[Perform-Talk] Handout: braille music translation using Sao Mai Braille (SMB)

[David Andrews]

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>Sound Without Sight - Thursday, November 21, 2024 at 11:45 AM
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>Handout: braille music translation using Sao Mai Braille (SMB)
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>Introduction
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>This is the handout to accompany our November 
>2024 Monthly Meet-up Session. James Bowden, 
>Braille Technical Officer at RNIB, demonstrates 
>how to access all the basic functions of the Sao 
>Mai Braille (SMB) app using screen reader and 
>keyboard navigation. James demonstrates using NVDA on Windows.
>
>Sighted users can of course also navigate SMB 
>using a mouse and without using a screen reader. 
>The functions demonstrated are the same.
>
>Please continue for James’ handout.
>
>
>Table of contents
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>    * What is SMB
>    * Download and installation
>        * A word about accessibility
>    * Quick reminder about MusicXML
>    * The basic process
>    * Adding text
>    * Settings and options
>        * SMB options
>        * Embosser settings
>        * Translation tables options
>        * Music options
>        * Profiles
>        * The Score info dialog
>    * Music navigation mode
>    * More information and help
>
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>What is SMB
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>The Sao Mai Braille converter (SMB) is a braille 
>translation program developed by the Sao Mai 
>Center for the Blind, in Vietnam. SMB can 
>convert all kinds of text into braille in 
>various different languages and can also convert 
>mathematics, tactile graphics and music. In this 
>presentation we’ll concentrate just on the music.
>
>There are two ways to access the music 
>translation of SMB: on the web, or with an app. 
>The advantage of the online version is there is 
>no installation required and you can access it 
>from any platform. The online version only 
>translates music and can be accessed at 
><https://saomaicenter.org/en/smsoft/smb-online>https://saomaicenter.org/en/smsoft/smb-online.
>
>The Windows app gives access to all the music 
>options and can also translate other kinds of 
>material. In this session, we’ll concentrate 
>on the app. The app is currently only available for Windows.
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>Download and installation
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>    * Go to 
> <https://saomaicenter.org/en/smsoft/smb>https://saomaicenter.org/en/smsoft/smb
>    * Under the heading “Download latest 
> version”, fill in the form with your details.
>    * Select whether you want to download the 
> installation setup file, or a ZIP file for a 
> manual install, then press the Download button.
>    * Once downloaded, follow the instructions 
> in the setup installation program or the Readme file in the ZIP package.
>    * Note: you may need administrator privileges.
>
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>A word about accessibility
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>If you plan to use a screen reader with SMB, 
>make sure that the Windows setting for display “scaling” is set to 100%.
>    * Press the Windows key.
>    * Type Scaling in the search box and press 
> Enter. You should be taken directly to the 
> correct place in the Windows Display Settings.
>    * If Scaling is not at 100%, use the Arrow keys to change it.
>
>The first time you run SMB, you should get a 
>message to install an add-on (for NVDA) or 
>scripts (for JAWS). These help with reading in the document areas.
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>Quick reminder about MusicXML
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>MusicXML is a computer format for representing 
>musical scores. You can create MusicXML from a 
>music notation program, such as exporting from 
>MuseScore, or you can download MusicXML from 
>various websites, such as musescore.com. If you 
>download from a website, it’s always a good 
>idea to check the quality of the music in a notation program first.
>
>Once you have MusicXML, you can import it into 
>SMB to translate it into braille.
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>The basic process
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>Assuming everything is all ready and the 
>settings in SMB are all set correctly, the basic 
>process to convert MusicXML into braille is:
>    * Create a new file (Ctrl + N).
>    * Insert the MusicXML (Alt + F11).
>    * Translate (Ctrl + T).
>
>All these commands are also on the menus in SMB.
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>It’s always best to check through the 
>resulting braille, then finally you can save it, 
>for example in BRF format to read on a 
>refreshable braille display, or emboss it, if 
>you have a connected embosser. To save, use the 
>Save As command on the File menu, choose BRF as 
>the file type. To emboss, use the Print command, again on the File menu.
