Music Class: Did You Take In School?

Hi! What kind of music classes did you take in school to fulfill the music requirement?

The description for my daughter's music class next year has me concerned "...students will develop critical listening skills and empathy by performing for each other..." and I feel that we are now getting to the point where part of the music grade is based on being able to 'name that tune', differentiate between composers, etc.

While she does have one CI (other side inoperable, no HA), she does not have the ability to do that. She is extremely successful academically, and I think that fools people into thinking she can hear better than she can. Actually it's because she is very smart, observant, and a hard worker, and she works extremely hard to hear what she does. She relies on lip reading and does use an interpreter because she wouldn't be able to catch everything in school otherwise.

She loves music, but she can't differentiate between musicians, songs, etc. From what I remember of my music classes (a LONG time ago, lol), by this age, they start playing music in the class and expect you to be able to hear it, and I don't want her getting penalized because she can't hear.

So what do other deaf students do to fulfill the music requirement, or what kind of accommodations did your school make for you to be able to take it?

The school I went to did not require deaf students to take music at all for obvious reasons. I don't know if this applies to all the schools. I was mainstreamed. Obviously they understood why deaf people shouldn't be required to take music.

Did they have an alternative that you took instead, like an extra art class or something? It does seem pretty ridiculous to penalize a deaf student for not being able to hear!

I would think that she should be able to take an alternate elective.

I did have to take Freshman Chorus in HS.. it was required... and a huge pain in the ass. So.. half the time I just mouthed the words lol. Big waste of an hour or two a week for me. ironically though- somehow I became the "Music Rep" for my homeroom to promote music events and school plays (always a musical)- didn't mind too much though. Never had any kind of Music Theory or appreciation class in High School. We did in elementary school but for the life of me I can't remember what we did aside from playing some really basic musical instruments (triangle, mini cymbals, wood sticks).

I was mainstreamed and I had to take music class growing up. It was HELL and I hated it. It made me turned off against music instead of appreciating it.

I was forced to learn to identify the different notes through listening. Bilateral deafness of 110 dB with hearing aides...REALLY? I swear some hearing people are just so clueless. It was because I could speak so well orally that all of the teachers I had thought I could hear as well. Yea, right!

That's another one of the many reasons I am against mainstreaming deaf children.

I'm sure we took alternative classes. I don't remember what it was. I had what many people took but nothing that stood out. They never told us, "you're taking this class in place of music" so I don't know.

I took percussion and I was not forced to listen to notes like shel was. I just happened to have right teacher for 4 years and all I did was follow his movements. He used to let band play along right in the middle of song and stop conducting but he quickly learned .. NO DICE for whole song. I could follow along a little bit , but my peripheral vision only can help me so far, not whole song as I would follow my favorite band members that always move their body in tune. You have to read the sheet and watch people constantly -- can be VERY VERY tiring. My teacher caught on and started making sure my equipment placement always had a clear line of sight to certain students, and students never caught on to that.. really helpful. I was in concert band, marching band all 4 years in HS and later at NTID played the NTID combo and timestompers. sadly NTID band is gone due to first round of budget cuts.

VHCC required me to take it, even though they knew I was HoH. I somehow managed to barely pass the first one, but the second one I was failing bad, so I withdrew to save my GPA.

VHCC wasn't understanding of anything, even got harassed by the school for being openly transgender. That school sucked.

MangaReader said:

The school I went to did not require deaf students to take music at all for obvious reasons. I don't know if this applies to all the schools. I was mainstreamed. Obviously they understood why deaf people shouldn't be required to take music.

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You mean the teachers actually figure that out all on their own?? It took almost 8 years for someone to figure out I was HOH . I took flute lesson in fifth grade and I liked it . But I failed fifth grade and send to the reject class and kids just put there to take of the school way. You didn't get any music lesson there.

As a mainstream student I never had any music classes to listen or appreciate music.

