[Menvi-discuss] Accessible piano method books for teaching beginners
Carol Sexton
sunshinepa at verizon.net
Thu Feb 2 20:05:09 EST 2023
This sounds so interesting. Would love to be teaching piano again and starting with beginners but at this point I don’t think that time will permit me to teach. I hope to do it again at some point in time.
From: Jeanie Willis via Menvi-discuss
Sent: Thursday, February 02, 2023 7:37 PM
To: 'This is for discussing music and braille literacy'
Cc: Jeanie Willis
Subject: Re: [Menvi-discuss] Accessible piano method books for teaching beginners
I have the AB Guide to music from rnib, but don’t know if it includes the supplementary you mentioned. I will have to take a look as this sounds like an amazing resource to have. Even sighted students would quite enjoy seeing all the raised images. If I ever taught a blind student these two sound like they are great, so will make sure I have them in my collection.
I had painted lines on the floor of my last studio but haven’t re done them when I shifted because I wanted to create something tactile that I could feel through my shoes. As yet I haven’t come up with an idea of something raised enough but not sharp and not damaging my floor that can stay permanently there and preferably not scuff my toe on when I walk through bare foot at non teaching times!
I thought about getting a piece of carpet and trying to get 5 carpet bars attached, but think the edges would be quite sharp and not sure how they would stop the screws underneath from scratching my vinyl. I considered some kind of stick on draft strip, but they are likely to come loose with vacuuming and mopping. Does anyone else have any ideas of something semi-permanent I could put down that won’t damage the vinyl and be raised enough to feel with my feet.
I’d prefer something that stays there all the time, but second option would be something that can be dropped in place with one action for straight lines and doesn’t take up much room to store. So wondered about 5 carpet strips with some sort of cord that knots through them so that when stretched out they land in the right stave shape. Open to all crazy suggestions.
From: Menvi-discuss On Behalf Of Stephanie Pieck via Menvi-discuss
Sent: Friday, 3 February 2023 12:36 PM
To: 'This is for discussing music and braille literacy' <menvi-discuss at menvi.org>
Cc: Stephanie Pieck <themusicsuite at verizon.net>
Subject: Re: [Menvi-discuss] Accessible piano method books for teaching beginners
It’s very important for blind teachers to have a fairly good grasp of the visual aspects of print notation. Two good resources to explore tactile notation are:
Bastien: Note Speller, Level 1 (if you can borrow a hard copy from the Library of Congress Music Section, it gives raised line drawings of staves, treble and bass clefs, and note values for whole, half, and quarter notes. Not sure if it includes sharpts/flats/naturals, but it’s very good for exploring bar lines and how the stems of notes point different directions depending on where the note sits on the staff.
RNIB had a book by Eric Taylor called “The AB (Associated Board) Guide to Music Theory, Parts I and II” which also had a separate supplement with raised drawings of every musical concept in the book. This would be great for more advanced teachersor those working with a variety of instruments and/or singers. You’ll find everything in here: tenor and alto clefs; ornaments; beaming of notes; small-value notes; … All in all, a terrific way to explore printed music by touch.
Another fun way to do this is to look for musical notes and clefs at craft or art-supply stores. Pairs of eighth notes are very popular in decorations, and the swirly treble clef is a favorite design for jewelry.
To teach the concept of lines and spaces (for blind or sighted students), lay 5 large pieces of paper on the floor with gaps in between. Have the student stand on a piece of paper at one end of the row while you stand to one side. Start by telling them they are on a line and have them step into the gap between the paper tjey’re standing on and the next paper. Tell them this is a space. You can then progress through moving by steps, skips, and get a three-dimensional and total-body understanding of how far apart notes in intervals really are.
I hope some of these ideas are useful to someone.
Stephanie
From: Menvi-discuss [mailto:menvi-discuss-bounces at menvi.org] On Behalf Of Jeanie Willis via Menvi-discuss
Sent: Tuesday, January 31, 2023 7:58 PM
To: 'This is for discussing music and braille literacy'
Cc: Jeanie Willis
Subject: Re: [Menvi-discuss] Accessible piano method books for teaching beginners
Oh, no, well I haven’t looked at my copy yet as it isn’t one I’ve been using this last 6 months. But should be able to spot that issue pretty quickly.
That is ridiculous and adds no value to a Braille music reader who does not use the graphic up and down of notes for pitch, so why do it like that in Braille, that to me is just silly!
But as a teacher, having a nice little transcribers note that lets me know that that is what is happening in the print is always useful and when it happens consistently through lots of the early songs that is the kind of thing that should be noted in the transcribers notes at the front.
I do have an advantage on these as I do remember what so much of it looks like, but therefore hope I’m not making assumptions based on that for how well someone reading it in Braille for the first time can follow it.
