[Menvi-discuss] New member with a few questions

Tue Dec 19 15:20:02 EST 2023

Further on the display v. embosser discussion.  I don’t think it is an either or.  If you had to choose 1 only it needs to be the display, if you can have the embosser as well that is great.  To be able tow rite music choose a display with a built in brf editor that you can write directly into and to edit Braille in any software or to work connected with MuseScore or other programmes you will find the display is not just a way of reading the Braille, but it is your editor also.  It is the freedom to do much of the work yourself rather than relying on someone else to complete the transcription for you and then just having the final Braille given to you.

I haven’t investigated it yet, but in theory as there are hundreds of thousands of people using MuseScore it should be possible to find someone via that community that could be paid to do simple editing of scans if you can’t find someone locally.  I’m embarking on making my students use it for their theory homework with the sneaky plan that as they get more proficient and older I might just have a few trained up who can do this.

From: Menvi-discuss On Behalf Of Ella Yu via Menvi-discuss
Sent: Wednesday, December 20, 2023 8:39 AM
To: This is for discussing music and braille literacy <menvi-discuss at menvi.org>
Cc: Ella Yu <ellaxyu at gmail.com>
Subject: Re: [Menvi-discuss] New member with a few questions

Hi Shannon, you have already received some great answers. I'll add a few things. And by the way, I'm also from Canada, except I'm in British Columbia. I am also a blind amateur musician who plays piano, violin, and viola.

First of all, I would definitely get in touch with Stephanie, who has responded already. It sounds like she has a lot of experience and can really guide you in learning the code. Just a note to Kathleen and all: the link you gave to the How to Read Braille Music book doesn't actually work. The new link is: https://shop.nbp.org/en-ca/products/how-to-read-braille-music-2nd-ed

I would definitely recommend purchasing this book, as it goes through the basics of braille music in easy to understand language, and I remember that book being my braille music breakthrough as a young child. Stephanie's materials will be a great supplement to this for reading practice, as the book does not contain a lot of examples for reading. Also, you can download all the materials for the old Hadley braille music course here: https://www.loc.gov/nls/services-and-resources/music-service-and-materials/

Although this is the NLS site and I know we Canadians can't really access anything on there, the Hadley materials can be downloaded without any account. They are written in the old pre-UEB braille code, so just be aware of that.

As for MuseScore vs Goodfeel, others have already answered that pretty well but will reiterate that MuseScore and Goodfeel serve two different functions and are not really comparable to each other, as MuseScore is standard notation software while Goodfeel is specifically designed to be a braille music translator. MuseScore is, however, more akin to the print notation editor that comes bundled with Goodfeel, called Lime, which is made accessible by special scripts called Lime Aloud. I agree with Marc that you will still need sighted assistance in getting PDF or image scores into an accessible format, and sadly, there is no way around that. Finding someone who can do that work for you is not easy, and I have firsthand experience with this so I feel your pain. However, once you do have a MusicXML file of the music you need, you can certainly convert it to braille yourself using software.

I understand that you have access to some funding. I think the most important thing is having access to a braille device that can read and write BRF files, or an embosser. Hard copy vs electronic braille music is a matter of preference, but I personally use a braille device for all my braille music since it saves paper, and reading one line at a time really isn't a problem. I do think one line at a time can be more of a problem for vocalists, who should ideally be seeing both the lyrics and the music at the same time, but for an instrumentalist, one line at a time works just fine for me. You said you have access to a BrailleSense, is that still workable? If not, I would definitely use the funding to acquire a braille device, or an embosser, if you really want hard copy music. I'm a little biased, but I'm inclined to start with a braille device to save paper. Goodfeel is a great program, but it costs around $2000 CAD, so it may or may not be worth the expense to you. I personally could never justify the cost of Goodfeel because I'm not transcribing music constantly, so I've opted for free alternatives instead. I'm currently using a program called Sao Mai Braille to convert MusicXML files into braille, and the quality of the output is pretty amazing, rivalling that of Goodfeel I think, not to mention Sao Mai Braille is a great literary braille translator as well, so it's really versatile. Bottom line: free, high quality, and accessible notation software and free and high quality braille music translation is in fact a thing today.

Anyway, I know this message got long, but hope this is useful.

On Tue, Dec 19, 2023 at 9:17 AM Bill McCann from Dancing Dots via Menvi-discuss <menvi-discuss at menvi.org <mailto:menvi-discuss at menvi.org> > wrote:

Hi Shannon,

As our friend, David Goldstein wrote, there are many people subscribed here who can connect you to teaching and technical resources.  This community is a great one to contact for getting started with braille music and technology not to mention discussions about related topics like how to participate in school music competitions, etc.  My recommendation would be to learn as much as you can about your options so you can make your own informed decision about how to proceed to meet your goals.

Please read this entire message and then come back to follow links of interest.

Dancing Dots can offer a time-tested series of braille music courses by our friend and MENVI founder, Richard Taesch.  Learn all about Richard’s courses for braille music and the related series for piano at:

www.DancingDots.com/prodesc/currdet.htm <http://www.DancingDots.com/prodesc/currdet.htm> 

You can order from Dancing Dots or, if you qualify for services from the Music Section of the National Library Service, you may borrow these courses for up to six months.

