On this day, over two hundred years ago, a historic concert took place. It was in Vienna, in the middle of the Advent season, and Beethoven needed some money. “But, Beethoven,” you would say, “surely he was doing fine! He is Beethoven! Everyone loves him!” However, in Vienna in 1808, just because everyone loved you …
In Part I of this blog, I introduced the subject of American Braille, and pointed out that some NLS music scores use this system. Now, in Part II, I offer this list of American Braille symbols to help you if you ever receive such a score. Each letter or symbol in the left column is …
This blog post is concerned with the 2015 Braille Music Code, and where to obtain a copy. In addition, there is information about an upcoming conference call for those wishing to discuss braille music topics. The announcement comes from BANA, the Braille Authority of North America. BANA is the organization which makes decisions about contractions, formatting, …
I heard these words a lot this past weekend. That’s because the NLS Music Section made its way to the NAfME (National Association for Music Education) conference in Grapevine, TX. While there, I was able to promote our service to music teachers from all over the country—and some future music teachers too! The refrain I kept …
“I can’t read this braille at all,” a coworker says to me one morning; “What does it say?” Moving my hand over the dots, I am reminded of an incident from childhood. My piano teacher had just handed me Rondo Capriccioso, Op. 14. I had never heard of this piece (by Mendelssohn), so I checked the …
I had stumbled upon this nifty little book a few weeks ago, and thought it deserved a profile. The first thing that drew me to it was its size. Compared to most of the braille books in our music collection it is tiny: only measuring 5.5 by 7 inches! What possibly could this tiny book …
Forty-three years ago patron Dianne Phelps earned her Music Education degree at Eastern New Mexico University. She faced difficult challenges with her partial vision at the time and struggled with some of the faculty, reluctant to award her a degree. Thankfully, she prevailed. Afterwards, she had a keyboard and was frustrated as she was not …
Since it’s back-to-school time, many folks find themselves looking for new projects, new topics of interest, and new hobbies. I sincerely hope that many of you reading this are hoping to learn how to play music or your favorite song, improving your already extant musical skill, or maybe teaching yourself about some topic in music …
Tomorrow’s opening ceremony kicks off the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. A tradition for 120 years, this is the first time that the event will be held in a South American country. In celebration of this historic event, and as a representation of just how international the NLS Music Section is, this blog …
