[blindkid] blindkid Digest, Vol 73, Issue 24

Leslie Ligon atfirstsight at ligondesign.com
Fri May 28 21:01:39 UTC 2010


Rosina,

My first reaction to the "...why bother..." is, "Oh, no, no, no, no!" (I 
didn't even read further before writing back!)

Our older son is blind and has perfect pitch. Our younger son is sighted and 
I are sighted with near perfect pitch. I read a lot obout pitch among people 
who are blind, and families in general; it's much more to do with genetics 
than conditions of blindness. One of the two things I regret most in my life 
is not having learned to read music properly. (I can read to a certain 
extent, but can't pick up a sheet and just start singing in the correct 
key.)
I keep hoping our sighted son will learn properly, but his instument is his 
voice, he's just not been motivated yet to pick up anything else, and he 
sings ALL THE TIME!

My reaction is strong because as a former performing artist, I know that if 
a blind child might one day want to play semi-pro or professionally, you 
HAVE to be able to walk in, read the music and play. Especially is you're 
doing studio work. (Time is money.) If you are playing professionally 
classically, you'd want a piece you read to have your own interpretation, 
which could be gained primarioy from reading, as opposed to hearing someone 
else's interpretation.

NFB did an interview session with many families a couple of years ago, and 
we were part of that on the side of advocacy, because now that our son who's 
blind CAN read, he can automatically name a note when he reads or hears it. 
IF my sighted son or I could read, I believe we would be close to, if not on 
pitch, as well.

As far as we're concerned, being able to read music is yet another gift you 
can give your child. It's not hard, especially if you already know how to 
read printed music, and even if you don't it's not the nightmare some 
people, including some TVIs, would have you believe!

I've written a mom for permission to post video of her daughter who's been 
reading music/playing her entire young life, but you can view it on Youtube 
if you want to search. Her name is Rachel Flowers; she's phenominal!

Read, read, read, and best luck!
Leslie Ligon 





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