Find a place you love working and stay there before you lose your vision. It’s not impossible to work in your field while being blind or visually impaired. Adaptations will have to be made, but if it’s your passion there is no reason you should quit. The biggest problem is the prejudice of others and people making decisions for what is best for you without your consent. Well meaning people may prevent you from getting a job because they may doubt your ability to keep your students safe or get to work. If I were you I would find a job you can get to with the help of public transportation (or walk to) and stay in that job. That way if you do experience a decrease in vision your employer already knows you and what you are capable of and may perhaps assist you in making the changes needed for you to continue to perform to a high standard.

With all your determination, there is no stopping you.

There are so many music educators who are blind. Don't let this revelation in your life set you back.

Finish your degree and look into local resources that will help you to become independent. They will also help you with workplaceaccomodation most likely. If you live in the US then your state will have these resources.


It won't be easy and you may have to re-learn a bit, but don't give up.

Edit: Workplace accommodation, I meant.

I wouldn't say there's any job you couldn't do. But you'll need the skills. And you'll want to get them now before you become totally blind so you'll be ready. The National Federation of the Blind is a great resource and they have three world-renowned training centers where you learn the skills, meet blind people, and develop positive attitudes. I would highly highly reccomend if you live in the U.S. to get involved in the NFB in your state. Look them up. Contact their president. You will be greatly rewarded!:)

Definitely. All of my music teachers have been blind. You might want to invest in learning how to read notes in braille though.

It may not be the way you expect, but it is most likely possible. You probably couldn’t be a marching band visual director, but there’s a lot of other things you could do.

People have said you need to get your music education down in case your sight gets worse. That's probably a smart move as it will be easier, but if that can't happen for whatever reason don't despair. I was a casual guitarist for years, including long after I lost my sight, and I didn't really start taking it seriously until I started doing a worthwhile amount of paid work. If it helps, I then encountered a couple of quite difficult situations in which people asked me to do things and while I was capable of doing them, I had no idea what they were talking about because I didn't have the terminology down! So yeah, learn your theory. But you can do it any time. I learned most of it at the Google school of music and from friends.

I am not a music teacher. One of the people I mentor has asked me to teach her guitar, so we're in a situation where we are both blind and that is really tough, because she can't see what I'm doing and I can't see what she's doing. It's not impossible, it's just time consuming and honestly I think she'll be better with a real music teacher for all sorts of reasons. But otherwise, I think you'll be fine.