Kazakh Team Develops Music Guide for Visually Impaired Individuals
Sezual Company Introduces Innovative Musical Tutorial Device for Individuals with Low Vision
ASTANA – Sezual Company has developed a groundbreaking musical tutorial device aimed at improving the quality of life for individuals with low vision. This innovative solution focuses on enhancing accessibility and inclusivity in music education.
The idea for this music tutorial device originated from conversations with children who expressed their desire to learn music. After successfully implementing Braille language tutorials for over two years, Sezual Company Partner, Nurbek Yensebayev, shared in an interview with The Astana Times that they were inspired to embark on this new project.
Traditionally, visually impaired students spend around four years learning Braille, with teachers guiding their fingers to Braille-embossed keys. This method involves tactile identification through small raised dots, and in case students lose their place, the process must be repeated. However, Sezual’s Braille language device took a gamified and automated approach, allowing students to touch and memorize Braille markers while receiving corresponding audio feedback. As a result, the learning time was reduced from four years to just one or two months.
The success of the Braille devices led to requests from children and parents to develop a device that not only facilitated language and reading but also enabled them to play music. In response to these demands, Sezual Company is currently preparing five generations of musical tutorials that cater to various musical instruments such as keyboards, wind, and string instruments. This allows each child to choose their area of interest in musical literacy and instrument playing.
The musical tutorial device, developed in collaboration with Margarita Adilova, a visual impairment specialist at Ostrovsky Special Boarding School, focuses on teaching children to read notes in different octaves while enhancing their hearing, sense of rhythm, duration of sound, and beat. The device operates by producing a musical note when a key is pressed, and upon pressing the key again, the corresponding Braille notation for that note is announced. This system mirrors the one used in Sezual’s language tutorials.
Yensebayev emphasized that the device not only fosters musical literacy and instrumental skills but also serves as a cognitive exercise, benefiting children with coexisting conditions such as cerebral palsy, autism, memory delay, and speech disorders. Music plays a vital role in socialization and psychological development, addressing diverse developmental needs.
Sezual Company’s ongoing work includes the development of learning algorithms for visual impairment specialists and creating instructions for device use. They are also working on a mobile platform and application to enable specialists to share their knowledge worldwide remotely.
Additionally, the company has extended its collaboration to a school for the blind and visually impaired in Texas. Their efforts primarily focus on the B2G and B2B sectors, involving partnerships with companies and government entities to support individuals.
In the future, Sezual Company plans to utilize international organizations’ mechanisms to implement inventions that enhance the quality of life for visually impaired individuals worldwide. With their dedication to inclusivity and accessibility in music education, they aim to empower individuals to autonomously acquire musical literacy and proficiency in playing musical instruments.
