Insights in Sound: Visually Impaired Musicians' Lives and Learning

289 Pages·2017·20.121 MB·English

by  David Baker, Lucy Green

‘Baker and Green have written a landmark study of the perspectives and
practices of visually impaired musicians. Through opening up this musical
world within such a broad range of musical contexts, they have succeeded in
offering powerful insights to both musicians and educators, which can only
serve to enrich our understanding, knowledge and practice.’
Gordon Cox, University of Reading, UK
‘Insights In Sound offers a substantial contribution to the field. Using the
colorful and insightful stories collected from hundreds of visually impaired
musicians and the individuals who work with them, Baker and Green offer a
comprehensivepicture of the complexityof visually impaired musicians’ lives.
This is a must read for anyone interested in understanding the lived experi-
ences of musicians, or music education for the visually impaired.’
Chi Gook Kim, Berklee College of Music, USA
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Insights in Sound
Musichaslongbeenawayinwhichvisuallyimpairedpeoplecouldgainfinancialindependence,
excelatahighlyvaluedskill,orsimplyenjoymusicalparticipation.Existingliteratureonvisual
impairment and music includes perspectives from the social historyof music, ethnomusicology,
childdevelopmentandareasofmusicpsychology,musictherapy,specialeducationalneeds,and
musiceducation,aswellasmorepopularbiographicaltextsonfamousmusicians.Buttherehas
beenrelativelylittlesociologicalresearchbringingtogethertheviewsandexperiencesofvisually
impairedmusiciansthemselvesacrossthelifecourse.InsightsinSound:VisuallyImpairedMusi-
cians’LivesandLearningaimstoincreaseknowledgeandunderstandingbothwithinandbeyond
thismultifacetedgroup.Throughaninternationalsurveycombinedwithlife-historyinterviews,a
vivid picture is drawn of how visually impaired musicians approach and conceive their musical
activities, with detailed illustrations of the particular opportunities and challenges faced by a
variety of individuals. Baker and Green look beyond affiliation with particular musical styles,
genres,instruments,orpractices.All‘levels’areincluded:fromadultbeginnerstothosewhohave
returnedtomusic-makingafteragap;andfrom‘regular’amateurandprofessionalmusicians,to
somewhoareextraordinarily‘elite’or‘successful’.Themessurroundingeducation,training,and
informal learning; notation and ear playing; digital technologies; and issues around disability,
identity, opportunity, marginality, discrimination, despair, fulfilment, and joy surfaced, as the
authorssetouttodiscover,analyse,andshareinsightsintotheworldsofthesemusicians.
DavidBakerisLecturerinMusicEducationattheUCLInstituteofEducation,UK,whereheis
Programme Leader for the MA in Music Education. He has held appointments as Honorary
SeniorResearchAssociateatUCL,ModuleLeaderfor“Theteachingmusician”atTrinityLaban
Conservatoire of Music and Dance, London, and Course Tutor for the MA in instrumental
teaching at the Institute of Education, Reading University, UK. David completed his PhD at
Reading in 2005, which won a Bernarr Rainbow Award. He has been a professional trumpet
player,andalsotaughtmusicinprimaryandsecondaryschoolsforalocaleducationauthorityin
Englandforovertenyears. Davidis an Associate ofthe RoyalCollege ofMusic,London, and
memberoftheRoyalSocietyofMusiciansofGreatBritain.HefirstworkedwithLucyGreenas
SeniorResearchOfficeronher“Earplayingproject”,2011–12,whichwasfundedbytheEsmée
FairbairnFoundation.Afteritscompletion,DavidbecamePrincipalInvestigatorfortheArtsand
Humanities Research Council project on which this book is based. He has published various
chapters, as well as research articles, and book reviews on music education in peer-reviewed
journals.HisresearchandwritinghavealsotakenhimasapresentertoAustralia,India,Norway,
andtheUSA.
Lucy Green is Professor of Music Education at the UCL Institute of Education, UK. Her
research interests are in the sociology of music education, specializing in meaning, ideology,
gender, popular music, inclusion, equality, informal learning, ear playing, new pedagogies, and
most recently, the lives and learning of visually impaired musicians. Lucy’s work bringing the
informal learning practices of popular musicians into formal education has reached countries
acrosstheworld.Shehasproducedtwoeditedbooksandsixauthoredbooksonmusiceducation,
amongstarangeofotherpublications.
Music and Change: Ecological Perspectives
Series Editor: Gary Ansdell, Nordoff Robbins and University of Exeter,
Professor Tia DeNora, Department of Sociology & Philosophy, HuSS,
University of Exeter, UK
Series advisory board:
Kenneth Aigen, Temple University, USA
Jane Davidson, University of Western Australia
Timothy Dowd, Emory University, USA
Lucy Green, Institute of Education, UK
Lee Higgins, Boston University College of Fine Arts, USA
Raymond MacDonald, Edinburgh University, UK
Mercédès Pavlicevic, Nordoff Robbins, UK
Even Ruud, University of Oslo, Norway
Brynjulf Stige, University of Bergen, Norway
Henry Stobart, Royal Holloway, Universityof London, UK
Music and Change: Ecological Perspectives, is a cross-disciplinary, topic-led
series for scholars and practitioners. Its aim is to explore the question of how,
where andwhen music makes a difference. If music is a dynamic ingredient of
change,whataretheprocessesandmechanismsassociatedwithmusic’spowers,
and how can ecological perspectives help us to understand music in action?
