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Archive: 2015 (52 Posts)

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Back to School

Posted by: Mary Dell Jenkins

September signifies many things to us–cooler temperatures, leaves starting to turn, and…back to school! I would like to showcase some of the items requested with increasing frequency as the semester begins. We have some new titles and some that would be helpful if you’re looking for a guide. Most of these are intended for college …

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Again, Free Braille Music Scores

Posted by: John Hanson

This is the second post announcing the availability of free braille scores. The response to our first offer was good, but modest. So, in this post, not only are we offering a larger number of titles, but we are also trying to encourage more requests. These are scores that have been received over the years …

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Behind the Scenes: An Interview with NLS Narrator Julian Thompson

Posted by: Katie Rodda

Continuing our series of interviews with narrators from NLS’s own studio, I got a chance to sit down and talk with narrator Julian Thompson. Recently, Julian has recorded the liner notes for one of our Smithsonian Folkways books, Richmond Blues (DBM 03642). In addition, he has also narrated a number of books about music and musicians in …

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Now…That’s Entertainment!

Posted by: Mary Dell Jenkins

Summertime, and the living is easy… …Except here at the NLS Music Section where we use the time to update our catalogs and circulars. In the near future, we will be offering a new version of the former Instructional Cassette Recordings Catalog. But because of the growth of the collection it will be divided into two separate catalogs. …

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Music for the Less Common Instrument

Posted by: Amanda Smith

The Music Section’s collection of music scores and audio materials is plentiful. Piano music, yes! Guitar lead sheets, we’ve got them! Vocal librettos, songs, etc. But, what about music written for lesser known instruments? Do you play the penny whistle or know how to yodel? The music collection also contains titles for instrument or voice …

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“Thirstier for life than ever”

Posted by: John Hanson

The following is a guest blog from Gilbert Busch, braille music specialist in the Music Section. Although active on the piano and organ, he has a strong interest in symphonic music, especially that of Mahler.     On Thursday, May 14th, I travelled to Boulder, Colorado, for MahlerFest XXVIII, an annual event devoted to the music of …

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NLS Materials for Early Music Education

Posted by: Katie Rodda

Tomorrow we celebrate the birthday of one of the Twentieth Century’s most well-known composers and music pedagogues, Carl Orff (1895-1982). Although Orff may be best known for his cantata Carmina Burana, he is also quite well-known in the music education field because of “Orff Schulwerk,” an elementary approach to music he co-developed with his colleague Gunild …