Published on 02 Sep 2025
In the 2024–2025 academic year, the Conservatory of Music of Brescia organised the qualifying courses for future music teachers, a highly significant training program for those preparing to teach music education and instrumental practice in secondary schools. The participants are young musicians from Italy, graduates in musical disciplines, already experienced in teaching, united by the goal of becoming qualified and conscientious music educators.
In this context, on June 18, 2025 Giuseppe Nicotra held an online lecture on special pedagogy, presenting the MuVie project to a virtual classroom of 171 future teachers. In his address, he emphasised the urgent need to make music education increasingly inclusive and accessible, beginning with a reflection on the role of music as a universal language and a tool for integration. The key points of his lecture included:
- Objectives of the MuVie project: developing innovative teaching methodologies that allow students with visual impairments to fully participate in musical studies, from reading Braille music notation to using accessible software.
- Concrete proposals for teachers: Nicotra suggested introducing classroom activities that foster analytical listening as an alternative or complement to traditional score reading; adopting technological tools capable of automatically converting musical notation into Braille; and encouraging cooperative group work between sighted and visually impaired students.
- Operational solutions: practical examples of inclusive lessons were presented, such as the use of sound maps and tactile charts to visualise the structure of scales and applications that convert visual signals into sound feedback. Nicotra also invited future teachers to cultivate strong pedagogical sensitivity, reminding them that “it is not the student who must adapt to the school, but the school that must learn to welcome the student.”
The lecture was met with great interest: many participants expressed their intention to further explore the proposals by consulting the resources available on the project website, recognising its value as a model of inclusive music education capable of breaking down barriers and promoting equal opportunities for all students.