[Menvi-discuss] Addaptations for Blind Music Theory Teachers

[Robert Gross]

I for one think it's perfectly reasonable to ask the serious music student to invest either in Finale or Sibelius.  The only aspect that I think could be an issue is insisting on brand-specificity of the notation program.  Some people prefer Finale for various reasons, while others prefer Sibelius.  But I think it's for a music student's own good to have either one or the other.

Best,
Robert Gross

From: rachel.grider at gmail.com
To: menvi-discuss at menvi.org
Date: Fri, 26 Apr 2013 08:07:27 -0700
Subject: [Menvi-discuss] Addaptations for Blind Music Theory Teachers








Hello, Everyone:
 
I am a new subscriber to this list, so I thought I 
would introduce myself. My name is Rachel Grider, and I am going to graduate 
from Peabody Conservatory
in a month with two MM degrees in voice and music 
theory pedagogy. I am currently writing my thesis on adaptations for the blind 
theory teacher, a subject
which does not seem to have been explored much. 
Once this is published, I am hoping that it will open up many doors for me and 
other blind musicians who
are wanting to make a career in 
theory.
 
There are a few topics about which I would very 
much like some feedback. I welcome any ideas or suggestions you might 
have.
 
 First, I would like some ideas about how the 
blind teacher can check students' in-class work. For example, if the students 
are practicing counterpoint
exercises and the teacher should go around and 
check their work, what is the best way for the blind teacher to do this? Is it 
even possible to do it this
way?
 
Second, I would very much like ideas on teaching 
more advanced analysis to sighted students. I have been toying with ideas, but I 
have not yet actually
taught this part of theory, and I'm not sure if they 
would work. How can students show the blind teacher that they know how to 
analyze a score? They could,
of course, mark their answers on Sibelius, but 
can I require them to get Sibelius? Meeting with them one-on-one could be an 
option, but what if the class
is very large and there just isn't enough time? 
I also thought of making a spreadsheet in XL with pictures of each measure in a 
box, and there would be
spaces for the different aspects of analysis which 
they would fill in. Does this sound like a reasonable idea?
 
My third question has to do with teaching beginning 
students how to write music symbols and place them correctly on the staff. I 
could, of course, use felt
or magnetic cut-outs for this, but I was wondering 
if anyone else had suggestions?
 
Lastly, I would like to hear your philosophies 
about how much residual vision should be used in the classroom, both for the 
blind teacher and for the blind
student.I try not to use any, but I'm 
wondering if it might be practical for some teachers to use some vision to 
perform certain tasks, such as demonstrating
how to write notes and 
clefs.  Thoughts?
 
Thank you so much for your help!
 
Cheers,
 
Rachel Grider


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