How do blind musicians do it

I haven't explored this field. I believe there are Braille scores or similar that can allow blind people to learn written music. I don't know. I am also waiting for enlightenment from those who have delved into this aspect.

It happened that I was asked to give lessons to a blind girl of 7 ...I don't have direct experience with this kind of difficulty (I didn't know where to start, let alone if there were websites or materials to use during the lessons, etc.) I gave up.

But it left a bitter taste in my mouth.. ideas? I am interested in the subject.

Given that I do not have direct experience, for reading sheet music one can use the Braille system (an old article, but it can give you an overview of some "means": http://www.repubblica.it/2009/06/sezioni/tecnologia/web-braille/web-braille/web-braille.html) since there are several music notation software programs like Sibelius that are compatible with this system; with the right files and the right programs, they can easily read scores. Furthermore, nowadays many MIDI files (even of massive works) can be found, for which there is certainly compatibility with MIDI.

In relation to this, in your case Marta, more than anything having been only 7 years old (and I don't know in which calendar year, given the strong correlation with technology which is always evolving rapidly), I don't know how much familiarity the little girl might have had with PCs and such software.

Regarding playing, I think approaching a bandaged keyboard could have helped you; even finding middle C is a tiny challenge. Every conquest of yours would have also been hers and, as Crazypiano suggests, it could (and can) be useful to base explanations by leveraging hearing (among other things, on this a musician should be a professional) and touch.

Through the latter, help her build the image of the keyboard; in some way she will probably see it and know it. Don't tell me it hasn't happened to you to study passages with your eyes closed, and anyway some extremely virtuoso works present you with a fait accompli, you don't have time to see everything that would need to be seen... it is probably a matter of going beyond.

To respond instead to Crazypiano, in my opinion the improvisational character of the performance simplifies the reading process, which facilitates learning that becomes more based on intellectual, acoustic, and kinetic memory... rather than being tied to the visual memory of a score.

Furthermore, I would have a chat with this gentleman

http://www.carlobeltrametti.com/musica_braille.htm

I would like to mention the publishing house of Luciano M. Pegorari, a Braille publisher from Bari (f.a.l. vision editore snc) that deals exclusively with Braille publishing, Large Print, DSA (Specific Learning Disorders), LIS-Sign Writing, pictographic communication, photographs, floor plans, maps, street maps in dot technique, manuals and microcapsules. Everything is naturally intended to support the blind, visually impaired, dyslexic, deaf-mute, etc.

Frank, through notebooks structured to accommodate Braille writing, a child can easily read and interpret a musical score (potentially a blind person could even be an orchestra conductor); I am telling you this because I think it is important that a blind child does not use a PC, otherwise they will get used to writing and studying only with a PC and their whole life will depend on it. Furthermore, I believe that tactile perception is of fundamental importance for the cultural and intellectual development of the child, as well as their social development.

Then they say I'm a pessimist, how is it that no qualification course includes at least a mention of these issues... EXCLUSIVELY DIDACTIC!?!

This video made me reflect a lot... if he, blind from birth, manages to tackle repertoires of this kind and sustain them without problems, it means that if we truly want something, we can do anything.

Nobuyuki Tsujii - Rachmaninoff - Piano Concerto No 2 in C minor, Op 18
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WdC35_Za4ho&feature=share&noredirect=1

Open content (youtube)

Valchiria, I feel more handicapped than he does; we live in a society bewitched by appearances and things that in reality do not represent human greatness at all, and we are too bewitched by all of this to be able to understand that we are the true handicapped ones.

I read somewhere that those who do not use a sense, whether from birth or not, develop the other 4 senses more significantly. We cannot make (thank God) any projections since we possess all 5 senses, but I believe that for musical purposes, both hearing and touch matter greatly, and if these are more highly developed, perhaps they can somehow compensate for the lack of sight. I know this pianist well, and he has also tackled other very demanding repertoire pieces: Andante spianato and Grande Polacca Brillante, Hungarian Rhapsody in C# minor, La Campanella (which may have already been posted on this forum in some other discussion), etc. I believe that most of their piano experience is nonetheless connected to the ear. As a rule, I have observed that blind pianists pay great attention to sound quality. Regarding leaps, as a child I used to study challenging passages blindfolded to develop memory of mobility and spatiality in leaps; however, it is also true that studying while seeing the keys and then, once the passages are learned, blindfolding oneself to fix the memory of positions is one thing, but doing everything in the dark is another. These performances therefore make me smile with hope because they give me a way to affirm that with passion and commitment, it is truly possible to do anything.

He plays this piece better than many professional sighted musicians! Pay attention to the sound quality.

Watching him, I see a miracle !

Open content (youtube)

Something occurred to me, speaking of specific "intelligence" or specific intelligence, one could say that this person has developed (especially thanks to the study of the piano) a superb sensitivity to the perception of sound in space, something that allows them to know how to move despite facing very difficult passages.