blind student

[Elizabeth Webb]

I know this discussion is old, but I am a Teacher of the Visually Impaired during the school day and a harpist in the evenings and weekends, so this discussion encompasses my 2 passions.

I have many blind or visually impaired friends who are musicians, including harpists. The calluses devolved from playing harp do not interfere with reading braille. A harp callus is mostly on the thumb side of the finger, whereas braille dots are felt as the hand moves to the right, so it’s the other side of the finger that primarily feels the braille. Regarding a reference point on the harp, I have found that on a lever harp an easy fix is to put one of those rubber rings on the lever for middle C. The harpist can feel for that lever and slide down the string, knowing they are on middle C without having to pluck a few strings to find it. Once the harpist has that starting note, it’s a matter of staying focused and keeping the reference point, whether through placing or feeling the jumps. Try closing your eyes and playing a few measures of a favorite piece. You may be surprised how far you can get without seeing the strings. It’s not as bad as you would think.

I have brailled harp music of various levels. It gets complicated when you run into harp-specific symbols that (as far as I have found) have no standard notation in braille, so I have to make up my own and notate them in a reference page. I definitely think it is helpful to have braille music as a reference and for understanding the piece, although as was stated in another post, one cannot read the music while playing.

[Julietta Anne Rabens]

I don’t know the Braille music system, but have used the simple ABCDEFG braille dots for piano and harp students. I will sometimes place very small adhesive little beads at the base of the strings, or at least on the C’s and F’s, so they can feel to find their point of reference.

I would recommend taking them through the Suzuki method that has a strong ear-training element. Since it is graded from the very beginning through advanced and comes with recordings, it is a nicely established course that can be used for the visually impaired. There is a great deal of classical repertoire here, so it can help to fulfill a desire to learn that style.

I would also recommend having them work through the folk repertoire with its improvised nature. They will be able to learn the tunes by rote, learn how to do basic harmonizations and apply different patterns over time.

A third useful course is to encourage them to compose and improvise the sounds of their own choice. In this way there are no external limits set with the requirement of internalizing outside, pre-set sounds. If their fingers are exceptionally agile, their minds highly intelligent for patterns, then their full potential is their only limit.

One final comment is a Braille music course designed to bridge the gap between the visually impaired student and the sighted teacher. It is called “Dancing Dots”, and I’ve wanted to purchase that curriculum and learn it, but the initial cost is $600. I haven’t been able to justify that purchase with the occasional student with visual impairment, but it is out there, so anyone seeking to specialize in this area could benefit greatly from it. http://www.dancingdots.com/main/index.htm

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