Teaching visually impaired child

[Tacye]

Sylvia, we do know quite a lot about the harps played by blind harpists, considerably more recently than medieval. This one for instance wouldn’t count as not very big!
http://www.bbc.co.uk/arts/yourpaintings/paintings/the-blind-harpist-john-parry-d-1782-116882
Or this one:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patrick_Byrne_%28musician%29

[donna-germano–2]

Thanks for posting those!

[Sylvia]

Oh, they will say Syl is negative again!! I looked at the links. I see there are only two, and they both have the harp on the left shoulder, which I think was in vogue at the time in the British Isles…. and arms on the board to anchor. There will be exceptions to everything, and of course I wouldn’t discourage a blind harpist.

[donna-germano–2]

I had not bothered to look this up before because I knew there were many blind harpists historically. I remember reading that many visually impaired people were directed to that profession in O’Carolan’s day. This is from Deborah-Henson Conant’s Hair Raising Harp history. re: the Belfast harp meetings in the 1700s. Interview with historian Nancy Thym-Hochrein at the Historial Harp Archives in Germany.

NTH: Of the 10 harpers in Belfast, 6 were blind. O’Carolan was blind. Many of the Scottish harpers were also blind. Robert BruceArmstrong (The Irish and Highland Harps, 1904) writes “That the Irish Harp was an instrument of great power and sweetness cannont be doubted, and it is equally certain that it was an exceptionally difficult instrument to learn, particularly as the profession was almost entirely reserved for those of either sex who had lost their sight when young. To be proficient, it was necessary for the pupil to begin at the early age of ten or twelve.” Smallpox, scarlet fever, measles, were rampant in those days and many children went blind from the diseases. There was really no other way for them to make a living than to play an instrument.

[mia-strayer]

I’m not a harp teacher but I have some good ideas
these ideas might seem a bit odd to u
sense your student can’t see at all have her feel u in the wrong harp position & the right one
this one you’ll need a mug without a drink in it give her the empty mug tell her to find the handle & hold on tight then tell her to put her thumb up while fingers 2 3 4 & 5 are still holding onto the handle
now here comes the fun part, take away the mug & make shore that her hand position hasn’t changed if not than put her hands on the harp strings
next take her hands & show some basic chords like c g d e & a on the harp
I hope these ideas are helpful & maybe u might use them on your other harp students

[donna-germano–2]

Thank you Mia! I’ll tell her you are the one who gave me the suggestion. She will appreciate it coming from you! Are there any videos of you playing your harp? Even though my student has no vision at all she likes to look for music on YouTube.

[mia-strayer]

YES I do have 2 videos
tell her that they are interviews with me
wow I didn’t know she was so good with you tube
I hope to get more videos
does she have a Facebook if so tell her to friend me
tell her I didn’t put the videos on you tube somebody els stuck them on
oh I almost forgot tell her to find my videos type in my first & last name with the word harp & she’ll find the 2 videos

[donna-germano–2]

So here’s one link I found for Mia. I’ll have to find the other one. I cannot see any affects from cerebral palsy in your hands. Do you have any limitations in fine motor skills?
Very impressive!

My student has some kind of software with voice control that lets her use a computer. I’m not sure what it is. But I think like you, if she is determined to do something she will find a way to do it! I’ll see if she is on Facebook.

http://m.youtube.com/#/watch?v=t4uChWar6fE&desktop_uri=%2Fwatch%3Fv%3Dt4uChWar6fE

[donna-germano–2]

And here is the other YouTube story on Mia!

http://m.youtube.com/#/watch?v=PENEQUyRNZ4&desktop_uri=%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DPENEQUyRNZ4

[mia-strayer]

my hands are very shaky & I have very BAD balance when it comes to stairs & uneven ground
Thank God I don’t have cesuras
I also have PVL which stands for Periventricular leukomalacia which means I have dry spots in my brain so it takes me longer to learn things
it’s very mild & some days are better then others
it’s not easy for me on a daily bases
it’s not easy for me to type
lets say u have some vision in your left eye & just light perception in the other eye
lets also say u have mild CP too
u would need an apple ipad just to read whats on screen & a Mac computer with a large enough screen & mouse just so u can get around the internet & listen to your music
does she use a big Mac computer from apple & does she use voiceover on her ipad like I do

[donna-germano–2]

I think she uses a desktop computer but I don’t know all the details. I just got started with this little girl and then her family had to keep cancelling lessons. She has multiple problems also and she has to go see various specialists.

I’m glad you don’t have seizures! I used to work with children with cerebral palsy when I was a speech pathologist and I saw many with severe seizure disorders. The children I worked with could not speak and I was usually teaching them to use computers and devices to help them communicate. So from your videos it is nice to see you have excellent speech and you look like you really enjoy playing the harp! I’m sure your family and teacher are very proud of what you have accomplished Mia!

[mia-strayer]

I checked out your website & I’d like to meat u
my brother is looking for collages that include baseball programs down south
do u know of any in your home town

[donna-germano–2]

My city of Asheville is not very big. We have a branch of the University of North Carolina, but I don’t think they have a baseball program. I saw a picture of your brother on your Facebook page!

[mia-strayer]

what is her name & how long has she been taking harp lessons with u

[donna-germano–2]

Well I can’t post her name here but if I’ll let you know if she will look for you on Facebook. We are having a hard time scheduling her lessons because of her dad ‘s work schedule and her medical appointments. It has really just been a few months with a lot of missed lessons.

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