[MusicTlk] Braille display versus paper braille for music

Wed Jun 3 02:54:18 UTC 2026

Hi Ella,

Yes that's right. So far I have been using residual vision to make my own musescore files to make them into large print music but the creation and reading process is becoming increasingly less efficient to the point that I am going to need to start relying primarily on braille music rather than using it only on situations where eye fatigue is a serious issue. Fortunately, I have friends who would likely be willing to create music xml files for me. I'm so grateful we have this system where musecore is accessible and sao mai braille is available to convert into braille, and all for free to us. Thanks for your thoughts.

Ruben 

> On Jun 2, 2026, at 9:31 PM, Ella Yu via MusicTlk <musictlk at nfbnet.org> wrote:
> 
> Hi Ruben, I realize your situation is different from mine, but will say for
> the record because I'm technically outside the US and professional braille
> music transcribers are very costly and/or the free national service is
> wildly inefficient with turnaround times, I rely exclusively on XMLs I can
> source online and sighted people who are proficient at using notation
> software to get what I need. If I'm reading you correctly, decreasing
> vision is making you lean more towards braille music instead of enlarged
> print, and residual vision is used to help decode print music you intend to
> transcribe into braille, right? If that's the case, yeah it sounds like you
> will likely need to find some form of help or assistance with converting
> direct print sheets to braille, which isn't always super easy to find but
> quite necessary.
> 
>> On Tue, Jun 2, 2026 at 7:22 PM Ruben Rincon, Jr. via MusicTlk <
>> musictlk at nfbnet.org> wrote:
>> 
>> Everyone,
>> 
>> Thanks so much for your thoughts, insights, and opinions. You were all
>> very validating. It is interesting how we all get our musical win done.
>> 
>> Julie, yes it is great to see another person here who is in the exact same
>> line of work! Do you have a local transcriber or do you send your music off
>> to be transcribed? I've been doing it all myself using MuseScore, Sao Mai
>> braille, or perky duck if it's something I can do quickly, but I probably
>> need to offload this workload from myself soon.
>> Thanks again, all.
>> 
>> Ruben
>> 
>>> On Jun 2, 2026, at 1:46 PM, Dan TeVelde via MusicTlk <
>> musictlk at nfbnet.org> wrote:
>>> 
>>> I used to work in the church music field as an organist. I have an
>> extensive collection of organ music in a variety of formats. Some of it is
>> from Germany and France and uses German and French contracted Braille. I
>> studied German and learned enough German contracted Braille to get by. I
>> have not studied French or been able to find any documentation for French
>> contracted Braille. One of the challenges of reading older scores is that
>> they use Braille music formats and signs which have been deprecated. A
>> notable example is what is called the substation method. The idea is to
>> represent multiple notes of the same rhythmic value as sixteenth or 32nd
>> notes and indicate octave signs by changing the value to eight or quarter
>> notes. The music as written in print would have one note value. You often
>> see this in Baroque music where there are repetitive passages with notes of
>> a single rhythm.
>>> 
>>> I wish there were modern editions of Baroque keyboard music. I don't
>> have any space in my apartment for more Braille music. Unfortunately, none
>> of the currently-available multi-line Braille displays can represent 40
>> cells. I think that is the standard for music scores which have been
>> electronically digitized. The situation for music written for single-line
>> instruments or voice is easier as a person needs one line to read the
>> music. This is true unless the musician is playing a keyboard accompaniment
>> for a single-line instrument or vocal soloist. Choral music is a challenge
>> unless a singer just needs their own part. Although, in that situation they
>> need to deal with words and music. The most complicated score I have seen
>> was for a Bach cantata. They aren't as complicated as a full orchestral
>> score for a symphony. Imagine the complexity of a person needed to conduct
>> a work for chorus, orchestra, and soloist. I don't know of any conductors
>> though I suppose a person could memorize a score before conducting it.
>> Organists often conduct using their heads while playing the accompaniment.