>
>The conversion process is similar if you’re 
>using the online web version of SMB:
>    * Go to 
> <https://saomaicenter.org/en/smsoft/smb-online>https://saomaicenter.org/en/smsoft/smb-online. 
>
>    * Upload your MusicXML with the select file button.
>    * Check the translation options.
>    * Translate and download the braille.
>
>Now, we’ll look at some of the options in the SMB app.
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>Adding text
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>SMB will translate any text in your MusicXML 
>file, such as the title and composer information 
>of the piece. Sometimes however, this 
>information is missing, or you may want to add 
>something. Here’s one way how to add extra text:
>
>Before translation, simply write your text, then 
>apply any styles or formatting as needed, for 
>example Ctrl + E will centre text.
>
>If you’d prefer to add braille, you can do 
>that too, after translation. use six-key entry on your computer keyboard.
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>Settings and options
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>SMB options
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>It’s always a good idea to check the options 
>to make sure everything is as you expect. Below, 
>we’ll cover just some of the options, as they relate to music.
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>You can call up the SMB options with the Options 
>command in the Tools menu. The dialog contains several pages of options.
>
>Remember: any options you change will take 
>effect the next time you translate a document.
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>Embosser settings
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>Even if you do not have an embosser, it is 
>important to make sure the braille page size is correct.
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>Most important is the characters per line (CPL). 
>Set it to the correct line length. The lines per 
>page (LPP) then sets the page length.
>
>There are equivalent settings in the online 
>version and these should be set the same way.
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>If you plan to emboss, check through the rest of 
>the options, such as selecting the model of 
>embosser, which Windows printer driver is used, the margins and so on.
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>Translation tables options
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>This page lets you set which braille code to use 
>for text. Make sure the default is set 
>correctly, for example it is the right language 
>and grade of braille that you want. If it is 
>not, use the Browse button to change: select the 
>right options in the dialog and press OK.
>
>The longer list of tables determines which 
>tables are available for other languages in a document.
>
>At the bottom of this page are options for the 
>“Braille encoding”. Without getting into too 
>much detail, if you are in an English-speaking 
>country and want to read BRF files, set these 
>options to ASCII and North American encoding.
>
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>Music options
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>The music options are shown in several subpages 
>in the Options dialog. Here are a few of the 
>most common options. Note: many of these options 
>assume a certain knowledge of music and braille 
>music in particular. If you are unsure, check 
>with a local blindness organisation or braille music expert.
>    * Format page, Format type: selects one of 
> the main different layouts for braille music. 
> Bar-over-bar is used in English-speaking 
> countries, Section-by-section is used in several European countries.
>    * Format page, Transcription mode: Single 
> part will produce each part separately (for 
> each individual player); Orchestra and Chamber 
> will produce all parts together (as an ensemble).
>    * Format page, Always mark octave at first 
> note of measure: in some countries each bar of 
> braille music has an octave sign, others only 
> show the octave at the start of each line of music (called a “parallel”).
>    * Format page, Show line number, and Show 
> page number: whether to show where each page 
> and line of the original print music starts. 
> useful if you need to refer back to the print.
>    * Transcription page, Show/hide signs: this 
> list contains a variety of musical symbols 
> which you may or may not want to appear in the 
> braille. If you’re just starting out, you may 
> want to turn things off so you can just read 
> notes. A more experienced braille music reader 
> will want all the signs 
 but note that we do 
> not normally shoow print clef signs.
>    * Transcription page, Use bracket slur: 
> there are two ways to show a series of slurred 
> notes in braille music. Choose the option that 
> reflects braille music in your country. In 
> English-speaking countries, bracket slurs are used, except in vocal music.
>    * Transcription page, Restate slur/tie in 
> new parallel: when starting a new braille line, 
> some countries restate a slur or tie sign if 
> the last note on the previous line was tied or slurred.