I did however learn to play the bass and played in the orchestra. I loved it.

guitar

Just say thank goodness you didn't go to school in the 60's...I had to take Music also...no alternatives...The teacher was a horrible person to me, never forget it!....

my music tecacher no joy either...he said i was hopless until i brought me guitar in and played a beatle medly self taught cos bit tone deaf at the time....
i had needle work teacher who deamon from hell that put me off that subject and gave me horror of sewing machine rest of life

caz12 said:

my music tecacher no joy either...he said i was hopless until i brought me guitar in and played a beatle medly self taught cos bit tone deaf at the time....
i had needle work teacher who deamon from hell that put me off that subject and gave me horror of sewing machine rest of life

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...Never forget the "Fashion Show" we had in school...(Home Economics)...really hated that class, and especially the teacher....I could not sew worth a damn...(and still can't)...the dress I made...the front was longer than the back and falling apart...got a "C" in that class, the worst grade ever.

^^ got pic of the dress LOL?!!

actually, because im a good welder, gas/arc i can apparently sew real good too!!

I will say (though this is both not IDEA and at college level), my college, as an accommodation, apparently can substitute classes that would be utterly useless for specific disabilities and replace them with things that would fulfill somewhat similar requirements. Not sure if that's under ADA or just something my college "does".

And on a different, unrelated note, I took a music for teachers class last semester, and we had a project where we got a certain situation and had to teach to/about it. Me and the two other deaf ed majors as a group naturally got deaf students... we used the time to show how hard music is to learn when you can't hear it well, then (since our song was about fruit) used the time to teach fruit signs and spatial awareness signs (in, next to, behind, etc.) with no regard to musical learning.

In elementary school music was required and I was put on the Flute. Okay I cannot hear half the notes on a flute because my loss is in the high frequencies. Either that or it hurt my ears too much. During HS we got Art/Drama/Music I chose music because I don't know why. I regret it and wish I took Drama all through HS. I remember my music teacher would always say "Play that note again, what did you hear?" Me: I don't know! I can't hear it or it's too sensitive to my ears!" He'd always make fun of me the way my flute was positioned because of my jaw (I had an underbite). It was embarrassing. Also I would always get the low notes for flutes (Fine by me!) But I was ALWAYS beside the High Notes flute player... that was a nightmare.
I'm glad I dropped out of band 2nd year of HS (grade 8-12) and took another elective.

I had to take a little bit of music in mainstream Elementary school (deaf classmates in Special Education) which we were required to feel the piano and probably to play drums. Not sure what other instruments we were forced to play with. I think we were kind of perplexed and not understanding why we were being forced to play music. I think that was only performed for us to be force to play music in Elementary school. In high school, no music elective at all.

Althought I took dancing through the years in another setting (dance school) and I just followed their movement and I could not tell the difference in music. I felt the vibrations on the dance floor. Tap dancing, no music including no vibrations because I did not have hearing aid back then. Then I took modern dancing and I felt some of the vibrations but the sounds from the music was very loud with my hearing aids. Finally, I took ballet lessons and I felt vibrations but not too bad. I still depend on their movements. The teachers told me to count the beat or rhythm and they help me do that. I love ballet dancing. Now I am no longer young anymore. I am old Elder.

I didn't have hearing loss until 3rd grade and I continued to be mainstreamed (the doctors didnt even realize I needed hearing aids until after I graduated college)...in 4th grade I tried out for choir because that was what everyone did but I didn't make it because the music teacher said I didn't appear "happy enough"...so I worked really hard and forced myself to smile the rest of 4th grade and I tried out for choir at the beginning of 5th grade and I made it.

In 6th grade (jr high) I took choir and during the 2nd week of classes, the music teacher stopped in the middle of a lesson and said that "someone was off" and she pulled me out of the group and made me stand in front of the whole class and try and match the notes on the piano and of course I couldn't so she yelled at me and told me I was bringing the class down so I had to switch from choir to music appreciation which was pretty much just me, some special ed kids, and the delinquents/slackers....plus side, the teacher LOVED me because 1) I actually participated, and 2) I helped out with the special ed kids in the class...that was the last music class I ever took