Roehampton professor helps launch ground-breaking resource for teaching music to blind and partially-sighted children

• Wednesday, June 10, 2020

A two-year collaboration between Roehampton’s Professor Adam Ockelford, the Amber Trust and the ISM Trust, has resulted in an innovative new set of resources for teaching music to blind and partially sighted children.

Launching on June 15 2020, Amber Sound Touch is the first comprehensive online teaching resource for blind and partially-sighted children, comprising 13 videos and extensive written guides. It covers key topics such as learning to playing by ear, notation, performing and guidelines for appropriate touch. The resource will enhance equality of opportunity for blind and partially sighted children in their pursuit of music across the UK and beyond.  

Professor Ockelford, Director of the Applied Music Research Centre in Roehampton’s School of Education said: 'I am thrilled that these new resources will be freely available to music teachers. They should make a real difference to the lives of the blind and partially sighted children in the UK and beyond.'  This heartwarming video 'Seth's Story' shows how impactful music teaching using the Amber Sound Touch method can be for blind children. 

The launch was originally planned to take place at The Royal Albert Hall, but will now be a webinar and includes an introduction by Professor Ockelford. It starts at 11am on Monday June 15th and all are welcome - you can register to join here.