Sally Zimmerman, Music Education Advisor at the RNIB, discusses using the MIDIblock with a number of children.

This case study was previously hosted on the MIDIcreator-Resources website and is dated according to it’s original submission to that site.

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My use of your wonderful kit is still as limited, but as regular, as ever. I’m using the MIDIblock for improvisation without having to turn take with me, with children with very limited movement and at a stage of emerging awareness of self.  Two lads in particular, where I deem progress to be shown by extended movement and more controlled tempo of movement within a session, and in one case musical progress by the actual melodic shape of phrases. In both cases the software is giving the two lads more opportunity to express themselves than they show vocally at the moment.

With the other young lady, who has plenty of verbal understanding but extremely limited movement or vocalisation, we use the block on chords for me to improvise over for the intros and middles breaks in songs we share.