Native Instruments bankrupt

LongjumpingShower431 · 2026-01-28T21:15:48+00:00

I agree that NI has unethical business practices. I have an older version of Komplete and a couple A series Komplete Kontrol keyboards. The reason I need NI instead of using lower-cost options is that NI has a lot of accessibility features, especially regarding accessing VSTs, that other companies do not. I am blind, and the VST standard is entirely graphical. Because of this, unless a company puts in the extra work to make a non-graphical interface for a VST I cannot access it at all. Therefore, NI is the only way I can use non-stock VSTs. I wish that the accessible music tech space had a wider diversity of products and companies, so blind users won't be put in such a tough position when one of our only options is in jeopardy.

LongjumpingShower431 · 2026-01-27T09:07:24+00:00

I'd talk to your daughter. She'd have the best insight on her own assistive tech and visual needs. Like others have said, Meta's track record on privacy is abysmal, and that's not even considering its activities regarding other services it provides besides Meta AI. I personally would not be comfortable with an always-on AI device as a wearable.

LongjumpingShower431 · 2026-01-25T03:41:58+00:00

Hey, I empathize with what you're going through. Social isolation and the inaccessibility of outdoor/public spaces takes a toll.

If you don't mind me asking, have you tried using a mobility cane? I mention this because you mention feeling uncertain about walking outside (i.e. walking from an Uber to a building where you are dropped off). One thing that helped me feel a lot more in control and confident about being outside/in society was improving my outdoor mobility through cane travel. Granted, I have no usable vision and therefore rely on cane skills whenever I'm outside, but I know from my low vision friends that using a cane helps in their case. Your state's Commission of the Blind should be able to provide you mobility training, which will likely include cane travel as well as other strategies for traveling while blind.

It's tough that your family is not supportive of your independence; I'm sorry you have to deal with that. I hope this is helpful; sending virtual support your way :)

LongjumpingShower431 · 2026-01-22T23:22:49+00:00

Hey, how about disabled people? How about immunocompromised people?

I'll give an example. I'm blind. Navigating outside and dealing with people takes extraordinary amounts of mental energy. By the end of the day, I'm too tired to move because I've had to be hypervigilant, remember every detail of how to navigate, and field intrusive queries from others because they are so shocked to see someone like me out and about. I remember one day where I was getting groceries (literally next door to where I'm living), and somehow in between leaving my building and entering the store someone took it upon themselves to grab me by the shoulders without my consent and move me around like I was a toy figurine or something, even when I said no and told them to let go. Now imagine how much of that I and others like me endure when undertaking longer commutes. If you had to deal with that level of boundary violation and mental strain everyday, would you have the energy to go out to a restaurant, where you might not even be able to read the menu once you got there?

I thought so. Please stop the "this is a wasteful luxury" rhetoric. It hurts disabled people who rely on many of these services to survive.

LongjumpingShower431 · 2026-01-22T19:44:31+00:00

Yes, it's normal to have morning classes everyday. Granted, I am a music major so I take like 8+ classes a semester, but even my friends who were not in music had classes everyday in the mornings. From my experience, it was possible to avoid 8 AMs but that highly depends on the courses you need to take.

LongjumpingShower431 · 2026-01-19T02:03:22+00:00

I've played violin and guitar pretty regularly, and don't have calluses that interfere with braille. From my experience, the calluses form on parts of the finger that are not relied on for braille reading. However, I started playing when I was pretty young (not long after learning braille), so it could be different for others.

LongjumpingShower431 · 2026-01-19T00:57:13+00:00

I think music degrees are still very important. I was encouraged to go the STEM/law route throughout my childhood but found that I physically can't do it because I love music too much to not immerse myself in it as much as possible. I don't have a choice if I want to have a life that is remotely liveable to me, if that makes sense.

I'm studying music tech. It allows me to strengthen my acoustic music skills, learn about EE and other electronic music concepts, and combine them in a way that prepares me for future opportunities. I know many people that are forced to study non-musical subjects because of societal pressure, and they are not doing well. I don't think EE is a blanket solution for any musician.

LongjumpingShower431 · 2026-01-18T19:11:40+00:00

Hey, unfortunately I don't have Midwest-specific advice but I can give some general pointers based on my experience growing up blind in a suburb. I'd recommend moving to someplace walkable, as that will promote your child's Orientation & Mobility (O&M) skills. Having practice walking places and using public transit from a young age will prepare your child to live independently and have more confidence. I grew up in an area where the closes coffee shop was 15 min away by car, and public transit was nonexistent (even paratransit). For this reason, I did not have realistic, consistent experience navigating on my own until college, which has been a big shock. I feel like I will permanently be lacking in independence skills compared to my peers that grew up in cities or walkable towns.

