Jay Alan Zimmerman, a deaf composer and musician, has always had to position himself near speakers at clubs in order to feel the vibrations of music he couldn’t hear. However, he recently had the opportunity to test a new technology called a haptic suit, which allows him to experience music as vibrations on his skin. This backpack-like device sends vibrations to different parts of the body to mimic the sensations of different musical elements, such as a kick drum or snare drum. Zimmerman believes that this technology has the potential to allow people to actually feel music in their bodies, unlike captioning or sign language interpretation which require the brain to be in more than one place at a time. The haptic suits, developed by Music: Not Impossible, have recently become more accessible to the public and were available at various events this summer, including at Lincoln Center in New York City and the South by Southwest festival in Austin, Texas. Haptic suits have been used in virtual reality and video games for many years, but the unique aspect of the Music: Not Impossible suits is their ability to translate individual notes of music into specific vibrations. Other companies are also developing haptic products to capture the sonic experiences of different events. The development of these suits has been enabled by advancements in microprocessors, wireless technology, batteries, and artificial intelligence. The founder of Not Impossible Labs, Mick Ebeling, was inspired to explore haptic suits in 2014 after seeing a video of a deaf DJ and wanting to find a better way for deaf people to experience music. Composer Daniel Belquer joined the project and worked with engineers at Avnet to create a more nuanced haptic feedback system. The first prototypes were not satisfactory, but with feedback from the deaf community, Belquer and his team refined the technology until it could translate up to 24 instruments or vocal elements in a song. The current model offers three levels of intensity and a fully customizable fit. Users have expressed astonishment at the precision and intensity of the sensations created by the suits. However, the high cost of the suits makes them impractical for most individuals who are deaf or have hearing loss. Nonetheless, Music: Not Impossible provides the suits to organizations as part of a package deal that includes on-site staff assistance and “vibro DJs” who customize the vibration locations for each song. The company ensures that the deaf and hard-of-hearing are not charged for the experience. While the haptic suits show promise, some individuals in the deaf community prefer live American Sign Language interpretation alongside captions to understand the lyrics of songs.