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Posted by: Donna Koh
As many of you know, the NLS Music Section is a specialized music library serving blind and print-impaired patrons. This week’s blog post will reveal some of the many interesting things our music reader service librarians do. One of the most important tasks we do in the Music Section is reference service. We receive diverse …
Posted in: Braille and Audio Reading Download BARD, Braille Music, Braille Music Digitization, Catalogs
Posted by: Donna Koh
Continued from last week. Part 2 My second day at the school, which was a Saturday, was spent observing private lessons and group classes. Saturday at the school is mostly reserved for the youth programs. I was eager to attend as many lessons as possible and what I saw was fascinating and memorable. I attended …
Posted in: Blind Musicians, Blind Teachers, Braille Technology, Choral, Music Education, Music Instruction, teachers, Teaching Students with Visual Impairments, Uncategorized
Posted by: Donna Koh
The Filomen M. D’Agostino Greenberg Music School train the teachers on accessible music technology and braille music so that they are better equipped to work with students with vision loss.
Posted in: Blind Musicians, Blind Teachers, Braille Music Digitization, Braille Technology, Music Education, Music Instruction, teachers, Teaching Students with Visual Impairments
Posted by: Donna Koh
Last month, I finally took a long-awaited trip to England. In addition to spending time with my daughter who is a student in Manchester, there were two things that I planned to accomplish during my visit: attending the Proms at the Royal Albert Hall and visiting the Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB). Fortunately, …
Posted in: Braille Music, Music Education, Outreach, Teaching Students with Visual Impairments
Posted by: Donna Koh
At NLS, we have an unoccupied cubicle with an electric piano and a small couch in the corridor leading to the music section. Shortly after the completion of the building renovations early this year, a sign saying “Piano Lounge” appeared on the outside wall of this cubicle. Now and then, people would stop in to …
Posted in: Family music making, NLS Music Section, Outreach, Performing music, Uncategorized
Posted by: Donna Koh
This is our fourth blog on the digitization of braille music. So, what is new with this project? First, we are boosting our production by outsourcing the proofreading of scores scanned using Optical Braille Recognition (OBR). Our braille music specialist Gilbert Busch continues to review all the scans completed on DotScan so we can provide …
Posted in: Braille, Braille and Audio Reading Download BARD, Braille Music, Braille Music Digitization, Braille Technology, NLS Music Section
Posted by: Donna Koh
I recently read a compelling blog post about a 2015 Pulitzer-winning historical fiction novel. The blogger, a college professor who is blind, expressed her sadness and frustration about the book’s misrepresentation of blind people described through the actions and inactions of the book’s young blind heroine. The blogger also lamented how most sighted readers accepted …
Posted in: Blind Musicians, Blind Teachers, Braille History, Braille Music, Institut national des jeunes aveugles, Louis Braille
Posted by: Donna Koh
Continued from last week. Part 2 Q. What percentage of students who enroll in the program become LOC certified braille music transcribers? What are the most common obstacles to successfully completing the program? A. After concentrated study for a length of time ranging from several months to several years, about 50% of enrollees achieve certification …
Posted in: Blind Musicians, Blind Teachers, Braille Music, Braille Music Transcribers, Interviews
Posted by: Donna Koh
Part 1 Karen Gearreald has been an NLS patron since 1951, and when the Music Section was established in 1962, she enrolled for music services. She currently serves as a braille music advisor and instructor for the Library of Congress (LOC) Braille Music Transcription Certification program. While I initially contacted Karen to interview her about her …
Posted in: Blind Musicians, Blind Teachers, Braille Music, Braille Music Transcribers, Interviews