From: Menvi-discuss On Behalf Of Stephanie Pieck via Menvi-discuss
Sent: Wednesday, 1 February 2023 1:57 PM
To: 'This is for discussing music and braille literacy' <menvi-discuss at menvi.org>
Cc: Stephanie Pieck <themusicsuite at verizon.net>
Subject: Re: [Menvi-discuss] Accessible piano method books for teaching beginners
Very similar to the Primer level stuff in the regular Adventures series. The main problem with the earlier transcription of that lesson book was that the transcriber tried to mimic that arrangement of the braille notes on the page so that a lot of pieces took up entire pages and the notes were all on a slant! Really challenging even for a proficient braille reader!
From: Menvi-discuss [mailto:menvi-discuss-bounces at menvi.org] On Behalf Of Jeanie Willis via Menvi-discuss
Sent: Tuesday, January 31, 2023 7:13 PM
To: 'This is for discussing music and braille literacy'
Cc: Jeanie Willis
Subject: Re: [Menvi-discuss] Accessible piano method books for teaching beginners
I love the first book of the My First Piano Adventure Series. It is so cute and is designed for non readers. For print readers it develops eye tracking along the page and up and down for pitch using finger numbers and later in the book letter names but no staff.
There is a heap of info on the pages that parents can read out and lots of colourful pictures that follow the characters that they call friends who journey through the books with them.
So way too much info to consider putting into Braille for a young one, but as the course is designed mainly as non reading anyone could easily just make simple resource pages of just the finger numbers or letters written out in literary Braille or even tactile for a blind student.
From: Menvi-discuss On Behalf Of Stephanie Pieck via Menvi-discuss
Sent: Wednesday, 1 February 2023 1:07 PM
To: 'This is for discussing music and braille literacy' <menvi-discuss at menvi.org>
Cc: Stephanie Pieck <themusicsuite at verizon.net>
Subject: Re: [Menvi-discuss] Accessible piano method books for teaching beginners
That’s cool! I’ve done similar things for very young students; I have a packet somewhere with a whole bunch of traditional children’s songs written out using letters rather than notes. This is great for kids who have only just learned to recognize letters (not even reading yet).
Steph
From: Menvi-discuss [mailto:menvi-discuss-bounces at menvi.org] On Behalf Of Jeanie Willis via Menvi-discuss
Sent: Monday, January 30, 2023 8:15 PM
To: 'This is for discussing music and braille literacy'
Cc: Jeanie Willis
Subject: Re: [Menvi-discuss] Accessible piano method books for teaching beginners
Thanks Steph,
I will need to check my copy now of the Primer Book, hope it is the right one!
I should have also mentioned that on the various catalogues most don’t say which edition they are, but the one to look for for second edition is the one transcribed by CNIB in 2015. Often it is also just labelled as Piano Adventures Level X without saying what books such as Lesson, Theory, Christmas, Sight-Reading, Technique, etc as the zip file contains all 8 books for each level. When you actually open a file the first page is usually really clear to say second edition if it is.
As far as I know no one has transcribed the My First Piano Adventure Books A, B & C for the younger beginners. But if anyone wants it I do have document files with lots of details recorded from these and a few Braille extracts that I have started myself of various rhythms for ear training games etc. The songs are so simple I just played them by ear, but my document notes down finger positions and other written info on the page.
From: Menvi-discuss On Behalf Of Stephanie Pieck via Menvi-discuss
Sent: Tuesday, 31 January 2023 11:55 AM
To: 'This is for discussing music and braille literacy' <menvi-discuss at menvi.org>
Cc: Stephanie Pieck <themusicsuite at verizon.net>
Subject: Re: [Menvi-discuss] Accessible piano method books for teaching beginners
Hi,
I concur with everything Jeannie Willis said in her reply to this message. I will only add that, if you’re going to use the Primer Level of the Piano Adventures series that’s available on NLS/BARD, make sure you choose the version transcribed in 2021 by WY Brand Industries. The older transcription was incomplete, while the newer one contains all four “core” books: Lessons, Performance, Theory, and Technique and Artistry. I assisted the transcriber who worked on this transcription, and their rendering of it is outstanding for both sighted teachers and beginning braille music readers, as they included helpful introductions to braille music signs as part of their transcription. Also, the descriptions of visual aspects like colors, icons, etc. is supremely useful for blind teachers working with sighted students, particularly very young children and/or beginners with absolutely no music background, since the blind teacher can easily refer students to things to look at based on the brailled descriptions.
Stephanie Pieck
From: Menvi-discuss [mailto:menvi-discuss-bounces at menvi.org] On Behalf Of Elisabeth Egel via Menvi-discuss
Sent: Monday, January 30, 2023 7:07 AM
To: menvi-discuss at menvi.org
Cc: elisabethegel at gmail.com
Subject: [Menvi-discuss] Accessible piano method books for teaching beginners
Hi everyone,
My name is Elisabeth and I am a 2nd year music student.
I am currently taking a module in music pedagogy, and during this module, I have to give 5-7 short lessons to a sighted student.
I was wondering if anyone could please recommend any piano method books for beginners which would be accessible in Braille/musicxml as well as in print for the student, so we would be able to use it simultaneously.
With best wishes,
Elisabeth
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