[Menvi-discuss] teaching piano as a blind person

[Miranda]

Hi,
While I have not taught piano, I have taught voice for over ten years. I
don't even mention my blindness unless questions arise. I charge an extra
travel fee that is reasonable for my area if ever traveling to a student's
home, and no one has questioned this. I have only had one parent feel she
needed to continually explain what her child was/wasn't doing visually in
response to my teaching, and I gently explained that I could tell what she
was/wasn't doing by hearing her.
For fingering, you may very well need to touch the student's hands, and that
is fine. You could even have your student touch your hands while you play to
make it fun and fair and to encourage your student to become comfortable
with your blindness. You could even let your students explore your braille
music and ask questions about how you read it, how you learned music and
piano, ETC. Be willing to answer questions (and especially encourage
questions from your students), but do not allow the conversation to center
around your blindness or independence. Stick to your policies, and do not
let families think they can push you around because you are visually
impaired and thereby presumably less competent or capable. I usually conduct
a free no-obligation new student consultation, and if I am unsure about
whether or not a student or family will fit well in my teaching studio, I
let them know I will make a decision and get back to them within the week.
This may have been more than what you were asking for, but I do hope it
helps.
Hope this helps, and I wish you all the best in your teaching success!

In Christ, Miranda


-----Original Message-----
From: Menvi-discuss [mailto:menvi-discuss-bounces at menvi.org] On Behalf Of
Kelsey Nicolay
Sent: Wednesday, February 05, 2014 7:19 PM
To: menvi-discuss at menvi.org
Subject: [Menvi-discuss] teaching piano as a blind person

Hello,
I may have posted a similar thread before, but here goes.  I am a tutor for
wyzant, which is a tutoring company.  I applied for a tutoring job teaching
piano.  The parent emailed me about possibly doing lessons one hour a month
with the time split between her two kids.  I have always wanted to teach
piano since I've been playing all my life basically, but I am worried that
once the parent finds out about my blindness, she might lose her trust in my
ability to teach her children.  This would be my first time ever teaching
piano, so I am not sure how to approach this.  When she calls me to set up
the lessons, should I mention that I am blind but it does not stop me from
doing the things I enjoy? I would then explain that I would use Braille
books while the students have the books in print.  Also, how will her kids
react to having someone who can't see teach piano? I think they are still
young, so they might not be old enough to understand the misconceptions
society has about what blind people can do.  
My piano teacher sees absolutely no reason why I cannot teach piano.  Anyone
who is blind and has ever taught piano to sighted students, please share
your experiences.  How did the student react to your blindness? How did the
parents feel about it? Did they feel less confident in your abilities? How
do you work on things like technique if you can't see what the student is
doing? 
Is this a situation in which touch is the only way I'll be able to monitor
their habits? I think the parents will be there while the lessons are going
on since it's in their home.  I would really appreciate some advice.
Thanks,

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