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 […]
Norman Dello Joio (born Nicodemo DeGioio) was born in New York City in January 1913. His father and grandfather had been church musicians, and Norman was set to follow their footsteps, as he became the organist and choir director at age 14. When he was 26, he received a scholarship to attend Julliard, where he […]
While thinking about a topic for this week’s blog post, I made a happy discovery: American bandleader and musician Glenn Miller shares a birthday with Frédéric Chopin! Although these two musicians come from very different places and eras, they do share another thing in common besides a birthday: memorable music. We’ll talk about Glenn Miller […]
Here is a listing of the most recent BARD additions. If you aren’t able to find something on this list for learning or entertainment, check back next month, or the next; something will come your way. In the meantime, a tune many of us heard from a television comedy of the 60s, “Ballad of Gilligan’s […]
The following is a guest blog post by new Music Reader Services librarian Lindsay Conway. Did you know that the National Library Service offers subscriptions to music magazines, free of charge to NLS patrons? The NLS Music Section produces Musical Mainstream, Contemporary Soundtrack, and Popular Music Lead Sheets. NLS also offers free subscriptions to five […]
In our last blogpost we introduced blind musician Francis Joseph Campbell. Today’s entry is about one of the most famous American composers who had close connections to the Library of Congress: Aaron Copland. Aaron Copland was born in Brooklyn, New York on November 14, 1900. He studied music from an early age and received formal […]
“Why is it called a recorder when it doesn’t record?” I wondered as the unmistakable sound of recorders reached my ears. We were on our way home from church, and the car radio was playing a Baroque concerto. Later, a computer search showed that recorder is from the Latin word recordari, to remember, or to […]
The Music Section has been very busy over the past month adding new and newly digitized music materials to BARD. From Mozart, to bluegrass, to method books for alto and bass flute, there is a little bit of something here for everyone! If you have any questions on how to use BARD or to obtain […]
The NLS Music Section is part of a national network of cooperating libraries. With that in mind, we are in touch with the network when they have patrons who are interested in the materials provided by our section, and there is a nice spirit of cooperation between the network and our offices here in the […]
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 […]