Compassionate care in disabled people’s music engagement and learning

This article discusses the musical engagement of disabled people given recent scholarship in care ethics. It considers how terms used to describe them frame the relational aspects of care. Possibilities and challenges are examined for caring relationships in music teaching that involve: inclusive practice; vulnerabilities; reframing it towards reciprocal care; and the dangers of “benign neglect”. Hel’s “distributive justice” is also considered. The article concludes that disabled insiders’ authentic experiences might best serve as a platform for appropriate resources, policies and music education practices.