Universal Design for Learning Approaches to Include ALL Band Students: From the Perspective of a Deaf and Hard of Hearing Band Director

Approximately 20% of Americans experience some level or type of hearing loss, and many of these individuals are musicians. The author of this article, a veteran middle school band director with moderate to severe hearing loss who has been wearing hearing aids for thirty years, will share applicable strategies that will enhance the music learning experiences for your deaf and hard of hearing (DHH) students as well as ALL students. Most of these are approaches you may already be using in your classroom.

“Your son should not pursue a degree in music education because of his hearing loss.” 
– Quote from region band clinician to author’s mother following a high school region band clinic and concert

It is unfortunate that there are individuals who feel they are in the capacity to inform students (and their parents) of what they believe the student cannot achieve because of a disability. As a community of music educators, we must all commit to ensure that every interested student receives equal access to learning how to play a musical instrument and help to further their career should they wish to join the profession of future music educators.

“[Deaf people] are first, last, and all the time the people of the eye.” 
— George W. Veditz, a former president of the National Association for the Deaf, 1910.

In this article, I list a couple examples of exercises that are addressed in the band classrooms along with details on its application for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing (DHH) students, which can be applicable for ALL students, and conclude with classroom adaptations for the beginning band and the advanced ensemble classrooms.

Key: (V) Visual learning: learns best by seeing; (T) Tactile learning: learns best by touching, feeling, and manipulating objects; (K) Kinesthetic learning: learns best with frequent opportunities for physical activity. Taken from Hands & Voices™ 

Instrument Carriage Exercises examples – Common Exercises vs UDL for ALL

Common Exercises

DHH/ALL applications

Instrument carriage exercises Keep fingers on the keys Balance the instrument – factors such as bottom/upper lip, Left Hand, Right Hand

Practicing with a mirror (Visual, Tactile) Helps student SEE where the headjoint is being placed onto their bottom lip to create the correct aperture. **Music stand must be placed at appropriate height to avoid hunched over posture and leaning into the mirror to see **Mirror can also assist in note separation exercises Finger placements (Tactile) Due to hearing loss, DHH students may be stronger tactile learners and strive with wanting to be accurate and precise with finger placement on top of the keys. Emphasize the importance of finger placement onto the keys and their press/release responsibilities These can be done with and without the fully assembled instrument before producing sound Visuals of mouthpiece placement from professionals (Visual) The Art of Brass Playing (Farkas, 1989) Professional models Coffee straw (Tactile) Use a coffee straw to determine the center of embouchure Once placed correctly with the lips touching and teeth apart, place brass mouthpiece through the straw and onto the lips for correct embouchure placement

 

Tempo exercises examples – common exercises vs. udl for all

Tempo exercises Listen for the metronome Stay on the beat Play in time with your neighbors

Flashing light on McAdams metronome (V) If this is placed at the front of the classroom, position to where student can see the flashing light with the tempo TonalEnergy Tuner app (V) Metronome feature has numerous selections for a visual aid (flashing block w/beat numbers, bouncing block/ball, foot tap, hand clap, etc) Vibrating metronome device – SoundBrenner (T) Device can be worn like a watch on the wrist, bicep, or across the chest Connects to app on smart device and can sync up to five SoundBrenner devices at once Helps student FEEL the pulse on the downbeat, upbeat, as well as subdivisions **Protects hearing from constant listening to a metronomic beeping sound** Foot tap visual with hands (V, T) Using your hands to demonstrate foot taps and have students repeat back to you Saying, “Down, up, down, up…”

Encouraging ALL students to watch the conductor and/or feel the tempo from the percussion section can strengthen the ensemble timing skills regardless of their hearing abilities. At stages as early as playing four quarter notes in the beginning band class, emphasize the importance in being able to FEEL in sync with their peers so that it may transfer to the ensemble setting in the following years.

Classroom Adaptations

Beginning Classroom Setup

Changing your seating arrangements throughout the year can strengthen the students’ ears on how it sounds and feels to play alongside different classmates. While consistency has its benefits, keeping a student in one specific spot of the room for the entire year does not help expand their listening skills and adapt to new settings. Placing various students by your DHH musicians helps to allow the “hearing” students to learn different ways in which to communicate with their DHH peers. This is made possible when a welcoming and understanding classroom environment is set up from day one. 

Be aware of the DHH (or ALL) students’ hearing strengths and weaknesses from the early stages. If a student has weaker hearing in their right ear, avoid placing them at the end of the row where they can struggle hearing the teacher or nearby peer. This also involves communicating with any adults involved with the growth of the child’s education such as the parents, core content teachers, audiologist, speech-language pathologist/therapist, school counselors, as well as the elementary music teachers who can speak on behalf of their experiences for the past six years!

Advanced Ensemble Setup

I would like to start this section off by saying the following, “It is OKAY to change from the norm!” Too many times, band directors want their ensemble setup to be a VERY certain way because it either worked for them back so many years or because they benefited greatly from the setup as a student. Expand your toolbox by experimenting with different setups to see what works best for ALL students while still meeting the needs of the DHH musicians. Placing stronger students on opposite sides of a DHH musician can not only strengthen the playing ability of the DHH student but also the leadership and communication skills of the other students. 

A personal example:
A band director approached me following our presentation at the Colorado Music Educator Association conference to ask about how he can better help his tenor sax player who has hearing loss get a better sense of time in his current ensemble setup. He drew out his setup and showed us that he places the student in the second row with the alto saxophones. My colleague and I mentioned trying the back row with the low brass. By doing this change, you are helping the student hear the lower pitches better AND feel the pulse of the percussion parts that are played right behind him. While this may not be the case with what can benefit all DHH students, this is just an example of a teacher reaching out to seek answers on how they can best assist their students to have a successful and enjoyable musical experience.

Mr. Adam Chitta (key-ta) is in his 14th year as the Assistant Band Director at Wood Middle School in the North East Independent School District in San Antonio, Texas. Throughout this time, he has been teaching the beginner brass classes, co-teaching the advanced ensembles, along with assisting the orchestra’s 5th Grade Strings program. He has been wearing behind-the-ear (BTE) hearing aids since he was diagnosed with a moderate to severe hearing loss at seven years old. He is the founder and owner of The Chitta Sound, LLC, which focuses on improving access and outreach for deaf and hard of hearing students through educational consultations and professional development training to ensure an equitable music education experience. Mr. Chitta has presented at the Cambridge University Press Accessibility Champions Virtual Talk, plus various state and international conferences including The Midwest Clinic. For more information on how he can assist you and your DHH population, check out his website: www.thechittasound.com. 

Related Reading:
How Do You Teach Rhythmic Precision?
“Out of the Box” Rhythm Exercises
Why I Want My Children to Be in Band

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