[Menvi-discuss] Accessible piano method books for teaching beginners

Fri Feb 3 21:28:12 EST 2023

Hi,

I know they make plastic shapes you can stick in your windows as
decorations-snowmen, musical instruments, etc. Somehow the static
electricity on the plastic makes them stick. Perhaps something like this
would work. Or maybe just cut a yoga mat into five strips? Thos things are
non-slip for a reason! Alternatively, you could buy five cheap bath mats and
use those. Do they still make the ones with the suction cups on the
undersides? Even small carpets with rubber backing like you'd use in a
bathroom or kitchen would work. They wouldn't be permanent, but they'd be
easy to lay down and pick up as needed. About the only drawback is that, if
you were working with a group and wanted to have them all spread across a
staff like notes for a melody, none of these ideas would be long enough to
accommodate a line of student-notes!

Stephanie

From: Menvi-discuss [mailto:menvi-discuss-bounces at menvi.org] On Behalf Of
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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