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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
Posted by: Donna Koh
Today’s post is about the braille books in our collection that explain to blind readers how staff notation (print music) works. In case you are wondering why blind musicians need to know staff notation, two important reasons come to mind. First, music teachers who are visually impaired must be able to help their sighted students …
Posted in: Braille Music, Braille Technology, Tactile Graphics, Teaching Students with Visual Impairments
Posted by: Donna Koh
This blog is a continuation of an interview with Chi Kim, instructor and professor at the assistive music technology (AMT) lab for blind and visually impaired students at Berklee College of Music.
Posted in: Blind Musicians, Blind Teachers, Braille Music, Interviews, Music Education, Teaching Students with Visual Impairments
Posted by: Donna Koh
Part 1 The end goal for most college music students is to develop and cultivate skills to prepare for a successful musical career after graduation. For some music students with visual impairment (V.I.), just getting through the college degree program can be challenging. Here are some common reasons: inability to learn a large amount of …
Posted in: Blind Teachers, Braille Music, Braille Technology, Interviews, Music Education, Teaching Students with Visual Impairments
Posted by: Donna Koh
Continued from last week 5. When should a music student start learning braille music? As soon as a youngster is reading braille somewhat comfortably, I believe they can begin to read music braille. If they keep playing by ear, then the desire to learn to read music diminishes. And sadly, very often there is no …
Posted in: Uncategorized