By Kelly Surette
When people hear that I teach music to Deaf students, they are often confused by this. They’ll say to me “isn’t music kind of an auditory thing?” I’ll answer “no, it’s kind of a whole body thing.”
In order to make music accessible to Deaf and Hard of Hearing individuals, you have to start thinking of music as a whole body experience, not just something processed by the ear. In this sense, you can use the three senses: the sense of sight, the sense of sound, and the sense of touch to your advantage as a music educator.
The sense of sound is pretty self-explanatory when it comes to music education so let’s focus on the other two senses. In this blog, let’s take a look at how the sense of sight can be used to create musical connections in the adaptive music classroom.
The Sense of Sight
Making music visible to the eye is actually quite easy when you think about how many aspects of it are already visual! Here are some strategies to magnify the sense of sight for your students:
Remember, all students should have access to a quality music education regardless of special needs or sound access. It is your job as a music educator to think outside of the box and provide unique, innovative ways that your Deaf and Hard of Hearing students can engage with music!
Want to learn more? Check out Part II: Making Music Accessible to Deaf Students: The Sense of Touch HERE.
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Kelly Surette is the author of Creative Miracles: A Practitioner’s Guide to Adaptive Music Instruction (coming soon.) She is a speaker and adaptive music educator in the New England area. Kelly is dedicated to enhancing the lives of those with special needs and those who are Deaf and Hard of Hearing with multiple disabilities through music. Connect with Kelly at www.kellysurette.com.