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</o:shapelayout></xml><![endif]--></head><body lang=EN-US link=blue vlink=purple style='word-wrap:break-word'><div class=WordSection1><p class=MsoNormal>Hi Marc,<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>I hope I’m not too late on this reply! I am totally blind and am currently teaching in Nebraska. When I was in college working on my music ed degree, my advisor and I completed a research project quite similar to what you are doing. We were getting a lot of questions from music teachers in our state who wanted tips for teaching students with visual impairment. We conducted quite a bit of research, observed a music festival at the Perkins School for the blind, and ended up presenting on this topic at the Kansas Music Educators Association Conference in 2018 and also publishing our findings in the Nebraska Music Educators Journal. Please contact me at <a href="mailto:chase.crispin@gmail.com">chase.crispin@gmail.com</a> if any of this interests you. I’d be happy to share some of our research with you and talk further about this.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>As a quick summary, we found that the primary question centered around how to adapt notation. Teachers wanted to know if braille music notation should be used and if so, when. Second most common were questions about teaching movement since that is so central to most general music programs. We focused on ways to insure social inclusion for the blind student so that peers and teachers alike were comfortable helping with movement. We also talked a bit in our presentation about adaptations for beginning band to teach embouchure and proper hand position. Some of this was based on my own experience, but we found quite a bit published in various music ed journals and also did about 20 interviews with music teachers around the country.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Please let me know how I can help. Good luck with the presentation! This is an important topic and I’m glad you have a chance to share it with the national NAfME audience.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Chase Crispin<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><div style='border:none;border-top:solid #E1E1E1 1.0pt;padding:3.0pt 0in 0in 0in'><p class=MsoNormal><b>From:</b> Menvi-discuss <menvi-discuss-bounces@menvi.org> <b>On Behalf Of </b>Marc Sabatella<br><b>Sent:</b> Wednesday, February 17, 2021 3:09 PM<br><b>To:</b> This is for discussing music and braille literacy <menvi-discuss@menvi.org><br><b>Subject:</b> [Menvi-discuss] Your advice for music teachers working with blind and visually impaired students?<o:p></o:p></p></div><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><div><p class=MsoNormal>Hi! I'm doing a presentation for NAfME - the National Association for Music Education - in a couple of weeks, and I've love to get your input.<o:p></o:p></p><div><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal>The title of the presentation is "Teaching Music to Blind and Visually Impaired Students", and the audience is mostly grade school music teachers plus high school choir and band directors. My wife - an elementary school music teacher herself - is co-presenting with me.<o:p></o:p></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal>For those who you who have taught or been taught in that environment, what are some things you think it especially important for me to talk about? What would you want a music teacher who may never have worked with a blind music student to know?<o:p></o:p></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal>My own experience is mostly in the university area, teaching music theory specifically, and I have plenty of information I've gathered over the years on various tools and techniques that make sense in that world. Much of my presentation will be focused on sharing what I have learned about communicating using different forms of notated music. But I also know I have little experience teaching elementary general music or what unique challenges might come up in that environment. Luckily, my wife has lots of experience in that world, but little of it with blind or visually impaired students. Hopefully between all of us, I can find the right 55 minutes of material to cover!<o:p></o:p></p></div><div><div><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p></div><p class=MsoNormal>-- <o:p></o:p></p><div><div><p class=MsoNormal>Marc Sabatella<br><a href="mailto:marc@outsideshore.com" target="_blank">marc@outsideshore.com</a><o:p></o:p></p></div></div></div></div></div></body></html>