  Advances in tactile-audio feedback technology have created new possibilities
for deaf people to feel music. However, little is known about deaf individuals'
perception of musical emotions through vibrotactile feedback. In this paper, we
present the findings from a mixed-methods study with 16 profoundly deaf
participants. The study protocol was designed to explore how users of a
backpack-style vibrotactile display perceive intended emotions in twenty music
excerpts. Quantitative analysis demonstrated that participants correctly
identified happy and angry excerpts and rated them as more arousing than sad
and peaceful excerpts. More positive emotions were experienced during happy
compared to angry excerpts while peaceful and sad excerpts were hard to be
differentiated. Based on qualitative data, we highlight the benefits and
limitations of using vibrations to convey musical emotions to profoundly deaf
users. Finally, we provide guidelines for designing accessible music
experiences for the deaf community.