Since 1997, Dancing Dots has been publishing the GOODFEEL suite of accessible music notation software.  You and all MENVI subscribers are welcome to try GOODFEEL for a couple of weeks at no cost.  See link below to download.

Yes, our software is paid software.  One valuable advantage to spending money on software is that you will receive personalized technical support and orientation and training session from experienced blind and/or sighted musicians from Dancing Dots.  All new customers receive priority phone support for the first 90 days.  We also maintain an active listserv of users from around the world who can sometimes answer your questions before one of us here at Dancing Dots can do so. Of course, we ourselves monitor that list and respond regularly.

Our team at Dancing Dots pioneered what we call the talking braille score.  Here are links to short videos demonstrating that feature.  Then I will include the link for downloading an evaluation copy of the GOODFEEL suite.

You and all interested are invited to contact me directly off-list using my info at DancingDots.com <mailto:info at DancingDots.com>  address. 

4-minute video summary of the interactive talking braille score feature of our software:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7vrxtKSVZfg 

Ten-minute overview of accessible music Notation software from Dancing Dots including demonstration of scanning music with SharpEye Music Reader music

OCR software. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_lluZB89PD4

Fabiana and Paula Chavez, Dancing Dots customers who use Lime Aloud talking score feature to learn to perform advanced pieces, play Brahms Waltz:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LsWu55E5sP4

Three-minute tutorial, changing instrumental sounds in the Lime notation editor:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=njMhQcWUVtw <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=njMhQcWUVtw&t=54s> &t=54s

Visit our YouTube page for access to numerous other presentations:

www.youtube.com/DancingDotsAccess <http://www.youtube.com/DancingDotsAccess> 

Use 9200 as your temporary serial number for evaluating GOODFEEL.  To download, go to the following link.  After installing, request temporary authorization by running the Dancing Dots Authorization Manager.  Contact me with any questions.

Link for package installer:    <https://dancingdots.com/gf/4.3d/GOODFEEL4.3.0.1PKG.EXE> https://dancingdots.com/gf/4.3d/GOODFEEL4.3.0.1PKG.EXE

Hello from Pennsylvania,

Bill

From: Menvi-discuss <menvi-discuss-bounces at menvi.org <mailto:menvi-discuss-bounces at menvi.org> > On Behalf Of Stephanie Pieck via Menvi-discuss
Sent: Tuesday, December 19, 2023 11:50 AM
To: 'This is for discussing music and braille literacy' <menvi-discuss at menvi.org <mailto:menvi-discuss at menvi.org> >
Cc: Stephanie Pieck <themusicsuite at verizon.net <mailto:themusicsuite at verizon.net> >
Subject: Re: [Menvi-discuss] New member with a few questions

Hi Shannon,

Please write to me off-list at

themusicsuite at verizon.net <mailto:themusicsuite at verizon.net> 

I have been teaching braille music for over 25 years, and during the pandemic I finally got my act together and created a curriculum for quickly learning the basics of braille music notation. My goal in creating it was to give students one book that contained a lot of melodies to read since this is by far the best way to learn to read whether it’s music or the regular literary stuff. I created the files on a Braille Sense U2, so they may be of use to you.

Thanks.

Stephanie Pieck

From: Menvi-discuss [mailto:menvi-discuss-bounces at menvi.org] On Behalf Of Shannon Williams via Menvi-discuss
Sent: Tuesday, December 19, 2023 7:48 AM
To: Menvi-discuss at menvi.org <mailto:Menvi-discuss at menvi.org> 
Cc: Shannon Williams
Subject: [Menvi-discuss] New member with a few questions

Hi,

I’m fairly new to this list and am really enjoying the messages and topics so far. When I was young I was able to read large print music and use a CCTV to magnify what I needed to play. Recently I have started playing again (I play the flute) and due to more vision loss have had to use audio recordings to learn my parts. My parts are recorded on a piano by someone and she gives all details of the music including notes, time and key signatures, and all other important tempo markings and anything else I’ll need and then I memorize the pice of music. I also used to have someone put it into MuseScore for me but she is no longer able to help me. I am looking at learning music braille but it is hard to find training so I’d like to just teach myself. I think learning music braille will be helpful for me. If anyone can point me in the direction of resources for that I’d appreciate it. I have access to an old Braille Sense U2. I also wanted to know if there’s a difference between MuseScore and the Good Feel software from Dancing Dots? I know MuseScore is free and that Dancing Dots software also has a braille translator and scanning software and a higher price tag. I’ve been offered funding for anything I need that would help me to have an easier time learning the music. So I’d like to poll the list to see what works well for everyone-MuseScore or Dancing Dots? BrailleSense notetaker or something multi-line? Would an embosser be a good investment to make hard copies? If there are any flute players on the list I’d love to get in touch with you. I live in Ontario Canada so using any resources from NLS is not possible. I’m looking at software because the woman who currently records my music is extremely busy and I’d like to be able to learn my pieces with more independence instead of waiting for the recordings.

Thanks for any help you can give. I really appreciate any suggestions you can offer.

Shannon

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