Working with children with

Girl with Down’s

syndrome
by Caroline Gowers
In the course of teaching, over a period of nearly 30 years, I
have had the privilege of close contact with two children who
had very severe learning disabilities. In both cases music
became, probably, the most important thing in their lives.
The first child was Nick Shaw. He was born completely
blind. His parents heard that I was a Suzuki teacher living in
their neighbourhood and asked me to teach their older child,
then aged four. Nick was at every lesson, in his carry cot.
The book 1 piano recording became for him what a favourite
teddy might be for another child. He heard it incessantly, and
by the age of 11 months he was playing every tune in book 1
with his right thumb. What was amazing was that he played
fluently and musically. This was the beginning of his musical
development. [For continuation of Nick’s musical
development, see next article: Ed]
Nicola Beattie, the second child, was born with Down’s
Syndrome. She started learning the piano with Stephen Nicola Beattie and Caroline Gowers
Power, a Suzuki teacher then living near Peterborough, when
she was nine. By that time she had had three months of has a remarkable feeling for nuance and phrasing – the
observation and had listened to her book 1 recording things that are so difficult to teach but seem to be absorbed
morning and evening. She had also heard classical music of by osmosis. We have struggled with technique and with
all sorts since birth and her mother noted that when she was rhythm but she has slowly and surely progressed and
a baby music always stopped her crying. recently performed the slow movement of Mozart’s Sonata
With Stephen she spent a K545 in a public concert,
whole year mastering the Twinkle bringing tears to the eyes of
variations and another year Every child can succeed given many in the audience.
learning all the tunes in book 1
with her right hand. Stephen’s
the right environment None of this could have been
achieved without her mother,
early emphasis on balance (very who insisted on regular and
difficult for her) and good tone has stood her in good stead disciplined practice, repeating what was done in the lesson
ever since. and following my instructions. She and Nicola took delight in
By the time I met her, at a Suzuki workshop, she could each step mastered, constantly reviewed earlier pieces and
play all of book 1 hands together and she took enormous steadily moved on at Nicola’s pace.
delight in this achievement. To me she seemed to be a Her ability to play the piano, her enjoyment of performing
shining example of Suzuki teaching and Dr Suzuki’s and her pleasure in the friendships she has formed within the
philosophy that every child can succeed given the right “Suzuki family” have been a central part of her life and that of
environment. She spent much more time than most children her parents. 
listening to her recordings, she proceeded at her own pace
with constant help and encouragement from her mother, and  Caroline Gowers studied piano and organ at the Royal
improved her playing by repeating all the pieces she knew College of Music. In 1979 she embarked on the BSI training
over and over again. She loved, and still loves, performing. course and followed this with three months in Japan at the
I have been teaching her for about 12 years and it has Talent Education Institute. For some years she directed the
been a most rewarding experience. Music is for her a means piano teacher training course in London. She continues to be
of communicating in a way that spoken language is not. She involved in teacher training and to teach privately at home.

22 Piano Professional January 2007

special needs
Carey Beth Hockett

Autistic and blind boy

by Carey Beth Hockett
One of the most stimulating and enriching experiences of my the right kinds of instructions, he could have a little more
teaching career has been working with a blind and autistic independence by either listening to or playing along with one
musical savant called Nick Shaw. Nick was able to play or more tracks.
contrapuntal passages on the piano as soon as he could In the PLAY section of the lesson we did just that – played
reach the keyboard. I met him when he was about four and old pieces, played new pieces, improvised on one cello or
taught him the cello from the age of five to 18. two cellos or with one of us playing cello and the other
When I was first asked to teach Nick, I explained that I had playing piano. Once, when Nick was about 14 we came to
no special training for working the PLAY section of his lesson
with blind or autistic children. and I asked him to go to the
However, I have always
Every child is an individual with piano to accompany me. He
believed that every child is an ‘special needs’ found his way there with
individual with ‘special needs’ pleasure while I proposed that
and that our success as teachers depends on our ability to we play Fauré’s Elégie. The first of the great C minor church
recognise and respond to those needs. We adhered to the bell chords chimed out before he had even sat down on the
main principles of the Suzuki approach with Nick: bench. Somehow we arrived at the end of the piece and I
 he ‘observed’ the lessons of another child for several asked Nick whether he had heard it many times. He said he
months before he started learning himself; had heard it once.
 he learned by listening (of course!); The most exciting aspect of working with Nick is the
 his parents were actively involved, not only as facilitators unabashed enthusiasm he shows when hearing and making
of the home practice sessions, but also in helping me find music. We invited him to present a short solo concert at
ways to explain things to him; our summer school last year and when he finished he stood
 Nick had regular individual up and told the audience
and group lessons and that it was the BEST concert
attended many courses. he had ever given and that
he planned to give one next
My individual lessons with year too! Thank you, Nick,
Nick usually had two main for reminding us that it is a
sections. In the WORK great privilege to be a
section I chose specific musician. 
teaching points designed to
help Nick to think and act in  After graduating from the
an organised, pre-defined Eastman School of Music,
and consistent way. These Carey Beth Hockett was
points included cellistic principal cellist of the
issues such as bowings, Cayuga Chamber Orchestra
fingerings, articulation, in Ithaca, New York for 12
dynamics and posture. In years. For the past 18 years
our early years, many points she has lived in London
would be reinforced by a where she teaches for the
verbal instruction or a London Suzuki Group and in
touching reminder. In later the Junior Department of the
years, we came to rely very Royal Academy of Music.
heavily on the minidisc She has given numerous
recorder. Nick was not able workshops for teachers and
to operate the machine by children across Europe and
himself, but if we recorded Nick Shaw America.

January 2007 Piano Professional 23