[MusicTlk] Guitar players… Is there a looper that works well for blind people?

[Mike Jolls]

Just to make sure this gets to the right person, this is to Carol McDowall

I’m a visually impaired pianist/guitarist.  I use an iPad Pro 12.9 inch with the ForScore PDF music app.  The sheet music is loaded onto the iPad in a PDF file and displayed on the large 12.9 inch screen at almost the same size as a regular sheet music page.  The iPad offers a Zoom accessibility feature, but I don’t use that feature when  playing music.  With the iPad and no Zoom, I look at the music through a bioptic telescope to further magnify the music enough to see and read it.  Without the bioptic and no Zoom, I would be able to tell there was music on the page, but the music would simply be too small.  I wouldn’t be able to read it.  Therefore I look through the bioptic and it magnifies sufficiently so that I can read about a measure to a measure and a half at a time.  This solution works with my vision which is about 20/200.

In your email, you didn’t say whether you’re blind or low vision.  Would I be correct in assuming you have some vision, but that given your vision, the chords are just too small to read?  Of course if you’ve become totally blind, I don’t know if an iPad Pad would do much for you, but then I don’t know everything.  Our blind listers can probably help suggest solutions.  But if you do have some sight and the music is just too small, then an iPad might help.  Here are some ways I can think of …

Use my solution.  Get a bioptic telescope mounted in a pair of glasses.  You wear the glasses and look through the scope and you’re “hands free”.  Then you use the iPad to display the music.  The bioptic magnifies the music so it’s larger in your telescopic view.  The last glasses I bought (with one bioptic telescope for my better eye) was about $1200.  As I said, with the telescope I can see about a measure to a measure and a half at a time, and that’s seeing trebble and bass clefs for piano.  Since you play uke, you’d only need one staff and that would be better.

Another solution would be to get a Jordy.  It’s a head worn hands free CCTV.  You could display the music on the iPad, then look through the Jordy at the music.  The Jordy would magnify the page.  One benefit over the bioptic is that you can vary the magnification with the Jordy, so you could dial in the magnification level that works best for you.  Considering how magnification works, you might once again only be able to view about a measure or two at a time.  I tried looking up the price, but didn’t find it.  Wouldn’t surprise me if it ran around $2000.

Hope that helps.

One thing I didn’t mention about the iPad is that (and I’m assuming you could use it to display sheet music in a PDF file) you can get an AirTurn device which will turn the pages for you.  It’s a foot controlled device that connects to the iPad.  When you get to the end of the page, you hit a button on the device with your foot and it causes the page to turn on the iPad.  I just got mine and it’s really slick.  Basically you’re hands free, a great benefit as a guitar player.

Well that’s about as much as I can offer.  Let me know if what I’ve said helps or if you have questions.

Mike Jolls


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From: Carol McDowall via MusicTlk<mailto:musictlk at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Sunday, December 5, 2021 3:12 PM
To: Music Talk Mailing List for Blind Musicians<mailto:musictlk at nfbnet.org>
Cc: Carol McDowall<mailto:caradon at telus.net>
Subject: Re: [MusicTlk] Guitar players… Is there a looper that works well for blind people?

Hi:   I've just lost my vision...I'm a ukulele player and now can

no longer see the music chords.  I play mostly outdoors.
Can you tell me do you think an ipad would help me?
Any bit of info would be helpful.
Regards,
Carol
North Vancovuer, B.C.
1-604-986-8481
[image: IMG_9827.JPG]
[image: sept. 25, 2020 b ukulele heaven..jpg]

On Sun, Dec 5, 2021 at 12:13 PM Tim Reid via MusicTlk <musictlk at nfbnet.org>
wrote:

> I have got the Fender GTX 50 amp, I then purchased their foot-pedal.
>
> There are 7 buttons on the pedal and to enter dub mode you actually have
> to depress that foot switch, this makes it pretty easy for me.
>
> I know you said acoustic guitar and the amp is more less a modeling amp
> of sorts but I am guessing you could just bypass all the stuff in the amp.
>
> Another thing I like about the pedal is if you record a track for the
> rhythm, you can then choose another sound to layer over top of it, I
> have had 5 different sounds thus far.
>
> Not sure if this is what your looking for or not but it is worth a look.
>
> On 12/4/2021 1:59 PM, peter acosta via MusicTlk wrote:
> > Hi …I have had several loopers .
> > Some very sophisticated ,
> > And some very basic.
> > They all are similarr in that they have a setting to lay an initial loop
> …
> > And subsequent overdubs on top of the first loop.
> > I have yet to find a looper whichh is easy to operate since not being
> able to see if the looper is in overdub mode or otherwise it makes using a
> looper quite challenging.
> > I have used the PIGTRONICS infinity looper, ditto, Ddigitech,Boss.
> > The things that are possible using a looper effectively are simply
> astounding!
> > After seeing several highly  accomplished acoustic guitarists at the
> international guitar show…
> > TWICE…
> > I have witnessed what is possible.
> > Any suggestions will be appreciated.
> > Thanks in advance.
> >
> > Peter acosta
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