Book proposals are welcome in any of the following areas: healthcare, social
policy, political activism, psychiatry, embodiment, mind and consciousness,
community relations, education and informal learning, management and orga-
nizational cultures, trauma, memory and commemoration, theories of action,
self-help, conflict and conflict resolution, governance, resistance, protest, and
utopian communities.
Published titles in the series:
Music and Mourning
Jane W. Davidson and Sandra Garrido
Musical Pathways in Recovery
Gary Ansdell and Tia DeNora with Sarah Wilson
Insights in Sound
’
Visually impaired musicians lives and
learning
David Baker and Lucy Green
Firstpublished2017
byRoutledge
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©2017DavidBakerandLucyGreen
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BritishLibraryCataloguinginPublicationData
AcataloguerecordforthisbookisavailablefromtheBritishLibrary
LibraryofCongressCataloginginPublicationData
Names:Baker,DavidC.(DavidChristopher),1971-author.|Green,Lucy
author.
Title:Insightsinsound:visuallyimpairedmusicians'livesandlearning/
DavidBakerandLucyGreen.
Description:NewYork,NY:Routledge,2017.|Series:Musicandchange:
ecologicalperspectives|Includesbibliographicalreferencesandindex.
Identifiers:LCCN2016037870|ISBN9781138209312(hardback)|ISBN
9781315266060(ebook)
Subjects:LCSH:Musicforpeoplewithvisualdisabilities.|Peoplewith
visualdisabilities–Education.
Classification:LCCMT17.B352017|DDC780.87/1–dc23
LCrecordavailableathttps://lccn.loc.gov/2016037870
ISBN:978-1-138-20931-2(hbk)
ISBN:978-1-315-26606-0(ebk)
TypesetinTimesNewRoman
byTaylor&FrancisBooks
Contents
List of illustrations xi
Acknowledgements xii
Note on the text xv
1 Background, aims, and context 1
Studies of visual impairment and musical participation 2
The aims of the book 7
What do we mean by “visually impaired”, and what kinds of visual
impairment among musicians are included in our study? 8
The terms “impairment”, “disability”, “handicap”, and the deficit
model 11
What do we mean by “musician”, and what kinds of musician are
included in our study? 12
How we came to this research 13
Research methods, participant sample, and communicating with
our participants 17
Methods and sample 17
Communicating with our participants: digital technologies,
Braille, and the telephone 18
Limitations 19
Overview of the book 21
Reflections 23
2 Musical starting points and reasons for involvement 25
Beginnings: visual impairment’s role in taking up music 25
Parental interest and family background in music 28
Apparently exceptional innate abilities in early childhood, and
their encouragement 31
Influential figures outside the family 32
viii Contents
The role of the school in initiating musical interest and
involvement 33
Original and current reasons for participation 36
Mood regulation, escapism, and “therapy” 37
Purpose in life 40
Social belonging 41
Reflections 42
3 Learning at school 43
Educational provision for visually impaired children: some
historical background and current trends 43
Mainstream education versus special education 47
Isolation in the mainstream 50
Isolation in special education 52
Alleviating isolation in special education 53
Social and musical opportunities in the mainstream school 54
Who is responsible? 55
Reflections 58
4 Teachers’ knowledge and skills; students’ confidence and autonomy 61
Teachers’ skills and understanding: some critical perspectives of
students 62
Specialist knowledge and special needs 63
Time, its demands, and its challenges 66
Differentiation and flexibility 67
Instrument choice 69
Students’ confidence and autonomy 72
Reflections 74
5 Light, gesture, language, and touch in music teaching and learning 76
Light and its implications for teaching practices and contexts 76
Physical gesture and its relationship with music-making, learning,
and teaching 79
Language and its uses or misuses in musical communication and
pedagogy 84
Touch and its complex place in music teaching and learning 87
Reflections 91
6 Learning and participation beyond the school 93
Informal learning at school age 96
Contents ix
A disparity between the formal curriculum and externally
developed skills 96
Self-organized ensembles at school age 97
Group participation, instrumental and vocal lessons beyond the
school 99
The need for relative independent mobility in order to access
lessons or to participate with others 100
Higher education 103
Taking part in orchestras, choirs, and other groups 105
Conducted groups 105
Smaller groups: chamber music and jazz or popular styles 109
Stagecraft 110
Networks 111
Why network? Self-promotion, acquiring information, and
belonging 113
Networking difficulties 115
Reflections 117
7 Visual, tactile, and aural media: stave notation, Braille music, and
the ear 119
Visually mediated scores: modified, enlarged, and magnified
scores 120
Aurally mediated talking scores 123
Tactile scores: Braille music 123
Other tactile notation 128
The issue of sight-reading or learning notes from a score 129
Ear playing 133
Strategies for teaching ear playing to visually impaired
learners 137
Reflections 139
8 Being a “musician” or being a “disabled musician” 142
The Inner Vision Orchestra 143
The Paraorchestra 146
Disability music and its rationale 147
Visual impairment as a marketing strategy 148
Mixed and dissenting voices 150
Reflections 155
9 Digital music technologies: the changing landscape 158
The advance of electronic music: three stories 160