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<DIV><SPAN class=714511216-13012012><FONT color=#0000ff size=2 face=Arial>Also,
adding any contraption to the conductor's wand would through it out of balance.
Proper conducting batons should be balanced perfectly.</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=714511216-13012012><FONT color=#0000ff size=2
face=Arial>-Andy</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<BLOCKQUOTE style="MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px" dir=ltr>
<DIV dir=ltr class=OutlookMessageHeader align=left><FONT size=2
face=Tahoma>-----Original Message-----<BR><B>From:</B>
menvi-discuss-bounces@menvi.org [mailto:menvi-discuss-bounces@menvi.org]<B>On
Behalf Of </B>STEPHANIE PIECK<BR><B>Sent:</B> Friday, January 13, 2012 5:55
AM<BR><B>To:</B> Brandon Keith Biggs; This is for discussing music and braille
literacy<BR><B>Subject:</B> Re: [Menvi-discuss] Wands for blind people/
working with orchestraand ensemble<BR><BR></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial>Brandon,</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial>I think the technology--now that it's been
explained(!)--is intriguing. Light definitely wouldn't work--how many blind
people can see light(!!)?</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial>My husband, who has some IT and computer
engineering background, has always said that a force-feedback mouse might be
usable by blind people. Personally, I'm not so sure, but perhaps the
technology in that would be worth exploring for your wand idea.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial>I still don't know if conductors would remember
to "push a button" during the performance, though.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial>Has anyone ever heard of a blind conductor--I
mean, orchestral? Just curious ... I've looked at the Beethoven symphonies in
Braille and my guess is that, if any blind person wanted to conduct, they
would have to memorize the entire score.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial>Stephanie Pieck</FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<BLOCKQUOTE
style="BORDER-LEFT: #000000 2px solid; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px">
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial">----- Original Message ----- </DIV>
<DIV
style="FONT: 10pt arial; BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; font-color: black"><B>From:</B>
<A title=brandonboy13@comcast.net
href="mailto:brandonboy13@comcast.net">Brandon Keith Biggs</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>To:</B> <A title=menvi-discuss@menvi.org
href="mailto:menvi-discuss@menvi.org">This is for discussing music and
braille literacy</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Sent:</B> Thursday, January 12, 2012 9:03
PM</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Subject:</B> Re: [Menvi-discuss] Wands for
blind people/ working with orchestraand ensemble</DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV>
<DIV dir=ltr>
<DIV style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial'; COLOR: #000000; FONT-SIZE: 10pt">
<DIV>Hello,</DIV>
<DIV>In books I’ve read on the Metropolitan Opera’s workings, many singers
don’t work with the chorus till the day before opening night. </DIV>
<DIV>I agree that one should focus on an instrument to take the queue, but I
have not sung with enough orchestras solo to nail down a solid queue mark. I
know even in chorus I can’t follow the music exactly because the conductor
is moving the group ahead of the music. Also, the orchestra speeds up and
slows down much slower than a piano so if you are a little distracted
putting emotion in your part you end up slowing down and when you realize
you’re not with the orchestra you speed up and the orchestra is slowed down
because the conductor is trying to follow you.</DIV>
<DIV>FM won’t work in Opera very well. Opera singers need all their ears
even when they’re sighted. Also having something around your head is
unsightly and the audience can hear the conductor talk. I have talked to
conductors and they didn’t have a problem with a special wand, as long as it
is not too much heavier.</DIV>
<DIV>A wand was made at San Jose Opera with a light on the end for the last
blind performer to perform there and it did not work very well. The
performer couldn’t see the wand good enough.</DIV>
<DIV>But a light is very heavy and if a conductor is willing to do that I’m
sertan a wand with a transmitter in it would not be much of a problem.</DIV>
<DIV>The difficulty would be in taking care of the latency and making a
device small enough to hide under a costume without being noticeable by the
audience. I believe something that would tap with a rod on the leg of the
performer when ever the conductor changes directions would be the best. Also
a second rod that could tap when ever the conductor presses a button on the
wand would be very handy as well.</DIV>
<DIV>This would not be unseemly, it would be very easy to follow, it makes
conductors feel like they are helping without displeasing the patrons and it
could be used by anyone. I don’t think it would be much different than
wearing a mic in musical theater. The only problem would be if a blind
person played Salomé and danced the 7 veils dance with a solo right
after.</DIV>
<DIV>Thanks,</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial'; COLOR: #000000; FONT-SIZE: 10pt">Brandon
Keith Biggs</DIV>
<DIV
style="FONT-STYLE: normal; DISPLAY: inline; FONT-FAMILY: 'Calibri'; COLOR: #000000; FONT-SIZE: small; FONT-WEIGHT: normal; TEXT-DECORATION: none">
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt tahoma">
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV style="BACKGROUND: #f5f5f5">
<DIV style="font-color: black"><B>From:</B> <A
title=ayaka.isono@sbcglobal.net
href="mailto:ayaka.isono@sbcglobal.net">ayaka.isono@sbcglobal.net</A> </DIV>
<DIV><B>Sent:</B> Thursday, January 12, 2012 10:39 AM</DIV>
<DIV><B>To:</B> <A title=menvi-discuss@menvi.org
href="mailto:menvi-discuss@menvi.org">'This is for discussing music and
braille literacy'</A> </DIV>
<DIV><B>Subject:</B> Re: [Menvi-discuss] Wands for blind people/ working
with orchestraand ensemble</DIV></DIV></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV></DIV>
<DIV
style="FONT-STYLE: normal; DISPLAY: inline; FONT-FAMILY: 'Calibri'; COLOR: #000000; FONT-SIZE: small; FONT-WEIGHT: normal; TEXT-DECORATION: none">
<DIV dir=ltr align=left><SPAN class=781102218-12012012><FONT color=#0000ff
size=2 face=Arial> I am not a singer, but worked with many singers in
opera productions. One thing I don't think anybody mentioned in the
discussion is that there is a long period of practice sessions before
singers actually work with orchestra, or so-called dress rehearsal.
