Derek Paravicini is blind, can't tell his right hand from his left and needs round-the-clock care. But he has an extremely rare gift - he is a musical prodigy with perfect pitch whose piano-playing has thrilled audiences at venues from Ronnie Scott's to Las Vegas, the Barbican to Buckingham Palace. Miraculously, Derek taught himself to play.
There are around 40,000 children and young people in the UK alone with severe or profound and multiple learning difficulties, yet despite the widely held belief that music is beneficial, provision is at best patchy. This book aims to foster progress in this young discipline by identifying key issues and providing practical advice for practitioners.
A tap of the foot, a rush of emotion, the urge to hum a tune; without instruction or training we all respond intuitively to music. Comparing Notes explores what music is, why we are all musical, and how abstract patterns of sound that don't actually mean anything can in fact be so meaningful. Taking the reader on a clear and compelling tour of major twentieth century musical theories, Professor Adam Ockelford arrives at his own important psychologically grounded theory of how music works. From pitch and rhythm to dynamics and timbre, he shows how all the elements of music cohere through the principle of imitation to create an abstract narrative in sound that we instinctively grasp, whether listening to Bach or the Beatles. Based on three decades of innovative work with blind children and those on the autism spectrum, the book draws lessons from neurodiversity to show how we all develop musically, and to explore the experience of music from composer and performer to listener. Authoritative, engaging and full of wonderful examples from across the musical spectrum, Comparing Notes is essential reading for anyone who's ever loved a song, sonata or symphony, and wondered why.
This book explores why many children with autism are so captivated by music and how practitioners and parents can harness this to develop language skills. Through case studies, it displays how music can become a scaffold for language; allowing autistic children to express their inner thoughts and feelings without resorting to destructive behaviour.
Introduction; Key Words and Phrases; 64 Songs;
Introduction; Key Words and Phrases; 48 Cards; Sounds Important Booklet
This book sets out projects for making music with young people of all ages who have special abilities or needs. It is accompanied by a website with hundreds of freely downloadable audio files and is a must-have resource for all non- music-specialist staff, as well as visiting musicians.