How would you teach someone blind to play the guitar?

Catman
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Sat Mar 13, 2010 6:24 am

Joe,

I can't give you any advice--I'm the world's worst teacher. All I can do is admire!

David


willem
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Sat Mar 13, 2010 6:40 am

Joe,, this is very nobel,,can't give you any advise,,only what we know is that the blinds have very good ears,,wish you the very best on this and hope you gonna share it with us so that we all can be better persons,,,


AndyT
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Sat Mar 13, 2010 4:17 pm

There is some good advice here.

Let them tell you how much to learn, and you tell them what to learn. Use a song they want and the three of you learn it together. (If you don't know it)
I suggest you start with some very simple fingerpicking songs. Mary had a little lamb, Frere Jaques, stuff like that. I have TABs for them if your interested. That way, they can play a song sooner than they think and its a great motivator.


goldleaf
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Sat Mar 13, 2010 5:01 pm

Joe, I am very interested in hearing how this turns out for you. A very good thing you are doing. I have worked for several Centers for Independent Living that provide services to seniors and persons with disabilities for over 30 years, but have never taught anyone how to play the guitar or any other instrument. First I think we all know that there are many great musicians who are blind or visually impaired, so vision is not a requirement for being able to play an instrument. It would be great if they could learn the notes on each string and fret by ear. You could make a little game out of playing a note and seeing which child could tell you which note you are playing first. This may be a little advanced to begin with but something to consider for the future. Many people who are blind are (legally blind) but can still see shapes or have a very limited field of vision. If this is the case they may be able to take advantage of enlarged print to read music, if not they will probably have to rely on audio learning from a tape or digital recorder. I think the previous posts are good in that with any child of that age having it be fun so they want to learn is the most important thing to start with. I would be glad to help you as you develop your teaching methods for the specific needs of each child as you continue with your teaching these children. It is a wonderful thing you are doing and there is a lot of Adaptive Technology available that I have access to as it relates to assisting people with disabilities & seniors to live as independently as possible. Gary


quincy451
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Sat Mar 13, 2010 10:54 pm

Not too much to add here. I have never taught anybody anything on guitar. Niel might have some comments here from his experiences.

I would start with some open chords. I would work I,IV, V7 patterns, like G, C, D7.
I would also work on a few exercises to have them focus on the sounds and the feel of the frets. You might have them run up and down the fret board on all strings getting a feel for the fact the frets up the fret board are closer together and the notes are higher.

I would work on simple open chord songs. Then you might later teach them a few scale patterns and have them mix them up and see what they come up with. Then figure out what to do next based on how they take to things. But given there motivation to get into it. I think you could be in for a couple fun years. Enjoy it with them.


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