Visually Impaired, Legally Blind or Blind?
I am not blind. I can see.
How much I can see is where the details of the descriptions matter in all areas of my life.
I already pointed out that visually impaired is like a blanket description to cover a lot of areas, including legal blindness.
The use of "legally blind" is probably better understood as a way the government describes or classifies a person for receiving benefits or denying privileges (like driving).
Again, the Geneva Eye Clinic:
In the United States, any person with vision that cannot be corrected to better than 20/200 in the best eye, or who has 20 degrees or less of visual field remaining, is considered legally blind.
That is pretty specific and it is a standard used for determining benefits according to US law.
Hey fam!
My name is Taurus James and I'm a music producer from the United States. Thanks for checking out my music!
TaurusBeats Visually Impaired Producer
I am a music producer who is visually impaired.
Sometimes I use "VIP" to mean Visually Impaired Producer (or visually impaired person).
I saw this one doctor and he told me to stop using "blind" and "blindness" altogether.
"You're not blind. You have severely blurry vision." - he said.
My condition happened suddenly in 2014. To this day (March 2022) I have no reason or treatment for it.
My life changed drastically and dramatically, but I learned to "live through the loss" of a large part of my eyesight (central vision).
How I See
I use my peripheral vision as my primary way of seeing the world.
I almost always have on sunglasses because they decrease the effect of my central vision loss.
Plus, I usually have on a billed hat to help redirect light in a way that also allows me to see better.
None of what I do is scientific, but i have found ways to see differently.
I share sthe story of my journey as a visually impaired music producer to encourage other people, especially music creators who may be in similar situations to mine.
Once I bounced back from the depression, I did some pretty amazing things.
I created a lens system for my sunglasses that allows me to actually see better than what I should, according to my doctors.
One of my optometrists pointed out that she understood what I was doing, but that it was "more art than science" since my system is adaptive to my condition.
Hey, I can see what I could not before!
I started making music more "off-the-top" of my head.
More specifically, my "piano freestyles" really took off!
I know it is improvisation, but I am able to improvise full songs and more, without error. I could not do that before my eyesight loss.
I have done many other amazing things you can check out here.
About The Video - Come Again
I created this video to share how I see the world now as a visually impaired person having eyesight challenges, low vision music producer.
I did not recreate exactly how I see, but what I have here is pretty close.
"Come Again"
Music by Taurus James
I call the track "Come Again" because it expresses a question and desire I have about my eyesight. Will the fullness of sight ever Come Again?
I don't know. But until the, I will Live Through The Loss.
#LiveThroughTheLoss #beatmaker #musiccreator #musicmaker #Musicproducer
#notbysight #wearecma #howireason #Sawubona
#blind #visuallyimpaired #legallyblind #lowvision #partiallysighted
Download
You can listen to and download the finished version here.
Visually Impaired Music Producer Help
As a music producer, I have always use Reason (Reason Studios) as my primary DAW (digital audio workstation).
I had to re-learn how to use Reason and how to make music in ways around my visual impairment.
First, I had to change my mindset.
Next, I had to change the way I talked (and structured sentences).
Finally, I had to find and use "accessibility" tools all around me.
I have contacted Reason Studios about making Reason more "accessible", but it was cool to find this article and learn about another visually impaired music producer, Jason Dasent.
Making Music Production Accessible for the Visually Impaired
