Misty Jones Simpson is an Associate Professor in the Department of Recording Industry at Middle Tennessee State University in Murfreesboro, Tennessee (MTSU), and was of the few female Ableton Certified Trainers in the United States from 2020-2024. She received her bachelor’s degree in Music Education from Baylor University and studied Music Technology Innovation at Berklee Valencia in Spain, where she received the Outstanding Scholar award and earned a Master of Music degree. 

She has presented and performed at various festivals and conferences including Ableton's LOOP, APME, MEIEA, MIT’s EmTech España, Madrid Music Days, and the King of Spain’s Impulsa Music Forum. She presented her thesis work at Sonar Music Festival in Barcelona, which was mentioned by Billboard magazine. Misty has been published by Sound on Sound magazine, and is a contributing author to The Music Technology Cookbook published by Oxford University Press. Misty has over 20 years of experience mentoring and teaching students of all ages how to play in bands and work with production on various levels. 

In 2023, Misty was diagnosed with a rare condition called bilateral Meniere’s Disease, which causes permanent hearing loss, vertigo, multiple forms of constant tinnitus, and damaged sense of balance. On most days, music is reduced to a vocal and rhythmic, white noise, often void of tonality. She additionally deals with diplacusis, a pitch distortion which causes music to sound unsettling. After receiving a cochlear implant in the summer of 2024, she will be on a journey to re-discover music in light of her current disabilities. 

 

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