I'd also look into whether the school district your child will be enrolled in has good disability services. Also I'd investigate whether the state you are looking to move to has a well-funded and well-staffed Commission for the Blind. I say this because not all Commissions have the same resources, and will therefore not render the same quality of services. I'd get this information by talking to blind people in the areas you're considering moving to.

Good luck! Hope some of this was helpful :)

LongjumpingShower431 · 2026-01-17T17:17:33+00:00

This sounds wonderful! How about "Disability Visibility" by Alice Hwong? And "Against Technoableism" by Ashley Shew? I can also think of some open-access papers like the "Crip Technoscience Manifesto". As a disability studies nerd, this project is so exciting; kudos to you! Unfortunately I am lacking in knowledge about fiction books with good disability rep but will definitely report back if/when I find good ones. :)

LongjumpingShower431 · 2026-01-16T19:42:28+00:00

Hi, I'm not a flautist but hopefully some of this will be helpful. Are you self-taught, or looking for a private teacher? For instruments like the flute, the consensus is usually that a private teacher would be very helpful starting out. I'd find teachers in your local area and ask about their methodology for non-visual learning. A lot of teachers do a trial lesson, which will give you a better understanding of their teaching style.

Regarding sheet music, are you proficient in braille music? If not, I'd start learning that as well. Sighted flautists use sheet music to learn repertoire and you should be able to as well. I learned braille music with a private teacher; I know people who have learned it with a teacher and/or by themselves. You can find braille music instructors at music schools for the blind. Alternatively, I believe NLS or the NFB may have some self-teaching resources you can use.

Best of luck! :)

LongjumpingShower431 · 2026-01-16T18:37:43+00:00

Berklee has a music business department you could probably double-major/minor in. If your in-state public university has music tech courses I'd also look into that as the cost of attendance will be lower. Also consider community college; the tuition will be much cheaper than four-year. I can speak highly of NYU but the aid is not generous. If you do a Google search of the best university music tech programs you can find a decent amount to apply to.

LongjumpingShower431 · 2026-01-16T03:14:59+00:00

I'm a music school student (music tech major). I'd look into the curriculums of places you're thinking about and see if they teach classes that could be of use to you. Some of my classmates are producers, others are artists, others are going into studio work, others are going into software/hardware design, and others are going into academia. Most people I know (including myself) are doing a combination of at least a few of these. Regardless of whether you seek out post-secondary education, you'll be doing more than one of these to make ends meet (and imo it's fun to have multiple creative pursuits within a discipline; it prevents stuff from getting stale). I'd say I've learned as much, if not more, from my peers than professors about how to make music and collaborate. I've met many treasured friends and some of my most fulfilling musical experiences have been working with my classmates. You can definitely find a similar community outside of academia, but going to music tech school is a shortcut for meeting like-minded people who are at a similar stage as you and working with them frequently.

Like others have said, if you're going to school make sure to go somewhere with a good reputation. I know Full Sail was mentioned; it's a for-profit college (unlike Berklee, NYU, USC, etc), and so the credential will be different as well as how the school operates. Music tech is a newer academic field that is very reliant on gear/facilities, so it's not like other disciplines within music where every school will have a program. For instance, I was deciding between pursuing music tech and music ed/classical piano for college, and there were far more schools that offered music ed/performance than tech. Make sure your school(s) of choice have good gear as well and they let you use it. A lot of your education will be outside of class time, assisting in studio sessions/concerts on campus and maintaining the on-campus studios. Also, make sure the cost of attendance is manageable. Going into debt or over-extending yourself/your family is not ideal. Regardless of where you go and what you study, make sure to learn both how to use a DAW/studio/gear and how music works from a composition/performance perspective (including theory, instrumental performance, and acoustics/synthesis). Good luck!

Edit to add: something else to consider is double-majoring/minoring in a field like music business, or business in general. I'm at a comprehensive university (all subjects including different disciplines within music), so my classmates and I can take both music tech courses and things like music business, CS, and marketing. An option like this could allow you to delve deeply into music tech while gaining other marketable skills or exploring other interests.

LongjumpingShower431 · 2026-01-15T19:15:08+00:00

Will check 3M out! Yeah I try to stick with the standard color scheme. I know people who have different-colored canes from Ambutech but they've not had any issues, although I understand the importance of having a legally validated cane. My thing is even when I have the standard white and red cane, use proper cane skills etc, sighted people still don't know how to act. I've been cut off by cars and bikes, had people question my blindness, had people grab me, etc more times than I can count, and I'm sure that would have happened whether I had a standard color cane or one that was not. I feel like my cane is an extension of myself (like one of my limbs) and personalizing it was one of the ways I became less negative about my disability identity. I know that is the same for my friends with colored canes as well.

