• CSUN Presentation Continued:
• Choosing the Right College
• A Blind Music Student's College Survival Guide
• more

MUSIC STUDENT'S COLLEGE GUIDE

In spite of unexpected delays, the new publication for college music students and their teachers will become available soon in hard copy, braille, and on line. We so much appreciate your patience, and will post information about availability as soon as possible.

CSUN PRESENTATION - 2006 CONTINUED

This work was the basis for a historical first workshop presentation following the formation of a new Partnership between California State University, Northridge - Center on Disabilities and SCCM, Braille Music Division. Following is a brief description of the content, and the second of a three-part series on the 2006 CSUN session:

Are you career-bound, or merely planning music in your college portfolio? Blind students are at serious academic risk without preparation and support. Braille music, technology, and disabled student services hold the key to success.

• Richard Taesch - Southern California Conservatory of Music, Braille Music Division; Music Specialist California Transcribers and Educators of the Visually Handicapped (CTEVH)
• Susan Cullen - Adaptive Technology Specialist, Center on Disabilities - California State University, Northridge
• Grant Horrocks - Co-chair, SCCM Braille Music Division; Chair - SCCM Piano Department; Los Angeles Representative - Examination Center, Royal American Conservatory of Music (Toronto)

III. CHOOSING THE RIGHT COLLEGE**

1. Even the finest music school in the world will Be useless to you if the special support you need as a blind student cannot be met. For example, ask if they have an embosser on campus. If they say no, then seriously consider not attending that school. Don't wait until you have paid your tuition to find out. It would be just as bad on their part if the school had no pencils, paper, or a copier available for print readers.

2. Does the school support adaptive technology? If email braille files cannot be send electronically to the school for last minute embossing, think twice about the lack of other technology you may encounter there. There are schools that can do all of the above, and you need not settle for less!

Is the school willing to purchase software to help with print to braille music transcription, thus supplementing the services of a transcriber? Are they willing to train someone in its use?

Is the school aware that there is existing technology that can enable a blind student to prepare music scores and assignments in a print music form that a sighted professor can read?

3. If you are determined to attend this school even though none of the above needs can be met, are you willing to be a pioneer? If so, then you must accept the mission that you will be passing along your experiences to the next blind student. Your presence there must then become a benefit to the school and to the next blind student to attend the music program. But you must be willing to accept an inevitable struggle - that's the price! The world clearly needs more crusaders in this area, and perhaps that alone will become your contribution.

4. Most importantly, is the music department and DSS Office willing to seek the expertise of a music specialist on the outside? Are they willing to maintain open communication with a music braille specialist, and would they work with a braille educator who may tutor you outside of the school? If the answer is "no" to those questions, you have no choice but to simply give up pursuing this school and move on to another. Be very certain that you are able to obtain tuition refunds, however.

5. If you find the school seems willing to "waive" reading requirements for a blind student, think twice about the value of your diploma from an institution who would allow you to graduate musically "illiterate."

**Reprinted with permission from: "A Blind Music Student's College Survival Guide" - Richard Taesch

IV. PRESENTATIONS:

1. Keyboard Skills:
• [Grant Horrocks] - pre-college; during college; after college
• What you need before applying to college
• Preparing to test-out
2. A short music reading lesson for the layperson - what is needed for the student - what is NOT needed for the college professor

facts

1. Teachers need NOT know anything about the braille music code! If preparation has been done correctly, a bona-fide blind college music department candidate will be able to function along with sighted peers in all live classroom situations.

If adequate preparation is not in order, there are courses to suggest, and if the college is willing to participate in the process, tutoring can be carried out with specialists using courses that prepare the reading process.**

** www.dancingdots.com. "An Introduction to Music for the Blind Student," Part 1 [general college preparatory] contains Lessons, Assignments, and Theory Exams already completed, and usable for those who know NOTHING about braille or braille music. Braille materials are available for blind individuals free- of-charge from The Library of Congress. On- line counseling and exam evaluation are available through the MENVI Network - www.menvi.org.

1. History: Louis Braille himself invented the "Music Code," and there is research under way which may prove that he may actually have produced the music code PRIOR to the world-renowned literary code. Mr. Braille himself was a blind organist and a piano teacher!
2. Simple Basics (expanded in this workshop):
• The literary letter "D" in the braille code Is used for the music note, "Do." In traditional music pedagogy, letters such as A, B, C, are not used. Solfege is the proper terminology for music notation, and stated in syllables such as Do, Re, Mi, etc., or in scale step numbers such as 1, 2, 3, etc.
• The braille cell is a six-dot arrangement, numbered in two columns from left to right as: dots 1-2-3 4-5-6.
• The eighth note is the basic note representation, and occupies only the upper two-thirds of the cell, dots 12, and 45. Dots 5 and 6 are reserved for the note values. Placement on the print music staff is accomplished by simple Octave Marks denoting which "octave" above the first C on the piano keyboard the note is to be played. Here, the dot 5 is placed before the first note to indicate the fourth octave, middle C.
• The C Scale in eighth notes: "D E F G H I J D
• The C Scale in quarter notes: "? : $ ] \ [ W ?
• The C Scale in half notes: "N O P Q R S T N
• The C Scale in whole notes: "Y Z & = ( ! ) Y
3. How to read music in the braille code.**
• CLASS SIGHT SINGING AND PARTICIPATION
• The essential concepts of aural skills and intervals as applied to learning to read and to teaching braille music reading Measures; time signatures; simple mixed time values; rests, etc. Fun with sight singing in the braille solfege system

