[Menvi-discuss] Note reading

Thu Jan 17 12:36:48 EST 2013

But aren't you a vocal student?  They can keep their  hands on the page, 
but a violinist can't.
I'm impressed by your reading, though.

In a message dated 1/17/2013 12:26:43 P.M. US Eastern Standard Time,  
brandonkeithbiggs at gmail.com writes:

Hello,
I sight read just fine without learning the music ahead of time. We  
actually just were introduced to alto clef and everyone followed me because I  was 
the best at reading in that arcane cleff! 
Of course I must see the format of the music before hand and trust there  
are no signs I don’t know, or jumps I can’t make. I’m also horrible when it  
comes to keeping within the right octave. I don’t like moveable do when  
Braille is written for the fixed do.
Thanks,

Brandon  Keith Biggs

From: _SClark6144 at aol.com_ (mailto:SClark6144 at aol.com)  
Sent: Wednesday, January 16, 2013 12:55 PM
To: _menvi-discuss at menvi.org_ (mailto:menvi-discuss at menvi.org)  
Subject: Re: [Menvi-discuss] Note reading

For sight reading music, the blind student should always  have the music 
ahead of time to learn it.  My student who played violin  did the sight 
reading at contests with the other students, and we got the  music ahead of time 
so he could learn it.  They said he couldn't do it  because he couldn't see, 
so I had to fight for it, but I got the message  across...it's done that way 
in the UK also.  I figured if he felt he  couldn't do it, he would 
disqualify himself...no one should do that for  him.

In a message dated 1/16/2013 2:58:43 P.M. US Eastern Standard Time,  
MWalker at oceansideschools.org writes:

Thank you for your thoughtful responses.  I will share them with  my TVI 
and other colleagues.  I have taught students with a variety of  special needs 
over the years.  I have been teaching a student who is  blind for the past 
two and a half years in general music.  She is in a  class with 22 sighted 
students.  I have done my best to give her the  tools she will need to be an 
independent musician, however we are at the  point (3rd grade) where the 
lessons progress into more complicated sight  reading.  My student is still 
learning to read literary braille so I  understand the debate about when to 
teach braille music very well.  The  TVI in my building is a first year teacher 
and doesn't have much experience  with music.  We are trying to navigate 
how and when it is appropriate  to teach note reading.  

It is invaluable for me to hear what is done in other schools in order  to 
contribute to our discussion on how to handle note reading.  I'm not  a 
stickler for note reading but I believe that all of my students should be  
taught to learn music both aurally and through reading for precisely the  reasons 
Mr. McCann stated when he said, "But learning by ear can remove us  from 
the source of the information because we end up mimicking the  interpretation 
of whoever read that score and realized it."  This is  precisely the reason 
why we teach note reading to any student. 

Thanks again for all of your input. I've already  learned a great deal 
since joining this group over the summer.   

Sincerely,

Mary A. Walker
School #3 Music Teacher
Oceanside School District

____________________________________
 From: Menvi-discuss  [menvi-discuss-bounces at menvi.org] On Behalf Of 
SClark6144 at aol.com  [SClark6144 at aol.com]
Sent: Wednesday, January 16, 2013 2:00  PM
To: menvi-discuss at menvi.org
Subject: Re:  [Menvi-discuss] Note reading

I wonder just how Laurie would notate music, other than  linearly.  She 
doesn't offer a better way.  I don't mean to be  sarcastic, but a print reader 
can see, and print music is a visual  representation of sound.  Braille 
music is linear because the reader  cannot see it.  When I did research for my 
book, I found some examples  of raised print music (the pictures are in my 
book) that people had  attempted to use for blind readers.  Obviously, that 
was not  successful.  It's one thing to look at notes on a staff and quite  
another to touch the whole picture (which is what it is) and try to figure  
out what it is.
Syl

In a message dated 1/16/2013 1:36:52 P.M. US Eastern Standard Time,  
bnbdowning70 at embarqmail.com writes:

Amen  to that!!

On Jan 16, 2013, at 12:25 PM, Dale Lieser  wrote:

