Blind Pianists

Sun (Auckland), Volume II, Issue 410, 19 July 1928, Page 15

Blind Pianists

STUDYING BY BRAILLE MISS MARTIN’S SUCCESS To obtain her licentiate ar.d at the same time yet within * W J ) marks of the gold medal awarded, is the excellent performance of Miss Lilian Martin, a music student at the Jubilee Institute for the Blind. Two blind boys from the institute were also successful in obtaining honours in the intermediate class.

For blind people to learn music, even with the aid of the Braille system, is by no means easy, as a Sun representative, who interviewed the successful candidates this morning, discovered. The difficulty, as was explained by Miss Alice Law, L.R.A.M., who taught the three candidates, and also the gold medallist, at the recent Trinity College examinations, was that the music required was not always available in Braille, and had to be dictated to the pupils, who typed it out on their Braille machines. For the edification of the reporter, Miss Martin obligingly typed a few bars from a piece of music dictated by Miss Law. This was done bar by bar for the right and left hand alternately, the work being done with astonishing rapidity. When completed the pupil would rest the music on the knee and feeling the raised signs which indicated the notes, their value and the intervals, also all expression marks, etc., would commence to memorise the music a few bars of each hand at a time. DEVELOPING MEMORY Naturally blind people rapidly develop their memory and the prospect of giving a recital without music certainly would not have the same fears for them as it has for many people possessed of their sight. In regard to sight-reading tests at examinations, it was explained that a piece of Braille music was given to the candidates, and after being given a certain time to feel the music, they were required to play it. For the blind this is the equivalent to reading at sight, only,, one would assume, much more difficult. Although Miss Martin typed her music at the same speed as a fast typist would work, she explained that it had to be done correctly, otherwise the pupil would be learning wrong notes, which, of course, would give trouble later' on. “Sometimes they forget to start a new line and type over the one they have just done,” added Miss Law. “It’s very aggravating.” No doubt it was, but the two boys, Robert and Frank, appeared to find it rather amusing. Judging by their chuckles, they were old offenders. “It’s very aggravating to us, too,” remarked Miss Martin with a smile that certainly showed no trace of aggravation. They had lost their sight, these three successful and happy people, but certainly they had not lost their sense of humour.