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Posted by: Katie Rodda
“Over there! Over there!” “I’m a Yankee Doodle Dandy…” “You’re a grand old flag, you’re a high flying flag!” Do these songs seem familiar to you? Did you know that they were all written by the same composer, George M. Cohan? George M. Cohan (he’s usually referred to by his full name, middle initial and …
Posted in: Audio, Braille, Braille and Audio Reading Download BARD, Braille Music, Broadway, Large Print, Large Print Music, Popular Music, Talking Books
Posted by: Katie Rodda
Today (September 10th) we celebrate Henry Purcell’s 356th birthday [Note: this date is actually disputed as no official baptismal record has been found. However, we will use this commonly accepted date, as it gives us a chance to talk about his music!]. Purcell’s contribution to Western classical music is indispensable, as it has influenced numerous other …
Posted in: Audio, Braille, Braille and Audio Reading Download BARD, Braille Music, Choral, Instrumental Music, Music History and Appreciation, Music Instruction, NLS Music Section, NLS Online Catalog, Recordings, Talking Books, Voyager Catalog
Posted by: Katie Rodda
Tomorrow we celebrate the birthday of one of the Twentieth Century’s most well-known composers and music pedagogues, Carl Orff (1895-1982). Although Orff may be best known for his cantata Carmina Burana, he is also quite well-known in the music education field because of “Orff Schulwerk,” an elementary approach to music he co-developed with his colleague Gunild …
Posted in: Audio, Braille, Braille and Audio Reading Download BARD, Braille Music, Choral, Juvenile Music, Music Education, Music History and Appreciation, Music Instruction, NLS Music Section, NLS Online Catalog, Talking Books
Posted by: Katie Rodda
Although St. Patrick’s Day may remind you of tin whistles, bodhráns, bagpipes (even though bagpipes are, strictly speaking, Scottish–the Irish musical tradition uses Uilleann pipes), or some other such traditional Irish instrument, one may neglect to think of the Celtic harp. The Celtic Harp and O’Carolan The harp is ubiquitous to most musical cultures, but …
Posted in: Audio, Blind Musicians, Braille, Braille and Audio Reading Download BARD, Braille Music, Instrumental Music, NLS Online Catalog
Posted by: Katie Rodda
Since Arcangelo Corelli’s 362nd birthday was just celebrated two days ago, I thought it a perfect time to talk about some of our violin music. Here at the National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped (NLS) Music Section, many of our patrons are pianists and vocalists, but many also play other instruments, including …
Posted in: Audio, Bold Note Scores, Braille, Braille Music, Instrumental Music, Large Print, Large Print Music, Music History and Appreciation, Music Instruction, Performing music
Posted by: Katie Rodda
If you had ever been a music student, then you have no doubt come across the Norton Anthology of Western Music. This tome compiles the standard repertoire of Western art music presented in history, theory, and performance classes, and describes the music with historical notes and other contextual information. For some time, the Music Section …
Posted in: Braille, Braille Music, Braille Music Transcribers, Music History and Appreciation, New Acquisitions, Uncategorized
Posted by: Katie Rodda
When you think of braille, what first comes into your mind? A series of raised dots, representing printed words? Someone reading a book using only the sense of touch? How about a libretto for Philip Glass’s opera Satyagraha in Sanskrit? No? Well I’m here to tell you that it exists and that the NLS Music …
Posted in: Audio, Braille, Braille libretto, Libretto, Music History and Appreciation
Posted by: Katie Rodda
Today we celebrate the 179th birthday of Camille Saint-Saëns, a famous French composer, most well-known for his works The Carnival of the Animals, Danse macabre, Samson and Delilah, and a number of other pieces. Saint-Saëns began his musical studies at the incredible age of three, while he was living with his mother and aunt in …
Posted in: Audio, Braille, Braille libretto, Braille Music, Instrumental Music, Libretto, Metropolitan Opera, Music History and Appreciation, Piano
Posted by: Katie Rodda
As I detailed in my last blog post, much of the braille music in the National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped (NLS) Music Section collection comes from the Perkins School for the Blind in Watertown, MA. Their (now defunct) Howe Press has provided us with many musical treasures that are unique to …
Posted in: Braille, Braille Music, NLS Music Section, Piano