**See: www.dancingdots.com"Who's Afraid of Braille Music?" (Richard Taesch; William McCann); "How to Read Braille Music," Second Edition, by Bettye Krolick

4. Question & Answer issues expected from class participants:
• Band / Orchestra formats
• Piano formats; right hand signs; left hand signs
• Jazz and leadsheet examples
• Choral music / orchestra and chamber music scores
• Where do I find braille music? websites for music databases:

COMMON QUESTIONS:

1. Where do I find music transcribers?
2. Where do I find sources of technology?
3. What kind of technology is there? Are there "Distance Learning" programs available?

• V. Common Challenges and Solutions
• VI. Myths & Facts for Students, Parents, and Professors to Consider

The above article first appeared in the CTEVH Journal, Fall 2006, and is reprinted here with permission.

A MESSAGE FROM OUR WEBMASTER

This is Jared Rimer, and I would like to speak about a few things today. The first is a database of web and E-mail subscribers to help with bouncing addresses; the second is about our other E-mail lists; the third is about our privacy policy.

Our Database Work

This database of subscribers is an internal one. It may be published on Internet under a private web space which requires a user name and password. I can also fax this database to our web subscribers who request it.

The main purpose of this database is to help facilitate our MENVI roster of subscribers through two separate E-mail lists. I have been receiving "bounces" from various E-mail addresses, and now these must be corrected.

The first E-mail list is "MENVI Mail," which is responsible for the text files and text version of the roster delivered to over 116 subscribers. The second is "MENVI Web News," which is responsible for the web delivery of our newsletters as well as the text file of our roster. That list currently is 15. Soon MENVI will be offering the rosters via web through a private user name and password system that I will administer. When we launch this, the privacy policy will be updated to reflect this. I will also E-mail the web group with instructions on how they can contact me to get a user name and password.

To date, I must notate some entries as either bad phone numbers and/or no phone number at all. The MENVI Webmaster understands your privacy, and you may choose which information we retain. We cannot publish phone numbers that are unreachable. If your address bounces, we may need to remove it from our E-mail list. You will not be contacted in this case.

I will notify headquarters of the bounce, and determine whether or not to retain the address. In a future newsletter, I will provide the names and E-mail addresses of those we have numbers for, but experience difficulty in reaching them. Because the Network is international, this does complicate matters for us.

To prevent most problems, I ask subscribers to update your information with us. While I cannot call everyone who signs up, if you have a question, we will call if possible, or if there is a question regarding your application. If you do not have web access, you can request to have the application mailed or faxed.

Our Other Lists

We have other E-mail lists that you may be interested in subscribing to. They are as follows:

1. MENVI DISCUSS: A list for all members to discuss questions with braille music, literacy, or whatever is on your mind with respect to these subjects.
2. MENVI ANNOUNCE: A low traffic list that sends out announcements of interest to our members.
3. MUSIC TEXTBOOKS: for all textbook transcribers to post questions and discussions regarding music issues.

All lists are hosted by our domain with exception of the Announcement List, which is hosted by Topica.

Our Privacy Policy

The last item is our Privacy Policy. MENVI does not sell information collected through our web site. The policy will be amended to allow us to place rosters in a secure web space that is password protected. I post the policy to the lists when changes are made, or by sending an E-mail describing that the page is updated. The web site is notified of this fact. Non-members can request a faxed copy of the Privacy Policy at any time by contacting Jared Rimer. Or, you may view a current policy at www.menvi.org/privacy.html. Remember when registering with MENVI, or filling out a contact form, the policy is available on that page for you to read. If you have questions, please contact me for help.

Last item: I have disabled the feedback@menvi.org address, as it is no longer needed.

Jared Rimer
866-824-7876
818-703-0741
contact@menvi.org

Ed. Note: The author of the above article is a fine example of accomplishment. Jared is a young blind man who, as a teenager, attended SCCM in music studies. He went on to learn about computers and the intricacies of Website building and maintenance. Among his work with the Code Amber project for missing children, he graciously donates much of his time to our MENVI Website at www.menvi.org.

DATABASE LIST FOR BRAILLE AND MUSIC MATERIALS CATALOGUES

The following is in table format. Columns for the sighted follow each other as follows: name of organization: E-mail address: web site(s): phone number. If the column has an N/A no data is available.

