Top of page
Posted by: Amanda Smith
Braille music hymnals are a big request in the Music Section — big as in the amount of requests we receive, and literally big in size, often expanding over numerous volumes. Part of my job is to digitize them, and I can say without hesitation that braille hymnals take the cake as some of the largest …
Posted in: Braille Music, Choral
Posted by: Amanda Smith
The NLS Music Section recently acquired audio materials produced by Smithsonian Folkways. I would like to introduce and expand upon four new audio titles that are now available to our patrons. We are excited about these titles because we have added a new braille element to some of our audio. Read more about our new Smithsonian Folkways acquisitions — and our process …
Posted in: Audio, Folk Music, Jazz, Music History and Appreciation, New Acquisitions, Popular Music, Recordings
Posted by: Amanda Smith
I grew up in the foothills of North Carolina in an area where music styles and lyrics known to the Southern Appalachians trickled down and nestled in my bones. In writing about the music culture of the Blue Ridge Mountains, what would a discussion of NC mountain music be without the mention of legendary guitar …
Posted in: Audio, Blind Musicians, Folk Music, Guitar instruction, Music Instruction, Uncategorized
Posted by: Amanda Smith
Summer and jazz seem to go hand-in-hand. I am noticing weekend jazz festivals and evenings of “jazz in the park” all over the D.C. area. I am sure some of you have enjoyed some of these events where you live. Now I am thinking about jazz! This thought lends itself to a discussion of related genres like …
Posted in: Audio, Blind Musicians, Jazz, Music History and Appreciation, Popular Music, Rhythm & Blues (R&B), Soul Music
Posted by: Amanda Smith
Children and youth comprise an important part of the patronage at a public library, and this is certainly true here at the Music Section of the National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped as well. Young musicians use NLS music materials in a variety of ways as they learn to play instruments. Here …
Posted in: Band, Braille Music, Juvenile Music, Large Print, Music Instruction, Orchestra, Piano, Uncategorized
Posted by: Amanda Smith
Recently, on May 4, 2014, musician Happy Traum was inducted into the New York Blues Hall of Fame. Here at the National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped, we are quite familiar with Happy because of his work in establishing the audio music company, Homespun Tapes. As a local New Yorker and musician during …
Posted in: Folk Music