[MusicTlk] General Discussion About Learning Music, with a Focus on Accuracy

[Linda Mentink]

Hi Ella and All,

I will try to be brief here. I use both methods to learn music. When I was younger, I relied heavily on Braille music. I'm a Soprano, and I sang in choral groups in college and in the community. I had readers dictate the notes, dynamics, tempo changes, and words to me. During performances I often had the lyrics memorized and just watched the notes. That way, I was sure how long to hold a note before a rest, what the dynamics were, etc. The same was true for solos, except when I had to have my music memorized for college juries and concert choir concerts. The women had to wear long, white gloves through which it was hard to read Braille. So I HAD to memorize. Long story, but I won't go there. That was in the late 1970's!

I have a file cabinet full of all the music I copied by hand and some I bought. I sure wish I knew what to do with it!

I use mostly hymns and gospel songs now. When singing in our church choir, I write notes if I have to, but most of the music is simple enough that I can get it after a few times through.

I teach vocal music at our Christian school, grades 3-12, and accompany my classes on the piano. I also play the organ for our daily morning chapel services. Since the music we use is not available in Braille, I have learned them all by ear. Yes, I miss chords, bass notes and inner parts, and often change my errors when I hear my students singing parts. When working on music for Christmas and graduation, when the students sing for the congregation, I write out each part so that I can play them in class. I'm not one of the congregational accompanists, so I don't have to be as picky.

I use my BrailleNote Apex for church and school, and my hymnal and song files are full of notes where I need them.

I'm 68, and had Bronchitis in 2012 that I didn't know was Bronchitis. So I don't do much solo work anymore. That's my story, and I'm sticking to it.
Blessings,

Linda

On Sep 8, 2024 6:49 PM, Ella Yu via MusicTlk <musictlk at nfbnet.org> wrote:
>
> Hi everyone,
>
> I know this is a topic that has come up many times over the years in
> various settings—email lists, forums, and in-person conversations. However,
> since we all love sharing advice, I think it’s important to revisit the
> topic: should we learn braille music or not? What are the considerations
> for choosing to learn and use braille music (aside from the obvious need to
> acquire it)? There’s no simple, black-and-white answer to this question. I
> want to start by saying that I don’t mean to be judgmental about anyone’s
> approach. I just think it’s valuable to have a healthy conversation about
> this topic from time to time.
>
> One of the most commonly cited reasons for learning braille music is to
> gain the same musical independence that sighted musicians have—learning
> music without being influenced by others’ interpretations and being able to
> see all the musical information in front of you. But one issue that doesn’t
> seem to get enough attention is learning music accurately. By "accurately,"
> I don’t just mean playing the right notes, I’m talking about rhythmic
> accuracy, especially in higher-level classical music, where precision is
> key.
>
> For example, a highly syncopated or rhythmically complex passage in, say,
> 4/4, might feel/sound like it's in 3/8 or 6/8 or something else. How do you
> personally respond to that situation? Does your approach differ depending
> on whether you use braille music or learn by ear? For me personally, when I
> learn such material by ear, I tend to feel the music the way it sounds
> (i.e., in 3/8 or 6/8) rather than the way it’s written in 4/4. I've also
> had situations where learning by ear made it harder to get the rhythm
> exactly right because I didn’t have access to the notation, which led to my
> teachers having to correct me more than I would have liked. I find that
> braille music solves this problem for me because I can see exactly how the
> rhythm is written, even if I ultimately feel it differently. This
> information changes how I conceptualize and memorize music. Another thing
> is interpreting rubatos, ritardandos, and other tempo changes in
> recordings, especially with human-made recordings or YouTube videos.
> Without the written notation, the likelihood of misinterpreting these tempo
> fluctuations as extra beats, time signature changes, or rhythmic
> alterations, can be quite high, at least for me. Similarly, distinguishing
> between actual staccatos and short eighth notes in recordings can be fairly
> tricky, though it is possible, and braille music helps clarify those
> details.
>
> Of course, there are ways to work around these issues if you learn by ear.
> For example, customized recordings can be made to provide all the
> information you need. Another option is generating MIDI recordings from
> notation software, which avoids human errors in rhythm and note accuracy
> and reduces the chance of being influenced by someone else's
> interpretation. However, MIDI-generated recordings typically lack spoken
> cues for dynamics, articulations, and other musical details. Whether using
> MIDI or human-made recordings, adding a metronome or click track can help
> with rhythmic accuracy.
>
> So, my main questions for all of you are:
> 1. If you use braille music, what are your favourite reasons for doing so?
> 2. If you prefer learning by ear, how do you handle rhythm and accuracy
> without the written notation? What methods help you fully understand the
> music?
> 3. For the vast majority of instrumentalists, reading braille music and
> playing at the same time is physically impossible, as we all know. How do
> we make braille music relevant and meaningful in this context? I feel that
> more people know braille music exists and that it can be useful, than, say,
> ten or twenty years ago, but the inability to read and play an instrument
> simultaneously (which isn’t anyone’s fault) still seems to be a notable
> point of resistance. I completely understand if this is one of the main
> reasons some of us prefer learning by ear.
>
> I think it’s important to have this discussion with nuance and respect for
> individual differences. As someone who is fluent in braille music and
> generally loves using it, especially for classical music (orchestra,
> chamber ensemble, and solo pieces), I understand it may not be the best fit
> for everyone. For full disclosure, I am a classically-oriented musician who
> has been totally blind since birth, and I play piano, violin, and viola at
> a relatively high amateur level. I personally like using braille music for
> learning classical pieces for both solo and ensemble contexts (though solo
> violin/viola music is easy to learn off YouTube recordings for the most
> part, though the two-handed nature of piano music is a different story). I
> am also fluent in learning by ear, which I find particularly useful in
> non-classical settings. My ear skills help me conceptualize the music I
> play, and I often pick up certain things more quickly by ear than through
> reading music, and I don’t think this is exactly an uncommon experience for
> sighted musicians, either. For ensemble music, I also practice extensively
> with recordings so I understand exactly how my part fits with the rest of
> the ensemble, so I pick up quite a bit of information by ear that way, even
> though I'm using braille music to learn all my notes, rhythms,
> articulations, etc.
>
> I look forward to hearing your thoughts.
> Ella
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