Vividarling Music Project
Donation protected
Hello! I am a singer/songwriter, a mother of 3 children, the youngest with mulitple health issues and myself I am legally blind. I gradually lost vision from a child 50/20 to 100/20 at age 12 to 200/20 at age 16 to 400/20 in my late 20's. This means what a person with normal healthy vision can see at 400 feet I can only see at 20 feet in ideal circumstances. However I have also extreme light sensitivity and colour blindness with further decline in amount of detail I can see. People in general do not realize someone with visual impairments that their vision changes depending on their environmnet. I see differently, better and worse depending on the weather and time of day. I see mostly white with shadows on sunny summer days outside. On a winter sunny day with snow on the ground there's no shadows to use as guide and it's more like a sheet of gray like trying to see through the tinted windows of a car. On a cloudy summer day the gray posts and steps blend into the background and I walk into them or fall. I lose depth perception on a gray day it's like a looking at a newspaper one dimensional. During dusk and dawn I see the best well enough to ride a 3 wheel adult tricycle and walk normally not needing to worry about falling.
Music and singing everyday has allowed me to get through the difficult times. Sining is pure pleasure and relaxing to me. I get inpsired and write songs. However I dearly miss playing classical guitar.
I fell in love with classical guitar and Liona Boyd's Minatures for the Guitar was the first record I bought when I was 14 years old. I learned many of the pieces on that album to a certain level. But now have lost the memory of most of the music I loved except for a few bits mostly the music I learned for the Conservatory tests.
As I lost the ability to read musical notation before my children were born. I could put muisc under a large magnifier to slowly methodically learn a new piece but to do this you need both your hands to manipulate the magnifier and the paper you are trying to read. So I would have to put down the guitar to do this. This was too time consuming with children and after my yo9ungest was born impossible. Even though I couldn't take out my guitar I could sing. I would make up songs for my youngest for him to learn new skills. He is very musical but doesn't have the fine motor skills to play guitar for example. He also can not play a wind instrument since he has a cleft palate and very little muscle tone in neck and face. What would help him would be larger and easy to press keys.
Recently I discovered a new technology called the Line Lighter which is a foot pedalled system specially designed for visually impaired music students. The music notation scrolls along the screen magnified and with a pointer showing you where you are as you play so your hands stay on your instrument. The cost is $5000 US funds
My life experience of needing to find adaptive solutions to get what I wanted done for myself and advocate for my son has prepared the path of extending these skills and my passion of music to help other persons with disabilities. The health benefits of music are extensive a few examples are reducing stress, lowering blood pressure, improving blood circulation but more importantly is that it can lift your spirit. Music has the ability to improve a person with a disability quality of life, boost their confidence and expand their social network.
I would like to start a completely accessbile music program with no age restriction or a specific diagnosis required.
This would be done in stages as I have received
positive reception for a larger project of actual building where entire space would be accessible in partnership with Folrum Ottawa Community Music Venue.
But starting with the Line Lgihter purchasing further equipment and adapting methods of making music. Long term goal would be to have completely accessible stage with ramp, accessible music rooms with specialized computer equipment and software where be able to make music individually and in group setting. Completely including everyone in the joy of making recreational music togehter with no set outcome or in a music circle or class to learn music or in an open mic stage performance.
Recording the songs I've written with your help will start this project and I would be able to continue helping others through music. Please share with your family and friends on your socail networks. Thank you so Much!
Music and singing everyday has allowed me to get through the difficult times. Sining is pure pleasure and relaxing to me. I get inpsired and write songs. However I dearly miss playing classical guitar.
I fell in love with classical guitar and Liona Boyd's Minatures for the Guitar was the first record I bought when I was 14 years old. I learned many of the pieces on that album to a certain level. But now have lost the memory of most of the music I loved except for a few bits mostly the music I learned for the Conservatory tests.
As I lost the ability to read musical notation before my children were born. I could put muisc under a large magnifier to slowly methodically learn a new piece but to do this you need both your hands to manipulate the magnifier and the paper you are trying to read. So I would have to put down the guitar to do this. This was too time consuming with children and after my yo9ungest was born impossible. Even though I couldn't take out my guitar I could sing. I would make up songs for my youngest for him to learn new skills. He is very musical but doesn't have the fine motor skills to play guitar for example. He also can not play a wind instrument since he has a cleft palate and very little muscle tone in neck and face. What would help him would be larger and easy to press keys.
Recently I discovered a new technology called the Line Lighter which is a foot pedalled system specially designed for visually impaired music students. The music notation scrolls along the screen magnified and with a pointer showing you where you are as you play so your hands stay on your instrument. The cost is $5000 US funds
My life experience of needing to find adaptive solutions to get what I wanted done for myself and advocate for my son has prepared the path of extending these skills and my passion of music to help other persons with disabilities. The health benefits of music are extensive a few examples are reducing stress, lowering blood pressure, improving blood circulation but more importantly is that it can lift your spirit. Music has the ability to improve a person with a disability quality of life, boost their confidence and expand their social network.
I would like to start a completely accessbile music program with no age restriction or a specific diagnosis required.
This would be done in stages as I have received
positive reception for a larger project of actual building where entire space would be accessible in partnership with Folrum Ottawa Community Music Venue.
But starting with the Line Lgihter purchasing further equipment and adapting methods of making music. Long term goal would be to have completely accessible stage with ramp, accessible music rooms with specialized computer equipment and software where be able to make music individually and in group setting. Completely including everyone in the joy of making recreational music togehter with no set outcome or in a music circle or class to learn music or in an open mic stage performance.
Recording the songs I've written with your help will start this project and I would be able to continue helping others through music. Please share with your family and friends on your socail networks. Thank you so Much!
Organizer
Vivian Sollows
Organizer
Gloucester, ON