Blind children – born to be musical?

28 January 2010

Children who have lost their sight because they were born prematurely are around 4,000 times more likely than sighted youngsters to develop exceptional musical abilities such as 'perfect pitch' -traditionally a marker of exceptional musical ability - according to a new study.

The research also shows that young blind children – including those with learning difficulties and autism are likely to have a greater fascination and interest in music than those with full or even partial sight.  "Blindness and learning difficulties need not prove a barrier to children's musical development and achievement – and may even be a "positive influence," says Professor Adam Ockelford, visiting research fellow at the Institute of Education, London (IOE), who carried out the study with Christina Matawa of the Wandsworth Visual Impairment Specialist Teaching Service.

Adam points out that there have been many famous blind musicians, including blues singer Ray Charles, soul musician Stevie Wonder, tenor Andrea Bocelli and Derek Paravicini, a gifted blind pianist with severe learning difficulties and autism, with whom Adam has worked for many years and who is popular on both sides of the Atlantic.
Professor Ockelford, a former Director of Education at the Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB), adds: "While perfect pitch is not a necessary condition for great musicianship – fewer than 20 per cent of professional musicians have it – it does seem to be necessary in the development of exceptional musicality among people with learning difficulties. Without perfect pitch, it is doubtful whether their sometimes exceptional performing abilities would ever get off the ground."The researchers observed a number of visually impaired children, who had been premature babies, in action at home and at school. They also surveyed parents, teachers and therapists, working with around 40 children, to find out whether their findings were more generally applicable. A group of parents whose children were fully sighted also completed the survey for comparison purposes.
The study found that 48 per cent of the blind children demonstrated great interest in everyday sounds, compared to 33 per cent of those who were partially sighted and 13 per cent of those who had full sight. Ninety percent of blind children were particularly keen on music, against 67 per cent of partially sighted children and 38 per cent of those with full sight. Sixty-eight per cent of the blind and partially sighted children played at least one instrument, compared to 41 per cent of the sighted group. Parents of the blind children also reported that music was particularly important as a source of comfort, helping youngsters relax and express their emotions.

Professor Ockelford comments: "Blindness from an early age is a common factor in the development of exceptional musical ability. Children's level of vision seems to be more important than their eye conditions, although there is some evidence that the effects of surviving a very premature birth may be an additional important factor in a child's developing musicality.  

"Music can allow young children to mark out events in their daily routine and can be a substitute language for children who cannot communicate in other ways. This is most important for blind children who can't see at all.
But the researchers emphasise that parents and teachers need to be aware of the different ways in which blind children learn music. While sighted children generally learn musical instruments by  taking lessons at primary age or (in their teens) copying what their friends do, blind toddlers often teach themselves by picking out tunes on a keyboard or other instrument by ear.  Learning difficulties can also have an impact on how these children gain skills, which maybe highly idiosyncratic, with consequences for adults seeking to offer support.
"Parents and teachers must be open-minded and respect how children with learning difficulties make sense of the world so that they are able to encourage and nurture their abilities," says Professor Ockelford. "The extent to which they achieve this will have a significant impact on the child's musical development."

Calling for greater investment in services and facilities to help visually impaired children realise their musical potential, he concludes: "Music has tremendous educational and therapeutic potential for blind people from infancy through to adulthood for children and young people". For those with learning difficulties it can offer an outlet of expression and an aid to their emotional development – areas which they might otherwise find particularly challenging."

The findings are presented in Focus on Music 2: Exploring the musicality of children and young people with retinopathy of prematurity, published by IOE Publications.

Ends

Further information and review copies from James Russell, 020 7911 5556, j.russell@ioe.ac.uk
Notes for editors
Focus on Music 2: Exploring the musicality of children and young people with retinopathy of prematurity, by Adam Ockelford and Christina Matawa, ISBN 978-0-85473-861-8, £12.99, paperback, 140 pages, published by Institute of Education Publications, December 2009, can be ordered from all online book retailers or directly from the IOE Bookshop,  Tel: +44(0)20 7612 6050.  Fax: +44 (0)20 7612 6407. Email: ioe@johnsmith.co.uk, www.ioe.johnsmith.co.uk.  

This study is the second in a series that is planned to examine the impact of different forms of visual impairment on the developing musicality of blind and partially sighted children and young people. Each volume will focus on the effects of a particular medical condition, which can cause varying degrees of sight loss, may result in learning difficulties, and which has been reported anecdotally to be associated with an unusual prevalence of exceptional musical abilities or interests.

The first study focused on children with septo-optic dysplasia, a congenital defect manifested by underdevelopment of the optic nerve and neural abnormalities, it can also be ordered in the same way as Focus on Music 2. The second concentrates on those with retinopathy of prematurity, which affects the immature blood vessels that would typically nourish the retinas growing at the backs of the eyes of premature babies. It accounts for between 3 and 5 percent of childhood blindness in the UK (60% in some developing countries). 

Adam Ockelford is professor of music at Roehampton University and a visiting research fellow - at the Institute of Education's International Music Education Research Centre (www.imerc.org). He was formerly director of Education at the Royal National Institute of Blind People. At the time of writing, Christina Matawa was head of music at Dorton House School for visually impaired children in Sevenoaks, Kent. She now works at the Wandsworth Visual Impairment Specialist Teaching Service.

The Institute of Education is a college of the University of London, specialising in teaching, research and consultancy in education and related areas of social science and professional practice. The Institute conducts over one-third of the educational research in the UK and last year's Research Assessment Exercise judged that 35 per cent of the work it had submitted was "world leading", while much of the remainder was of international significance.