Top of page
Posted by: Mary Dell Jenkins
I’m not sure what attracts listeners to large choral works, but for myself, I go for the musical line first. Only later do I find out what the chorus or soloists are singing about. But I wonder: are composers drawn to texts and create melodies to match, or do they have a file of melodies …
Posted in: Braille Music, Choral, Classical Music, NLS Music Section
Posted by: Katie Rodda
British composer Samuel Coleridge-Taylor was born on August 15th in 1875. One of the more popular composers in England and the United States during the turn of the 20th century, he composed many works for choir, piano, and larger instrumental ensembles; however, his works are seldom performed today. Samuel Coleridge-Taylor was born in London to …
Posted in: Art Songs, Braille, Braille and Audio Reading Download BARD, Braille Music, Choral, Classical Music, Music Composition, Music History and Appreciation, NLS Music Section, NLS Online Catalog, Piano, Piano Music, Vocal music
Posted by: Mary Dell Jenkins
The NLS Music Section mourns the loss of Aretha Franklin, a giant in popular and gospel music. Starting with her gospel singing in her father’s church, Ms. Franklin established an unforgettable presence with a powerful delivery and message about spirituality and the ups and downs of love. She was from Detroit, and while Motown was …
Posted in: Uncategorized
Posted by: Juliette Appold
José Feliciano is a guitarist, singer and songwriter best known for his interpretation of the songs “Feliz Navidad,” “Light My Fire” and “Hi-Heel Sneakers.” Feliciano was born blind on September 10, 1945 in Lares, Puerto Rico. At age five, his family moved to New York. José Feliciano always liked music and started playing the harmonica …
Posted in: Blind Musicians, Hispanic American History, Music History and Appreciation
Posted by: Katie Rodda
The digitization project at the NLS marches on and currently it is in the hands of a summer intern! This is a guest post from Hannah Noel, a West Coast native currently living in North Carolina. She is a recent graduate of UNC Chapel Hill’s School of Information and Library Science, where she earned her …
Posted in: Braille, Braille and Audio Reading Download BARD, Braille Music, Braille Music Digitization, Braille Technology, NLS Music Section
Posted by: Gilbert Busch
Read this blog and discover new materials, recorded and braille, now available from the NLS Music Section. Audio Materials All of the following are productions of Bill Brown. Banjo American Pie. Teaches this Don McLean song without the use of music notation. (DBM03915) Piano Bless the Broken Road. Teaches how to play “Bless the Broken …
Posted in: Art Songs, Audio, Banjo, Braille, Braille and Audio Reading Download BARD, Braille Music, Music Composition, Music History and Appreciation, Music Instruction, New Acquisitions, NLS Music Section, NLS Online Catalog, Orchestra, Piano, Piano Music, Popular Music, Recordings, Talking Books, Vocal music
Posted by: Lindsay Conway
“Tennessee, Tennessee, there ain’t no place I’d rather be”–This is the song that we have been singing for the past several weeks here in the Music Section of the National Library Service (along with Jerry Garcia and Robert Hunter in their song “Tennessee Jed”). The NLS national conference in Nashville has now come and gone, …
Posted in: American Composers, Audio, Banjo, Blind Musicians, Bluegrass, Braille, Braille and Audio Reading Download BARD, Folk Music, Grateful Dead, Jug band music, Music History and Appreciation, Nashville, Popular Music, Rock n' Roll, Uncategorized
Posted by: Mary Dell Jenkins
Hard Times Come Again No More! American Composers, Stephen Collins Foster (1826-1864) I am happy that we are focusing on American composers as a blog cycle; there are always new discoveries and new things to learn about our unique country’s history. And sometimes, if you want to understand an atmosphere of a specific era, look …
Posted in: American Composers, Folk Music, Music Composition, Music History and Appreciation
Posted by: Katie Rodda
Last year we discussed method books available from the NLS Music collection for most band and orchestra instruments. We’ve even done some posts on specific instruments, like saxophone and violin. Today, though, I decided to focus a post specifically on brass instruments. “Why brass?” you ask. Well for one, brass instruments are near and dear …
Posted in: American Composers, Band, Braille, Braille and Audio Reading Download BARD, Braille Music, Instrumental Music, Music Instruction, New Acquisitions, NLS Music Section, NLS Online Catalog, Performing music