Book – Perfect Pitch in the Key of Autism

Perfect Pitch in the Key of Autism
A Guide for Educators, Parents and the Musically Gifted

AUTHORS: Henny Kupferstein and Susan Rancer

Book available for purchase on iUniverse.com (Softcover or eBook or Amazon AudioBook)

JOIN THE FAN CLUB! The Rancer Method – Teaching Piano to Gifted and Special Needs Students – FaceBook group for piano teachers and educators who are applying the Rancer Method in their practice.

Autistic people and musical individuals often have perfect pitch, a gift they were born with. The musical gift may be accompanied with learning differences such as reading comprehension problems, trouble with mathematics, and significant difficulties in learning how to read music. This book was written by a music therapist and an autistic researcher, and is endorsed by leading experts in the field of autism and special-needs education. The Rancer Method is presented as page-by-page instructions to be implemented with readily-available method books so that every piano teacher can follow it and do well by their students.

“This book will help the quirky kid who is different to be successful in music. This method may help open musical doors for many individuals on the autism spectrum.”

Temple Grandin, author
Thinking in Pictures and The Autistic Brain.

Why do we care about absolute pitch? The original focus of our research was to explain the seeming connection between absolute pitch and learning disabilities. What we discovered was that there are no learning disabilities. There are learning differences and brilliant tactics that enable coping with each of those differences, tools that lead to success in academics and all areas of functioning.

This book bridges three worlds together for your understanding. Among the authors, we have autism, sensory integration issues and absolute pitch. By combining our experiences, we can learn much more about what occurs due to the autism, due to the sensory issues, or due to the absolute pitch. The common thread is absolute pitch. Exploring it as a trait segues into understanding the rest of the autism and sensory issues. By peeling those apart, we can then assign the traits to the autism and/or absolute pitch.

“By focusing on the abilities rather than the deficits of people with learning, perceptual, motor, and other differences, Kupferstein and Rancer have developed a revolutionary piano pedagogy that will empower individuals with autism and other differences by unleashing the power of what can be done.”

Stephen M. Shore, Ed.D.
Internationally known professor, consultant, speaker, and author on issues related to the autism spectrum and special education. Person on the autism spectrum