> Well stated, Bill.
>  
> From:  Menvi-discuss [mailto:menvi-discuss-bounces at menvi.org] On Behalf 
Of  Bill
> Sent: Wednesday, January 16, 2013 1:09 PM
> To: 'This  is for discussing music and braille literacy'
> Subject: Re:  [Menvi-discuss] Note reading
>  
> Dear Ms.  Walker,
>  
> Here’s a quote from an interview Laurie  Rubin gave to the Wall Street 
Journal blog:
>  
> “There  is braille notation, but I don’t tend to use it. I came to 
braille music  very late. The thing that I don’t like is that it’s so linear, 
and you’re  taking in everything piecemeal. A sighted person can look at a 
whole score  and they can see where it’s going. When you’re looking at braille 
music,  it’s note by note by note. It just gives me the willies. It’s like 
putting  thread through a needle. It’s painstaking. I do most everything by 
 ear.”
>  
> So Miss Rubin would not seem to be a valuable  source of encouragement on 
the topic of note-reading in braille.  One  excellent singer who completely 
understands how braille music works and  how to integrate it into her own 
work is Jessica Bachicha.  I am not  sure if she is a subscriber on this 
MENVI listserv but I am sure that she  is a member.  You should be able to find 
her listed in the MENVI  directory.  In addition, there are numerous 
subscribers here who know  a great deal about the subject as many of us are blind 
musicians who have  used braille music for a long time.  That is, you have 
come to the  right place to ask.  J
>  
> An observation on  Rubin’s quote: yes, “A sighted person can look at a 
whole score and they  can see where it’s going” and a sighted person can 
also look down the road  while driving a car and see things like traffic 
signals and  roadblocks.  The sense of sight allows people who have it to perceive 
 objects without having to touch them.  The human eye can zoom in and  zoom 
out.  The medium of print music notation matches the visual  capabilities 
of sighted people fairly well. 
>  
> But so  what?  If we cannot see, we must find another way.  Certainly  
learning by ear is a coping strategy which I have used myself when braille  
scores were not available.  But learning by ear can remove us from  the source 
of the information because we end up mimicking the  interpretation of 
whoever read that score and realized it. 
>   
> Louis Braille designed his ingenious music system to match how  blind 
people perceive information by touch.  In a sense, we are  always zoomed in to 
the braille character that fits beneath the tip of a  finger.   The medium 
of braille notation is well suited to how  blind people acquire information 
tactually.  Linear presentation  delivers information in a logical 
progression.  The order of braille  music signs supports memorization. Blind vocalists 
can actually read while  singing but instrumentalists must memorize the 
score before performing  it.
>  
> Just as sighted musicians must synthesize score  information into an 
internal picture of the score, so too must we blind  musicians.  We all must 
internalize the music before we can  competently perform or analyze it.  In 
other words, our brains must  understand the music.  Print and braille music 
notation are just  different methods to deliver the information to our brains. 

>  
> Bill McCann
> President
> Dancing Dots  Braille Music Technology, L.P.
> www.DancingDots.com
>  Tel:  610-783-6692
>  
>  
> From:  Menvi-discuss [mailto:menvi-discuss-bounces at menvi.org] On Behalf 
Of Mary  A. Walker
> Sent: Wednesday, January 16, 2013 8:51 AM
> To:  This is for discussing music and braille literacy
> Subject:  [Menvi-discuss] Note reading
>  
> Hello  Everyone!
>  
> I am an elementary general and choral  music teacher interested in 
learning how to read braille music.  I  have two questions. 
>  
> 1.  Do you have any  course recommendations for braille music and/or 
teaching music to the  visually impaired?  My colleague recommended the Hadley 
School for  the Blind online course. 
>  
> 2.  In what context  do students typically learn to read braille music?  
>From a private  music teacher?  A TVI?  Or a public school music teacher?   
I recently read Laurie Rubin's book, hoping to gain insight into how to  
best support note reading in the classroom setting.  It was a great  book but 
she did not go into specifics related to note reading.  
>  
> Any recommendations are greatly appreciated!  
>  
> Thank you!
>  
>  Sincerely,
>  
> Mary A. Walker
> School #3 Music  Teacher
> Oceanside School District
>  
> From:  Menvi-discuss [menvi-discuss-bounces at menvi.org] On Behalf Of 
Timothy Clark  Music [timothyclarkmusic at me.com]
> Sent: Tuesday, January 15, 2013  3:10 AM
> To: This is for discussing music and braille  literacy
> Subject: [Menvi-discuss] Fwd: [Members] I have four magic  questions for 
you...
> 
>  
> Timothy  
>  Your friend in the music industry 
>   http://www.timothyclarkmusic.tumblr.com 
>   7244011224
>  
> Begin forwarded message:
>   
> 
> From: **Chris Rockett**  <contact at promoteyourmusic.net>
> Subject: [Members] I have  four magic questions for you...
> Date: January 13, 2013 12:21:20 AM  EST
> To: Timothy Clark Music  <timothyclarkmusic at me.com>
>  
> Hey  Guys,
>  
> Just wanted to share a few questions I've  started asking myself
> every morning to stay on track...think they  will help you too.
>  
> Here goes...
>   
> 1) What five things must I do today to move my music  career
> forward?
>  
> 2) Who do I need to speak  to today who can help me 
> on the journey?
>  
>  3) Who have I already reached out to and need to follow up  with?
>  
> 4) What are the main things I must complete  today,
> no matter what? (Do this stuff first)
>   
> That's it!
>  
> Try and hold off looking in  your email inbox until you have got the
> most important things  done, because your email will usually be full of a
> bunch of stuff  that other people want you to do and you suddenly 
> have no time  left for yourself.
>  
> I'd love to hear some of your  answers.
>  
> - Chris
>  
>  --------------------------------
>  
> Founder of Music  Marketing Classroom
>  
>  
>   
>  
>  
>  
>  
>   
>  
>  
>  
>  
>  .
>  
> 
> Flat 6 109 Warhouse Rd, London, SW8 9EP,  UNITED KINGDOM
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