Teaching a blind student?

[celticqt]

Yesterday a lady called me inquiring about piano lessons for her 87 year old mother, who is legally blind.  After getting over my initial reaction ("You've got to be kidding me!"), I thought, "Gee, I wonder if I can really do this?"

Anyone have advice on teaching a student like this?  I've been teaching for about 5 years and have never encountered any situation remotely like it.

Thanks, everyone! 

[abell88]

Haven't done it, but here are some thoughts off the top of my head...

Presumably the woman at 87, is not planning on a concert career. I would speak with her first to find out what kind of music she likes and what she would like to play.  If it's popular,  folk or hymns it will be easier for you (than classical) because you can really focus on playing by ear. Start with finding the groups of 2 and 3 black keys -- learn the notes of the keyboard beginning with D. Teach simple tunes by ear/rote at the beginning - Mary Had a Little Lamb, for instance...then add basic chords with the LH.  One thing I have seen blind painists do is reach out to the sides with both hands before they start playing, to make sure they're centred. 

If she wants to play classical -- you can take her only so far by ear, then she would have to learn to read Braille transcriptions of music.

Your local institution for the blind may have more info/resources, or may be able to put you in contact with an experienced teacher for the blind.

[pianistimo]

i googled a bit and found: www.simplymusic.net       maybe it's a method that works?    also, www.dancingdots.com is supposed to be about braille music. 

suzuki method comes to mind, too, but perhaps a little too fast of method?  don't really know. 

i would think at 87 - this lady just wants to have a little fun.  i would combine the texture of the keyboard with other textures for her to take home and feel.  you could also experiment with smell.  i know it sounds wierd, but you have to use the senses that she has, right!  you could even do something edible - and that would make for a really fun and interesting lesson   not sure exactly how it would work, but let me think on that one.  first thought was all those different flavored bubble gums - but we don't want her choking at the first lesson.

[pianistimo]

ok.  i like to brainstorm when i have nothing better to do.  what if you had a lesson where you did nothing but make several plaster molds of her hands in a good position that she could take home and use to practice how to hold her hands correctly - and how to play (distance related to her particular hand and the keyboard) with the pads of her fingers.  she could even use the finger beds to practice scales (if two left hands were places side to side with the pinky and fourth finger cut off on the upper left hand and visa-versa on the right- to make a full scale with correct fingering)

sculpy clay might be easier than plaster - come to think of it - and it is found in most art/craft stores.  you just mold and bake.  using clay can be cathartic anyway!

also, give her some music to listen to of your own playing of her pieces at various tempos.  one REALLY slow, one medium tempo, and one at speed.  she might learn suzuki fashion if you work out a way for her to find her spot at the keyboard.  maybe a bead under a piece of tape?

you could use one bead for middle C, two for D...and so on.  was thinking of those extra small beads.  (or you could use them in the shape of the braille letters on corresponding notes).  guess if you teach on her piano- you won't have to put them on your own.

[celticqt]

Thanks for the input, guys!  I think she is mostly interested in learning to play familiar tunes, just for the fun of it.  I like the idea of beads on the keys.  And that's a great idea for scales, too, pianistimo. 

I'll check out those links, also, abell88.  Very curious to see what I'll turn up.  My teacher basically told me I was nuts for trying to teach this lady, but I think it's worth a try.

[pianistimo]

i like creative challenges like this, too, sometimes.  if you make it a less formal lesson than the norm - she won't be stressed and neither will you.  older people forget things more - so just expect that you'll do some repetition (unless she's really sharp).  but, it's probably a good idea to involve her a lot in dialogue.  sometimes they're after that more than the lesson at that age.

wonder if you could make note rhythm flashcards using a stencil technique so she could feel the different types of note rhythms. 

also, you could make a patchwork pillow with four squares (whole note , half, quarter, eighth) in which the notes are stuffed with cotton.  blind people seem to like having tangible things to feel.  it's comforting.  you could move on from there to another pillow with quarter, two eighth, and four sixteenth notes on another. 

this is really bizarre idea - but what if she read music with her feet?  using bare feet - you could make a system of note reading that she scans with her feet.  have to think some more on that one.  left foot for bass clef and right foot for treble.
 

[pianorama]

this is really bizarre idea - but what if she read music with her feet?  using bare feet - you could make a system of note reading that she scans with her feet.  have to think some more on that one.  left foot for bass clef and right foot for treble. 

lol That would probably be easier than finger-braille, unles she has 4 arms

[cora]

Off topic, but what does lol mean?

[pianistimo]

you're not 87 are you?  do you think our posts are ridiculous?  well, add something to the discussion mate.  (i'm not even from australia and i know what mate means).  lol means 'lots of laughs' or in this case 'lots of losers.'

but, even 87 year old people deserve a good piano lesson.  they are cathartic. help your heart (i think- the regular beat of music does this), and is a good way for older people to get out of the house and talk to someone.  even if you talk half the lesson, they'll enjoy it. and, you'll be surprised what you learn from them.

[pianorama]

lol means 'lots of laughs'

That's news to me. I thought it meant 'laugh out loud'. What does IMO mean?

[pianistimo]

you should join 'cash cab' in nyc and give people money for answering difficult questions such as these.  imo is 'in my humble opinion' 

now, ask me a really REALLY hard question.  and, pay pal me the money in $100. increments.

do you know what IP means?  (i learned this one off cash cab, yes)

[yuc4h]

www.wikipedia.org ftw! Just donate the $100 to them for every answered question and they will be millionaires very soon.

[_tyro]

"legally blind" can mean lots of things.  It might mean a seriously restricted range of vision or an inablility to focus.  It almost certainly means that she's not going to be able to read music, but she may be able to see the keys, or see enough of her own hands to be able to learn from more than feel alone.   If she actually wants to take lessons, her mind is probably very sharp.  I'd give it a try, and ask her what she'd like to do, and what she thinks will work.

[alwaystheangel]

I would go with a Suzuki method.  Anything by ear for sure.  When I was learning by Suzuki I didn't last more than 4 years because the music was too complicated at that point.  But at 87.  I don't think that will be too much of a problem.  I saw a blind girl play at our teacher's recital when I did Suzuki and it was really amazing.  The teacher just placed her hands in the propre position and off she went.  It was truely incredible.   I"l never forget and I was like 7 at the time.  I'd definately recommend Suzuki for that situation.

[celticqt]

Well, I had my first lesson with her the other day.  She's a nice lady; but you have to be very patient with her, and say things three or four times before she gets it.  Turns out that she wants me to teach her how to use her clavinova (i.e. read the manual and figure it out, then tell her how to do things), which is nice, but nothing her family couldn't do for free.  She also wants to learn to play the theme song from the Godfather.  So I enlarged the music to a size where she can hopefully see it, and we'll go from there. 

I think I'll work with her for a month and then tell her (nicely) that she's probably wasting her money - her family can help her figure out her machine.  After all, I'm a piano teacher, not a mechanic.  ("D***it, Jim, I'm a doctor, not a bricklayer!")

[abell88]

Perhaps her family has other things to do besides read manuals and repeat things over three or four times? Maybe you do, too, but at least if you're being paid she can feel she's not taking advantage of anyone...probably good for her to socialize with another person as well. I know you're not a social worker, but sometimes it's not good to assume someone's family will do all the extras *happily*.