[nabs-l] Reading braille music.

Wed Mar 26 13:42:16 UTC 2014

Also, Hadley has a really great braille music course that is free to
take.  So if nothing else, you could get tutoring that way.

On 3/26/14, Kaiti Shelton <crazy4clarinet104 at gmail.com> wrote:
> Hi Marissa,
>
> Here are some suggestions which worked for me:
>
> Find a blind person who reads braille music, and see if they'll tutor
> you.  If there are none in your area, there are some who will tutor
> online.  A better place to ask about braille music stuff would be the
> Music Education Network for the Visually Impaired (MENVI).  If you go
> to Menvi.org and join their list serve, there are people on there who
> can help you.  I know a woman named Sandra does tutoring over Skype,
> and has gotten some pretty good results.
>
> A more brutal way of teaching yourself, although it worked for me, is
> just to borrow a copy of "The Dictionary of Braille Music Signs" from
> NLS and read through it.  A lot of the signs are ones you'll never
> have to read, like organ pedal markings, finger markings for stringed
> instruments, but this way you've at least seen everything.  When you
> come across a symbol for a general music term (such as crescendo or an
> articulation), spend a little more time looking at it till you know
> what it is.
>
> You could also get in touch with the National Resource Center for
> Blind Musicians.  They have a web site with all sorts of information
> at blindmusicstudent.org.  The staff there is really awesome.
>
> There are summer programs which teach braille music classes and
> others.  I know of programs at Berkley in Mas, Michigan, Louisiana,
> New York, Kentucky, and it wouldn't surprise me if there were some
> relatively close to you.  Don't discount the programs which aren't
> specifically geared towards blind students; one of the things which
> really helped me to get proficient at reading braille music was
> participating in honor bands, and sight reading braille music at
> rehearsals.  Sometimes following along while the rest of the band is
> looking at a measure, or when the conductor is saying something,
> really helps to teach you new signs or put what you're reading into
> context.  In the future, keep the Summer Braille Music Institute,
> offered by the National Resource Center for Blind Musicians, in mind.
> They're not having a program this year, but anticipate to start having
> them again in 2015.  They typically take students 16 or older, but
> there was a younger student the year I went (I think he was 12, but
> was very advanced).  All you do is audition with a CD, and fill out a
> paper application, and complete a phone interview.  There are also
> scholarships which will pay for nearly half of your fee to attend.
> (The year I went I was 16.  I managed to get a full scholarship for
> $700, and fundraised the remaining $800 on my own.  I also remember
> that instead of playing 2 solo pieces, I was able to put a piece I had
> played in an honor band earlier that year which had me playing a short
> solo on the CD, and they still took it.  The paper application and the
> answers to the questions seemed more important).
>
> The biggest thing for me was daily exposure to reading the code.   I
> don't think I really got good at reading it until I started taking
> classes which required me to read it every day.  IF you get a piece
> your band is working on in braille, don't hesitate in asking your
> director for clarification on signs you don't understand.  If you can
> point out the measure number and what you think is there, they can
> tell you what actually is, and correct your reading without even
> knowing the code or braille at all.
>
> HTH.
>
> On 3/22/14, Marissa <pianogirlforlife7 at gmail.com> wrote:
>>
>> I'm not exactly sure, but neither one of my aids can read braille
>> music, or have the time to help me learn, (they only come in
>> math).  So I have to learn this all on my own.
>>
>>
>>  ----- Original Message -----
>> From: Lillie Pennington <lilliepennington at fuse.net
>> To: National Association of Blind Students mailing list
>> <nabs-l at nfbnet.org
>> Date sent: Sat, 22 Mar 2014 16:47:04 -0400
>> Subject: Re: [nabs-l] Reading braille music.
>>
>> How do you feel we could best help you?
>>
>> Sent from my iPhone
>>
>>  On Mar 22, 2014, at 4:10 PM, Marissa
>> <pianogirlforlife7 at gmail.com> wrote:
>>
>>  Hey guys,
>>
>>  So, I know have the "An Introduction to reading braille music"
>> by Richard Tesh.  I can read a little music now, but if someone
>> can help me get better.
>>
>>  I can read all the eighth notes and the rest.  A whole note c.
>> And the time signatures.
>>
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>
>
> --
> Kaiti
>

-- 
Kaiti