[Perform-Talk] A Reddit Thread Worth Reading: College Professors Talk About Issues Around Accessible Materials in Music Courses, Especially Theory Courses

[Linda Mentink]

Hi Ella and All,

I was a music student between August of 1974 and December of 1978. When I took 20th Century Theory, the professor would not let me hear the music on the exams, and I didn't have them in Braille. I was grieved, but there was nothing I could do about it. Needless to say, I didn't do well in that class. I was an A music student, so this was very unfair and annoying. That was a long ago, but I have never forgotten it!

Blessings,

Linda


On Oct 21, 2024 4:46 PM, Ella Yu via Perform-Talk <perform-talk at nfbnet.org> wrote:
>
> Hi everyone,
>
> I just wanted to share a thread I found on reddit, as I feel the subject is
> very important to the blind music community at large. Specifically, it is
> about accessibility issues for blind/visually impaired students in
> university music classes, especially music theory courses. I know not many
> of you guys hang out on reddit on a regular basis, but since everything can
> be viewed without a reddit account and the discussion is interesting, I
> just thought I'd share it. The post is in a subreddit called r/professors,
> which is a reddit community intended for those who teach in higher
> education, such as college and university professors. There are reddit
> communities for nearly every topic out there, called subreddits.
>
> This reddit thread is actually a spinoff from a different reddit thread
> called "Title II Update of ADA REQUIREMENTS"
> <https://www.reddit.com/r/Professors/comments/1g71b68/title_ii_update_of_ada_requirements/>
> (ADA
> likely meaning Americans with Disabilities Act). The main post reads:
> "Today during a faculty meeting, I learned that the DOJ updated Title II
> requirements of the ADA making it mandatory that web and digital content be
> fully accessible by April, 2026. I then was given a list of content that
> must be made accessible including all Power Points (pictures need Alt-Text,
> font requirements for screen readers and order considerations for screen
> readers), emails (“Every time someone sends an inaccessible email we are
> unintentionally discriminating against people with disabilities”), word
> documents and video/multimedia. What are all of you doing about this? Any
> tips/tricks or insights you can share? This feels so daunting to me and my
> team b/c we teach A&P with an image heavy lab."
>
> One of the comments on the thread, which got 37 upvotes, says:
> "It’s an issue if you are a music professor. Music notation is not
> accessible so any handouts or assignments I post on canvas come back with a
> low accessibility warning. We currently have a student who is blind and
> have had other students in the past. You can’t post Braille music notation
> on canvas. Screen readers can’t read it. We’ve always made it work with
> students, by playing examples on the piano and having them talk through
> their analyses."
>
> Another thread, which is the one that is of most interest to this
> community, was started (likely) as a response to this comment. It is
> called "ADA
> compliance for LMS for music professors"
> <https://new.reddit.com/r/Professors/comments/1g7f2gx/ada_compliance_for_lms_for_music_professors/>
> (LMS
> likely meaning learning management system e.g Canvas, Moodle, Blackboard,
> etc). The main post reads:
> "This is in response to the recent post about complete ADA accessibility
> for all teaching materials. If your university is mandating this, do you
> know how music theorists have complied with the law?
> In the last week, I have taught from these two scores. Obviously, they
> cannot be captioned. Listening to the music is of course incredibly
> important, but students have to see the score for analysis and performance.
> We have had blind and visually impaired students and we have worked with
> them individually and/or sent music out to be Brailled if they even read
> Braille music notation. Many cannot read it and it is time consuming and
> very expensive to send music out to be Brailled.
> I think accessibility is incredibly important. I just have no idea how it
> would work in my field."
> There appears to be a musical score attached to this post, which is shown
> as an image.
>
> The comments on this reddit post discuss the issue in depth, and I think it
> is a worthwhile read, especially for those who advocate for accessibility
> in university music courses for blind students, either as a student
> yourself, a teacher, or a related individual. The commenters all appear to
> be sighted college/university professors who share their perspectives, so
> it gives a pretty good glimpse into what is going on in the trenches so to
> speak. I think examining those perspectives is important for the
> blind/visually impaired music community at large because there tends to be
> a bit of a disconnect between what students need/feel is best for them and
> the teachers and other professionals working with them, and I think there
> is quite a bit that can be done to better bridge this gap.
> What do you guys all think? Feel free to share your thoughts on the reddit
> thread.
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