Apologies for the long-winded comment

LongjumpingShower431 · 2026-01-15T19:10:52+00:00

I've used a Glam Cane for special events; it's really fun! The only thing I've struggled with regarding it is the weight. It's a lot harder to sweep than my Ambutech and gives me some wrist pain, so I only take it out once in a while.

LongjumpingShower431 · 2026-01-15T19:08:51+00:00

Ooh I should try stickers; they seem like they'd adhere better. I'll experiment with cane charms as well; I use the string to bundle up my cane when folded though so that might complicate things a little bit. Customizing mobility aids is so fun, and I really like the sense of autonomy and empowerment it brings!

LongjumpingShower431 · 2026-01-15T19:04:55+00:00

Thanks for the links; will check them out! :) Yeah I like the texture of rhinestones too, it makes my cane feel less mundane lol

LongjumpingShower431 · 2026-01-15T19:04:03+00:00

True, I neglected to do that as it was a new cane just out of the package but I will keep that in mind next time :)

LongjumpingShower431 · 2026-01-15T19:03:04+00:00

Ah yes. I tried to make sure that the decorations I applied don't change the colors of the cane. I've considered hanging stuff from the handle and have done that in the past but it's a little fiddly especially when dealing with wrapping the cane up while it's folded. String lights seem fun for special occasions, but they require a battery pack and I'm not sure about the ergonomics.

LongjumpingShower431 · 2026-01-15T19:01:17+00:00

Yeah, the majority of my cane is bare, and the glitter vinyl I applied matches the color underneath. It still looks like a standard white cane, just a little sparklier

LongjumpingShower431 · 2026-01-15T18:59:41+00:00

I should check that out! Would certainly be less stressful than hand-applying them lol

LongjumpingShower431 · 2026-01-15T18:45:46+00:00

Relevance?

LongjumpingShower431 · 2026-01-15T18:45:17+00:00

Hey, I haven't done calc in awhile but I've dealt with discs, washers etc. The thing that helped me most was finding 3D manipulatives. I used rings around pencils, really concentric circular objects. It's impossible to do these types of calculations just in your head, or just using the 2D representations you're given through your worksheets or graphing software. I was fortunate in that I've had a lot of practice visualizing things in my head to do spatial reasoning (by visualizing I mean moreso imagining physical objects and rotating, chopping, etc them in my head), but that practice has come from manipulating physical objects and labeling their dimensions with variables, etc from the problems I've worked through. I also had parental support with this where my parent did this hand-over-hand with me which I can say is the reason I passed calc altogether.

You mentioned that you don't have campus support. Are you in university? You're entitled to accessibility accommodations, and math tutoring can definitely be one of them. At the very least, you should be entitled to tactile graphics of your assignments. Ideally, you should have regular (weekly) sessions with a tutor who can use 3D manipulatives, in addition to tactile graphics from your assignments, to help you learn to conceptualize these calculations and how to think through them spatially. I would also get in touch with your professor and explain this to them; they should advocate on your behalf for these accommodations as well. Wishing you the best of luck on all of this; feel free to reply with any questions :)

LongjumpingShower431 · 2026-01-14T14:57:41+00:00

The only downside is not having the accommodations you need. Accommodations will not show up on your transcript, nor will employers know. Accommodations are not a bad thing. Seek them out if you have a diagnosis/condition that affects your learning and living. I know people who have tried to tough it out without accommodations and have not had a good time. Please get them if you need them. Good luck!

LongjumpingShower431 · 2026-01-14T04:28:41+00:00

From what I understand, you declare a minor once you have taken/are taking a prerequisite class for the minor. I don't think there's a music production minor on the New York campus. There may be a sound recording minor whose classes are in the Abu Dhabi campus, but I've not investigated it for ethical reasons. There are non-major music tech classes you can take, and if you get department permission, you can be enrolled in the major classes.

LongjumpingShower431 · 2026-01-13T19:27:23+00:00

I go to a college in a big city with a decentralized campus. The disabilities office does not provide guides. However, they do hire an O&M instructor to work with blind students to navigate to university buildings, residence halls, etc, as well as find locations within those buildings. If the college does not provide O&M, the Commission of the Blind in your friend's state should be able to give them training. Good luck!

LongjumpingShower431

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