Braille Music Transcribers*

*See member listings in roster; others, contact: www.menvi.org

1. Becker, Lindley, FL
2. Bertevelli, Isabel - Brasil
3. Conn, Jacqui - Australia
4. Davis, Cheryl - TX
5. Dodson, Christine - TX
6. Dortch - NV
7. Downing, Bettie - FL
8. Harris, Terry - CA
9. Hirshson, Melissa (NBP) - MA
10. Irwig, Millie - KS
11. Jackson, David B. - NY
12. Kelly, Carolyn - NV
13. Lehmann, Heidi - France
14. McKenney, Beverly - FL
15. Miller, Patricia - TX
16. Ray, Kent F. - CA
17. Roberts-Dupasquier, Cheryl - Canada
18. Scarborough, Victoria - KY
19. Shellman, Lyale - CA
20. Smith, Lawrence - MI
21. Taesch, Richard - CA
22. Wallace, Ruth - CA
23. Walton, Lindy B. - WI
24. Wright, Sari - Canada

*These lists may not be complete. They are based solely upon available information provided to us by members. Accuracy is not guaranteed.

NOTE: Two new Specialists have been appointed to take over College/University Disabled Student Services. See the following updated contact list:

MENVI Specialists Committee

MENVI Specialists are appointed professionals and experts in their fields. They are available to share information and guidance in their areas of expertise, and may be contacted by members and non-members for help at any time.

How Do I Join The Group?

A short application is provided at the end of this letter. Simply return the form to Southern California Conservatory of Music. Quarterly news journals are mailed to members in print or braille, and a new membership roster is published each Spring. The roster is available only to registered members and will include your telephone number and address. This information is necessary to ensure a workable communication "network" between members. Membership assumes your permission to include you in our published roster. Prospective members may also join on line at: www.menvi.org. News Journals and rosters are also available on line.

MENVI Specialists Committee

This is a list of Specialists belonging to the MENVI network. To E-mail them, click on the appropriate link. If you have questions, please and tell me who you are trying to contact and what address you are using. Please be specific as this will aid in responding quicker. If you call and get my voice mail, please leave your name, number, who you are trying to contact, and the problem you are having. You will get a call back within 24-48 hours in most cases.

1. Band Music/Director Rick Coates, Music Teacher, The Governor Morehead School
2. Braille Piano Music Library Resources Stephanie Pieck, Concert Pianist; Braille Music Instructor for New York Commission for the Blind and Visually Handicapped
3. Braille Music Textbooks and Formats Ed Godfrey, Braille Program Assistant, Washington Talking Book and Braille Library, Seattle
4. College/University Disabled Student Services
• Mary Ann Cummins-Prager ED.D-Center on Disabilities-Cal State University, Northridge
• Jefrey Senge, Information and Computer Access Program-Cal State Fullerton
5. Electronic Music and VI Computer Music Arts David Pinto, VI Computer Composition SCCM and Los Angeles Pierce College
6. International Braille Music Code Mrs. bettye Krolick, Compiler New International Manual of Braille Music Notation
7. Large Print Joan Hudson-Miller, President, Library Reproduction Service (LRS)
8. Music Therapy John Heine, Music Therapist, The Missouri School for The Blind or
9. Music Transcriber Training and Certification Karen Gearreald, Braille Music Advisor/instructor For The Library of Congress Washington DC
10. National Braille Association Music Committee Lawrence Smith, Chairman NBA Music Committee
11. Professional Transcriber Software and Technology Robert Stepp, President of Computer Application Specialties Company (Ed-It Pc; Braille 2000
12. Student Certification (Practical/Theory examinations) Grant Horrocks, L.A. Chair--Royal Conservatory of Music Examination Center; SCCM Piano and Conservatory divisions
13. VI Computer Assisted Technology
    • Sam Flores, President of Opus Technologies
    • William McCann, President of Dancing Dots Braille Music Technology
      Visit Dancing Dots on the Web
14. VI Resource Teacher (Middle School/High School) Denise Smith, Braille Transcriber-Liberty Jr. High School, Liberty Missouri telephone (816) 415-7049
15. Postsecondary Braille Music Literacy and Advocacy Valerie Gaer

Notes From the Webmaster

If you find broken links on this Web page, please Contact MENVI. Kindly be specific when reporting broken links, as this will aid in repairing problems more quickly.

You may call the Webmaster at 818-921-4976. You may also text the webmaster or voice on Whats App by using 804-442-6975. Please leave a message if there is no response. Include your name, phone number, and the nature of the problem. We will only contact you if we need aditional information. Enjoy the Site!

Copyright and privacy statement

MENVI takes your privacy of your personal information very seriously. Since 2003, we've never sold, rented, disclosed, distributed or given any member information to anyone that is a non-member of this network. Contact information we have is not for sale! MENVI advisors info is for the public, and our web site has email links, and we can freely give out other information about them. Questions? Please contact us!