For example for San Francisco Opera, singers usually don't get to rehearse
with the orchestra till the last minute, usually a week prior or the same
week as the opening night. They might get to do maybe two rehearsals
with the orchestra. That means, it's extremely crucial for the singers
to have good sessions with the pianist. You can ask pianist questions
like, "what is the cue before I come in?" Instead of try listening to
the whole orchestra to see when your entrance is, pick one instrument which
can give you a better cue. When you are on the stage, you will be
surrounded by a huge sound which you are not used to hear, and won't be able
to really hear yourself anyway. Especially opera, the tempo moves a
lot, unlike ballet. You might not be able to follow the beat the way
you are used to because the conductor might move the tempo depending on
his/her interpretation of the music. So, just focus on one instrument
which can give you a good cue. If you try listening to the whole
orchestra, you might get panicked.</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV dir=ltr align=left><SPAN class=781102218-12012012><FONT color=#0000ff
size=2 face=Arial> Working with a conductor could be tricky.
Some of the conductors could be very helpful, but some not or have no
idea. It is your responsibility to talk to them about what you need
and establish good relationship. Conductors can either save you or
kill you on the stage. It might sound very harsh, but true. It
happens all the time.</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV dir=ltr align=left><SPAN class=781102218-12012012><FONT color=#0000ff
size=2 face=Arial> I have so much respect for all the opera
singers. I don't know how you guys manage remembering the music,
texts, and choreography on the stage for three to five hours of
production</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV dir=ltr lang=en-us class=OutlookMessageHeader align=left>
<HR tabIndex=-1>
<FONT size=2 face=Tahoma><B>From:</B> menvi-discuss-bounces@menvi.org
[mailto:menvi-discuss-bounces@menvi.org] <B>On Behalf Of </B>STEPHANIE
PIECK<BR><B>Sent:</B> Thursday, January 12, 2012 8:40 AM<BR><B>To:</B> This
is for discussing music and braille literacy<BR><B>Subject:</B>
[Menvi-discuss] Wands for blind people<BR></FONT><BR></DIV>
<DIV></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial>Hi,</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial>I think the FM system idea might work.
Honestly, if we are trying to have the sighted musical community take us
seriously as "professional musicians", the last thing we need is to say,
"Oh, you're gonna need this special conducting baton".</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial>In my non-musical past, I exhibited dairy goats
at competitions at the national level. One of the areas I competed in was
showmanship--i.e., how well can you maneuver your animal around the ring,
move around with other exhibitors, handle other people's animals, etc. The
first thing you learn in these classes is that you have to always keep your
goat between you and the judge--they want to see and evaluate the goat, not
you, or your backside as your bending over, or your whatever!</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial>Anyway, we used an FM system like Maureen
described for this. This way, I didn't have to have somebody else walking
around with me in person telling me when to change sides.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial>I think that, unfortunately, despite all the
progress that has been made in the area of inclusion and accommodations, we
are still dealing with people who, for the most part, have never even met a
blind person and have never read anything about blind people. So we're still
dealing with the old stereotypes.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial>Another unfortunate situation is that music is
becoming a profession that's kind of frowned upon because it was one of the
"old ways" blind people earned a living. Now, it's much more fashionable to
go into the STEM subjects. But not everybody is passionate about numbers,
chemicals, engineering, or computers.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial>I wish there was some way to form some sort of
performing collective--that's not a great word, but I can't come up with a
better one right now. If people were given an opportunity to see and hear,
over and over and over, in lots of different places, that blind musicians
are just as capable as sighted ones, then maybe the attitudes within the
overall community would begin to change, too.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial>Any solution to this problem is going to be
something big--either in scope or in the undertaking. Big problems need big
solutions, after all.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial>I've really enjoyed the discussions on
performing and sight-reading--I have yet to perform with an orchestra as a
piano soloist. The one time I did, I organized a group and we did a Mozart
concerto--with no conductor! Everybody in the group was sighted except
me.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial>Stephanie Pieck</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
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