Piano pedagogy with a student who is blind : an Australian case

Teaching and learning piano poses challenges when the student is clinically blind. This article addresses the following question: What can be learned from a case study of teaching piano successfully to a student who is blind? The article has three purposes. The first is to document the achievements of a young student who met these challenges. The second is to investigate how an experienced teacher chose effective ways of describing and demonstrating music to meet the needs of her student. A third is to examine the language of teaching and learning between teacher and student using Tait's theory of language communication in studio music lessons. This article reports on the process of teacher and student in the journey that has led to the formation of a sensitive and gifted musician.