The ideal instrument for the unsighted?

[SIMON GABRIELOW]

It has occurred to me thinking over musicians, of past, or more recent times, whom are unsighted, without use of vision, whether partially or totally, that free Reed instruments are surely one of the most ideal instruments to make use of. It is, after all, done by touch, and feel of those little buttons, and the sense of where to go, rather than absolute visual need. Think how many times sighted folk play a tune, perhaps by memory, not looking at music sheet at all.  It is a universal instrument, democratic in its principal, and available to all; at least I like to believe. I say this with the greatest respect, as a topic to perhaps discuss? What you all think?

[seanc]

I don’t think there is any instrument a non sighted person can not master. 
 

that said. It is a question of resources and learning materials. And, full disclosure, I have not looked. But I would hazard a guess that the available instruction materials for vision impaired is likely, lacking.

 

I would venture a guess that over all. The available concertina learning materials in braille are likely to be rather hard to come by.
 

Learning via you tube videos, is probably not the optimal solution either.

 

Then potential offerings of face to face teachers that are geared towards the non sighted may be a bit different as well. Blind people, being blind, tend to need instructors and materials geared towards optimizing their strengths and limitations.
 

So, if a non sighted person with no musical experience were to ask me what instrument would offer the best range of options, instructors and teaching materials geared toward a group of people with specific learning needs. to give them the best chance to succeed, concertina would not likely be my first suggestion.

 

 

 

[Richard Mellish]

Was the OP raising an academic question or do we know someone to whom we might be recommending taking up the concertina? If the latter, they could be put in touch with a blind person who already plays the concertina, such as Kate Portal https://www.sfs.org.uk/storyteller/550/profile

[hjcjones]

I'm struggling to think of any instrument which relies on sight to be played. Most instruments are not designed in a way which is easy for the player to see what they are doing, and it is usually not desirable. The piano keyboard of course is one.  A violinist can look along the fingerboard, but it is so foreshortened that it may not help much.  A harpist has the strings in front of them, but traditionally many harpers were blind. My first instrument was guitar, but the fretboard is not easily visible without some contortions.

 

Music is a flow activity, and any reliance on visual feedback could interfere with this. All instruments rely on a sense of where to go rather than visual or tactile feedback.  Of course, beginners will often try to look at where their fingers are going, but this applies to concertina too.  This is a habit which needs to be broken, and I wonder whether visually-impaired players may have an advantage in this respect.  

 

Once past the beginner stage, I don't believe the concertina has any particular advantage over any other instrument from this perspective. 

[Jolly Hamster]

My tenor-treble Wheatstone Aeola belonged to music-hall performer Martin Henderson from Cullercoats, who was blind from birth.

 

It's a beautiful instrument and I am sure I will never reach his standard, sighted though I am.

[Luke Hillman]

Being sighted and not wishing to speculate on the experience of others, I'm loath to declare any instrument the "ideal"—fortunately, much has been written on this topic.

 

A few links of possible interest:

• Blind Musicians (Wikipedia)
• Louis Braille, inventor of the writing system, was an accomplished organist
• Ireland has a tradition of Blind musicians going back to the 17th C. (Irish Central)
• Japan has an even older tradition
• Ukraine once had a community of Blind musicians, usually bandura and hurdy-gurdy players (content warning: mass execution)
• nineteenthcenturydisability.org (the whole site is fascinating but here's a painting of direct interest)
• Of tangential note, @Howard Mitchell points out an unexpected accessibility flaw in our own beloved forum

A very high-level takeaway, which agrees with @hjcjones' assessment above, is that the limiting factor isn't so much the instrument—when you think about it, the experience of playing practically any non-digital instrument is highly tactile and auditory—but rather how the music is taught, learned, and passed down.

 

I'd be very interested to hear about the personal experiences of any Blind cnet members.

[SIMON GABRIELOW]

Yes,  I can see the achievements of people; and adding to my topic it has to be said that Jacob Van Eyck ( who wrote vast collection of tunes Der fluyten lust-hof, was blind).. and was also responsible for activities to do with bell ringing ).. I think my thought was the tactile quality of concertina buttons, being small, compact, and it being conveniently held with aid of straps ( Anglo) or thumb with English, may make them more unique to my topics intentions.

It is by nature held more closely to the senses than many.

Edited April 14, 2022 by SIMON GABRIELOW