>> I hope someday we have cheap enough displays for Braille and graphics and
>> that Braille music translation software will be able to seamlessly
>> transcribe print music. Who knows when or if that will happen. Our biggest
>> problem is making music education available to blind students. A person
>> can't purchase Braille music anywhere in the U.S. though NLS is digitizing
>> their scores and will make them available on demand or as digital
>> downloads. As far as I know anyone who wants to learn Braille music needs
>> to find a teacher who knows it. We don't have schools for the blind where
>> music was an integral part of the curriculum. I know an excellent Braille
>> music teacher but she couldn't possible serve all the blind students in the
>> U.S.
>>> 
>>> Dan
>>> 
>>> -----Original Message-----
>>> From: MusicTlk <musictlk-bounces at nfbnet.org> On Behalf Of Julie A.
>> Orozco via MusicTlk
>>> Sent: Tuesday, June 2, 2026 10:31 AM
>>> To: 'Music Talk Mailing List for Blind Musicians' <musictlk at nfbnet.org>
>>> Cc: Julie A. Orozco <kaybaycar at gmail.com>
>>> Subject: Re: [MusicTlk] Braille display versus paper braille for music
>>> 
>>> Hi ruben,
>>> 
>>> First, I'm also a choir director, so it's great to come across another
>> person doing this work. I am primarily a vocalist though.
>>> 
>>> I prefer hard copy Braille for what I have to do. First, your comment
>> about spacial memory is true. I have a hard enough time quickly finding
>> measure numbers and sections of music in rehearsal. I can't imagine relying
>> on a Braille display to do this. So, for conducting purposes, I will always
>> prefer hard copy Braille.
>>> 
>>> For singing, I prefer hard copy so I can read lyrics and music at the
>> same time. But I can use a Braille display if I have to, especially if I
>> know the song well enough. I am also happy to write out music on a Braille
>> display if I have to transcribe my own part for a song. (Not my favorite
>> activity.)
>>> 
>>> As for music storage, I use binders. I have my main binder where I store
>> all the music I'm using for church in any given couple weeks. Then, I keep
>> binders on a book shelf in my church office that contain all the music I've
>> gotten transcribed. This is also where I keep some books I got from friends
>> and the NLS music Braille section. Like you, I prefer the letter sized
>> paper and try to only use that. Even when I get pieces transcribed, I still
>> have to hand Braille them myself, so it's easy enough to Braille on the
>> letter-sized paper. My transcriber Brailles for 40 cells a line, so
>> sometimes I have to adjust, but it always works out.
>>> 
>>> Hope this helps. If you have other questions, I'm happy to answer them.
>>> 
>>> Julie
>>> 
>>> 
>>> -----Original Message-----
>>> From: MusicTlk <musictlk-bounces at nfbnet.org> On Behalf Of Ruben Rincon,
>> Jr. via MusicTlk
>>> Sent: Monday, June 1, 2026 10:49 PM
>>> To: MusicTlk at nfbnet.org
>>> Cc: Ruben Rincon, Jr. <rrj782 at gmail.com>
>>> Subject: [MusicTlk] Braille display versus paper braille for music
>>> 
>>> Hey everyone. I may have asked this question before on social media but
>> I don't think I've asked on this list, and if so it's been quite a while
>> and ideas may have changed. For those who read braille music, do you prefer
>> a braille display or reading on paper braille? I'm in a transition period
>> with my vision, going from primarily low vision techniques to mostly
>> braille music now.
>>> 
>>> I am an organist and choir director and I very much prefer paper because
>> it is much faster to read one line to the next and to go between sections,
>> probably because of spatial memory. What I mean by that is that for me, it
>> is easy to remember that a certain section starts at the top of a page, or
>> in the middle, or something similar. This is probably common for many of
>> you, too. I don't get this with a braille display but the convenience of
>> not having to haul loads of paper around is quite nice.
>>> 
>>> Secondary question about paper. I much prefer letter size paper (I'm in
>> the United States, so that is quite close to A4 paper) over the standard
>> large paper size just for the sake of portability. I do practice both at
>> work and home and haven't figured out how to easily transport large braille
>> paper easily. The smaller size fits in a backpack and also is easily stored
>> in files without special sizes of folders or shelf space being needed. Just
>> wondering your thoughts.
>>> 
>>> Thank you,
>>> Ruben
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