Music through Leani’s eyes | Entertainment News

MADISON, Wis. — Leani Tell is just like your average 10-year-old girl. She loves YouTube, her classmates, teachers, and music. Her dad says she’s sassy as ever and her mom says she that she definitely likes to make her own choices. but there is one thing about Leani that she doesn’t have in common with most 5th graders.  

When she was s old, Leani was diagnosed with Spinal Muscular Atrophy – or – S.M.A. 

“At that time there were no treatments, and so we were told that she would only survive until she was maybe two years old” said Leani’s mom, Nichole Tell 

One of the most extraordinary things about Leani is how she communicates.  

“Leani has been learning to speak through her eyes, through an eye gaze device since she was 15 months old. she was one of the youngest people to ever use it effectively.” said Nichole. 

Nichole says that Leani has been interested in classical music since she was very young. From listening to music and watching her favorite show –Masha and the Bear –she found a love for violins.  

Which made choosing an instrument once she joined fifth-grade band pretty simple.  

In December, Shelly Green joined Leani’s team as a homebound teacher, helping her learn the violin.  

“I walked into a child who had music in her, but no way to express it… she started playing, she had rhythm, we noticed she could keep the beat.” said Green.  

Green was the one who figured out Leani had been using a violin that was too big for her. Once the sizing got sorted out, Leani love for playing music became unmatched.  

“This has given her an outlet for her creative side … it was chaos at first, but when she slowed down, what was happening up here, it was the harmony to what she was listening to here was amazing.” said Green 

Recently she has even begun dabbling in music composition by using her eyesight.  

“She eye gazes on those tiny little boxes, and she makes music with that. So she’ll mix music with that program, then she plays it and if she doesn’t like something she’ll change a box here or change a box there “said Leani’s dad, Dwight Tell.  

She began working with her teachers to write her own piece.  

“Leani started saying I want a, I want C sharp, I want this… she listed the notes, they went back and she told them how long, was it an 8th note or a quarter note or was it a rest… and so she created the whole thing just with direction and memory writing it down.” Green said.  

Now, on Saturday at the Sandburg Elementary School’s 5th grade strings concert, Leani joined her classmates in a performance.

Something that excites her and her friends. Leani typically joins class virtually because of how dangerous it can be for her if she were to get sick at school.  

So when she is in school, many of her classmates and teachers make sure to say hi or give her a hug or a wave.  

“It’s cool to, to be able to have her friends come up to her and say hi because she, she absolutely loves it and of course wants a hug from everybody and wants to wave at everybody.” Dwight said.  

“The kid’s absolutely love her… it’s very exciting as a parent to see that interaction and to see that inclusion.” Nichole said.  

Leani also had a big accomplishment during the concert.  

“She started doing something I haven’t seen before… the first time she was able to start pushing down enough on the strings to hear the sounds like the other kids are making. 

Although that wasn’t the only memorable moment of the day. Leani also introduced and performed her very own piece of music.  

“I knew she was kind of playing around with creating music, but I had no idea she created that specific piece and that everybody was going to play it today. so that was exciting to see.” said Nichole.