>    * Transcription page, Doubling: in braille 
> music when a lot of notes have the same 
> property (such as staccato or each with the 
> same interval), the braille music sign is 
> written twice with the first note, once on the 
> last note, and not shown for all the notes 
> in-between. It’s a way to save some space. 
> The Doubling options control which braille music signs use this technique.
>    * Transcription page, Braille repeats, 
> Backward numeral repeat and Measure number 
> repeats: these are ways in braille music to 
> show if bars of music are repeated. They may or 
> may not be used according to your country’s conventions.
>
>There are many more music options and sometimes 
>the effect is subtle. Be sure to check with 
>local braille music users if you are unsure.
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>Remember, if you make changes to the settings, 
>close the braille window (Ctrl + F4) and 
>retranslate the piece (Ctrl + T) to see the effect.
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>Profiles
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>Different kinds of music, and different people 
>may need different SMB music options, so SMB has 
>a Profiles function where you can quickly load 
>and save the settings for a particular kind of music.
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>SMB comes with several profiles and the Add 
>profiles
 button lets you add seeveral more.
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>Let’s assume a student is just starting to 
>learn braille music. The student doesn’t need 
>lots of complicated signs, and it would help if 
>every bar started with an octave sign.
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>First, change the options in the Format and 
>Translation page as needed. Then, in the 
>Profiles page, type in a description and a name 
>for the profile. Now, press the Save as profile button.
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>Now, whenever you want to produce braille music 
>with settings appropriate for this student, just 
>select the profile from the list and press the 
>Load profile button to activate the settings.
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>The Score info dialog
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>The Score info dialog is particularly useful for 
>extracting individual parts and for customising 
>orchestral and ensemble scores. For example, you 
>can use the Score info dialog to select the 
>specific parts you want, and to customise the 
>braille instrument names used throughout the score.
>    * Import the score as usual, but at this stage, don’t translate.
>    * Navigate onto the music object.
>    * Open the Score info dialog from the Tools menu, or press Alt + Enter.
>
>The top of this dialog shows the title, composer 
>and other text information that will appear at the top of the braille score.
>
>Next, there is a list of parts with checkboxes. 
>Check the parts that you want to braille. 
>Uncheck those you don’t want to appear.
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>Beneath this, there are some tabs if to need to 
>fine-tune the braille even further, such as setting the instrument prefixes.
>
>When you have finished, Save and Close the 
>dialog. Then translate in the usual way.
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>Music navigation mode
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>Another interesting music feature in SMB is the music navigation mode.
>    * Import your score as usual, but at this stage, don’t translate.
>    * Navigate onto the music object.
>    * From the View menu, select Navigation mode, or press Shift + F5.
>
>A window opens allowing you to navigate through 
>the individual musical elements in the score. 
>Use the Left and Right Arrow keys to move 
>through note by note, Ctrl + Left and Right to 
>move from bar to bar, and Up and Down to move through each instrument.
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>More information and help
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>We’ve only covered the basics in this session. 
>SMB has many more features and functions and 
>your primary source of information is the 
>manual, accessed through the Help menu or F1 
>from the main screen. Remember to treat it as a 
>reference book, so use search commands or the 
>Contents to find information on the specific topic you’re interested in.
>
>Many of the dialogs in SMB also have context 
>sensitive help: you can press F1 to find out 
>information on the currently focused control.
>
>Finally, if you need support, you can email 
><mailto:support at saomaicenter.org>support at saomaicenter.org, 
>or subscribe to the SMB email discussion list at groups.io/g/smcb.
>
>More information, including social media 
>channels, is available at the end of the reference manual.
>
>The post 
><https://soundwithoutsight.org/handout-braille-music-translation-using-sao-mai-braille-smb/>Handout: 
>braille music translation using Sao Mai Braille 
>(SMB) first appeared on <https://soundwithoutsight.org>Sound Without Sight.
>
>https://soundwithoutsight.org/handout-braille-music-translation-using-sao-mai-braille-smb/