[musictlk] Introduction

[Toby Rush]

Thank you, Linda! Your situation in 20th Century Theory sounds atrocious; I
wish your instructor had been better educated and prepared! I agree that we
have a lot more technological solutions to this problem now but at the core
it comes down to educating teachers about the small changes they can
implement to make their classes more accessible. I think it's exciting work
and I'm thrilled to be a part of it.

Thanks for your kind offer! I'm sure I'll be peppering everyone with
questions soon.


On Mon, Apr 7, 2014 at 5:25 PM, Linda Mentink <mentink at frontiernet.net>wrote:

> Hello, Dr. Rush,
>
> Thanks for introducing yourself and asking questions here. Welcome, by the
> way!
>
> I've known how to read and write braille music for a long time. I learned
> in 3rd grade; that would be 50 years ago. I wouldn't have gotten through my
> college classes without it.
>
> Music theory was a pain, mostly because I didn't have the tests and other
> materials in braille. I had to depend on readers, meaning, of course, that
> they did most of the work. I got good grades in my music classes, except
> for 20th Century Theory. I didn't do well there because my instructor
> wouldn't let me hear the music samples on the test. Why? Because the others
> didn't get to. You can guess that I was furious, and helpless to do
> anything about it!
>  Technology wasn't what it is now. I sure could have used a program such
> as you are working on!
> Just ask away, and we'll tell you what we can.
>
>
> At 03:59 PM 4/7/2014, you wrote:
>
>> Hello, list members! I have been "lurking" on the list for some time but I
>> thought I'd introduce myself and ask a few questions. My name is Dr. Toby
>> Rush and I teach music theory and aural skills at the University of Dayton
>> in Dayton, Ohio. I am sighted and am an absolute beginner when it comes to
>> braille, but I have been working quite a bit with braille music and
>> associated technology and am very interested in making assistive music
>> technology more accessible to everyone, blind or sighted.
>>
>> One of my recent projects involves working toward a way to use braille
>> music notation to create scores which lend themselves more to analysis
>> (like in a theory class), since braille music as it stands tends to be
>> geared more toward performance. I have been using one of my students (who
>> happens to be a member of this list) as a "guinea pig" as I've been
>> working
>> on this, but I'd love to get additional feedback from others who know
>> braille music. If it would be acceptable to do so, I'd love to be able to
>> solicit some of this feedback here in the future.
>>
>> Also, I have a question about learning braille music: I realize that the
>> best way to learn braille music notation is to study with a teacher who is
>> fluent with the system. For those who want to try to do it themselves,
>> what
>> is the biggest roadblock to learning it? I know that there are books
>> available on the subject, and the braille music code itself is available
>> as
>> PDF and BRF files at (http://www.brailleauthority.org/music/music.html).
>> For those who are learning this system on your own, do you feel like these
>> resources are sufficient? Is there a need for something better? If so,
>> what
>> do you think would work best?
>>
>> At any rate, thank you for listening; I'm excited to be a member of the
>> community and I look forward to learning from all of you.
>>
>> --
>> **************************************************
>> Dr. Toby W. Rush - trush1 at udayton.edu <trush1 at notes.udayton.edu>
>>
>> Assistant Professor of Music Theory and Technology
>> University of Dayton
>> "Omnia voluntaria est."
>> **************************************************
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-- 
**************************************************
Dr. Toby W. Rush - trush1 at udayton.edu <trush1 at notes.udayton.edu>
Assistant Professor of Music Theory and Technology
University of Dayton
"Omnia voluntaria est."
**************************************************