL members, the auditorium gradually turns dark. When participants use their hands, the colorful Otodama-kun, with charming eyes, begin to appear on the floor in front of them.

Musical interface designer Mr. Kanebako and his co-creators, Hiroki Inokuchi (video production) and Shinya Yoshida (program development), appear as “doctors” at this point. They explain the method of the ratatap musical instrument that turns invisible sounds into visible Otodama-kun.
Otodama-kun is a character whose shape appears when the participants use their hands to make sounds. The sensor in the wristband responds not to the sound itself, but by detecting vibrations of the hand when the sound is made. Otodama-kun’s color varies depending on where the participant stands, and differs for each person.

Each participant claps their hands to check the color of their Otodama-kun. After all of them confirm the color of their Otodama-kun., they clap their hands in unison to make a thump.

Then, in some places, the Otodama-kun are connect to each other by lines that look like constellations. When the timing of someone's sound matches someone else's, the Otodama-kun are connected by lines and drawn to each other.

Then, it's time for even more fun. All participants generate Otodama-kun at once by tapping various parts of their bodies in time with the melody, rhythm and cues played by the WSL members on drums, piano and contrabass. In the latter half of the event, the sensors in the wristbands are placed on percussion instruments, and participants themselves played the instruments in a large ensemble. They enjoy overlapping sounds of the venue along with lively and rhythmic movements of the Otodama-kun.
At the end of the workshop, the Otodama-kun are transformed into large sized Otodama-kun called “Dekadama-kun,” which literally means “Mr. Big Sound Ball.” They jump up and down, then disappear happily.

This workshop was realized through the collaboration of five WSL members and three ratatap creators, after about three months of preparation and two creation sessions. They say that the WSL members themselves played around with ratatap, discussed how to incorporate its functions into a music workshop, and then created the program.

After the workshop, Mr. Kanebako and Ms. Noguchi, representing the production team and WSL team, respectively, reflected on the collaboration.

Ms. Noguchi, a WSL, said, “When I first experienced it, my thought was, 'Otodama-kun’ are cute! I was very attached to them because of their eyes, and I was thrilled to be able to create a workshop with them. In our ordinary music workshops, we try to find ways to help hearing-impaired people feel the sound, such as by using vibrations of a drum. This time, the sound you make appears as a visible  Otodama-kun, and when other people make sounds at the same time, Otodama-kun are connected by lines. One was able to see not only oneself, but also the sounds that other people made simultaneously. I believe that the best part of enjoying music is the feeling of togetherness. The people who can hear and the hearing-impaired people could enjoy it together. It was like magic!”

A participant with hearing impairment commented, “I didn’t really understand the idea of communicating through music before, but after participating in today's workshop, I feel for the first time that I understand what it means.”

Mr. Kanebako, one of ratatap’s creators, explains his own theme of kyoyu gakki, a term he created (literally, a musical instrument developed to be enjoyed by people with visual and hearing impairments as well as those with physical disabilities): “I believe that one of the roles of media art is to visualize things that are usually invisible, such as sound. When I was working for a toy company, I learned about the kyoyu gangu (universally designed toys) that anyone can enjoy together, regardless of their disability, and I thought that this could be an important concept for creating works. Since then, I have been creating works under the name of kyoyu gakki.”

Regarding ratatap and the latest workshop, he said: “So far, I have mainly presented ratatap in exhibitions, and this is the first time I have used it in a workshop. In exhibitions, I mainly use percussion instruments that play rhythms. There are other elements of music, such as melody and harmony, but I believe that rhythm is easy to visualize and that people with or without disabilities can easily enjoy the same sensations together. I usually think of works as tools, leaving it up to participants on how they enjoy them. So, this time, too, I didn't make any suggestions but left it up to the WSL members on how to use ratatap’s functions. Workshops are a valuable opportunity to get direct feedback. This time, we were able to get many new ideas and insights not only from the participants, but also by collaborating with the WSL.”
He added that attaching a sensor to the arm using a wristband is a new idea that came about through this creation.

Ms. Noguchi said that since she doesn't usually use visual effects in workshops, this event has given her a lot of ideas for using visual elements. Mr. Kanebako responded: “I want to realize them right away.” Collaboration between creators and users of works will continue to expand the possibilities of work experiences and workshops.