Perceptions of schooling, pedagogy and notation in the lives of visually-impaired musicians

Abstract

This article discusses findings on schooling, pedagogy and notation in the life-experiences of amateur and professional visually-impaired musicians; and the professional experiences of sighted music teachers who work with visually-impaired learners. The study formed part of a broader UK Arts and Humanities Research Council funded project, officially entitled "Visually-impaired musicians' lives: Trajectories of musical practice, participation and learning" (Grant ref. AH/K003291/1), but which came to be known as "Visually-Impaired Musicians' Lives" (VIML) (see http://vimusicians.ioe.ac.uk). The project was led at the UCL Institute of Education, London, UK and supported by the Royal Academy of Music, London, and Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB) UK, starting in 2013 and concluding in 2015. It sourced "insider" perspectives from 219 adult blind and partially-sighted musicians, and 6 sighted music teachers, through life history interviews, in tandem with an international questionnaire, which collected quantitative and qualitative data. Through articulating a range of "insider" voices, this paper examines some issues, as construed by respondents, around educational equality and inclusion in music for visually-impaired children and adults in relation to three main areas: the provision of mainstream schooling versus special schools; pedagogy, including the preparedness of teachers to respond to the needs of visually-impaired learners; and the educational role of notation, focussing particularly on Braille as well as other print media. The investigation found multifaceted perspectives on the merits of visually-impaired children being educated in either mainstream or special educational contexts. These related to matters such as access to specific learning opportunities, a lack of understanding of visually-impaired musicians' learning processes at times (including accessible technologies and score media) in mainstream contexts, and concerns about the knowledge of music educators in relation to visual impairment. Regarding pedagogy, there were challenges raised, but also helpful areas for sighted music educators to consider, such as differentiation by sight condition and approach, and the 2 varying roles of gesture, language, light, and touch. There was a diversity of musical participation in visually-impaired adult learners, along with some surprising barriers as well as opportunities linked to different genres and musical contexts, particularly in relation to various print media, and sight reading. INTRODUCTION This article reports findings on schooling, pedagogy and notation from a broader UK Arts and Humanities Research Council funded study. The project was officially entitled "Visuallyimpaired musicians' lives: Trajectories of musical practice, participation and learning" (Grant ref. AH/K003291/1), but came to be known as "Visually-Impaired Musicians' Lives" (VIML) (see http://vimusicians.ioe.ac.uk). It was led at the UCL Institute of Education, London, UK, starting in 2013 and concluding in 2015. It had...

Teaching–learning resources and supports in the music classroom: Key aspects for the inclusion of visually impaired students

“…Adopting the terminology used by Baker and Green (2017), we will refer to ‘visually impaired’ as an umbrella to include the two main terms ‘blind’ and ‘partially sighted’. Within the spectrum of needs generated by visual impairment, McLinden and Douglas (2016) speak of the barrier to information access and how information allows the development of students’ knowledge, perceptions, and abilities.…”

“…According to McDowell (2010), the teacher in charge of a mainstream music classroom should be able to adapt the curriculum, classroom activities, and materials and have a generic set of effective pedagogical strategies that while not definitive – which they should not be – provide guidelines that benefit all the students in the class. Meanwhile, Baker and Green (2016) state that to achieve effective music education, apart from resources and specialized support, the particular condition of each visually impaired student must be taken into account, the learning processes related to the score format in use, the technology available to the students, and its compatibility with music software. In addition, Chaves (2013) and Ockelford (2000) argue that it would be worth increasing the adaptation and preparation of music education materials intended for those working in this field in order to facilitate learning processes.…”

“…We are on the side of authors such as Galera (2012), Jorquera (2002), and Leal (2006) considering that music notation, accompanied by activities that relate it to sound and the meaning of the notation itself, can promote music learning as a tool for organizing mental representations and symbolization. Moreover, as reported by Baker and Green (2016), there had tended to be an emphasis on notated ways of transmitting music, even though there has been interest in informal learning and ear-playing techniques. In general terms, all the students at a music school or conservatory who hope to become professionals must, without exception, master music notation.…”

“…However, Braille music is not the only available way for learning music for a visually impaired person. According to Baker and Green (2017), partially sighted people with some functional vision can use modified stave notation, large-print formats, and magnification. Modified stave notation is a score format which modifies some of the elements of stave notation, changing the size, thickness, or colour to be more easily read by a partially sighted person.…”

“…Finally, for both sighted and blind people, it is commonly used ear playing for learning music, either for popular, folk music, jazz, and even for Western classical traditions. The most common ways for learning music by ear playing are copying notes from audio recordings (Cds, Mp3s), copying from Internet sources (e.g., YouTube), and copying from live musicians (Baker & Green, 2017).…”