International Journal of Education & the Arts

Citation: Grimsby, R. (2025). The songbird and the percussionist: Listening to and implementing non-speakers’ musical preferences. International Journal of Education & the Arts, 26(16). http://doi.org/10.26209/ijea26n16

The purpose of this participatory narrative inquiry was to understand the musical experiences and preferences of two non-speaking children within the location of their school (institution), their interactions with music and the music setting (social), and to understand the culture of communication for these individual non-speaking students in a speaking centric institution (music education). Picture Exchange Communication (PEC) and Augmented Alternative Communication (AAC) were used to invite musicking and clarify participants’ preferences. Video “think-alouds” and visual elicitation (drawing) methods were used to center participants’ voice in analysis. Thick descriptions of participants’ musicking preferences and communication styles are included. Recommendations for student centered instruction through student agency and autonomy also are shared.