[goodfeel] Re: music braille and piano question

Dear Lana,

Thank you for advocating on behalf of your student.  There are many of us
here that want to help and can do so.

1.  Yes!  If the student reads literary braille she should definitely learn
to read braille music notation.  Forty years ago (gulp!) I received my first
lesson in braille music during my first lesson in how to play the trumpet.
The skill of reading braille music has served me very well through earning
my degree in music, working as a music professional and (definitely not for
everybody!) starting my own business called Dancing Dots to develop music
software for blind musicians and their educators.

I have been blessed with an excellent ear for music.  But knowing how to
read a braille score gives me all of the information the composer placed on
the printed page, not just the notes.  I can independently learn and relearn
pieces without the need to ask someone to perform the music for me.  In a
rehearsal or even in a concert situation, I can refer to a braille score
very quickly in the event of a memory lapse (not nearly so easy to do with a
cassette tape or even an mp3 file!). 

2.   Check out the Music Section of the Library of Congress' National
Library Service for the Blind: 1-800-424-8567.  We publish a series of
courses in braille music reading by Richard Taesch (pronounced Taysh) which
you can borrow from NLS or purchase from us at Dancing Dots.  See
http://www.dancingdots.com/main/braillemusicinstruction.htm for more
information or to order online.  The author recommends that the student
study at least his Intro. to Music for the Blind Student Part I before
moving on to his piano courses.

3.  Yes, there are many of us who have already been down the road you're
just starting down.  The lists you have posted to will certainly have many
people who are willing to help and have probably already contacted you.
I'll bet that some of them have steered you toward the Music Education
Network for the Visually Impaired (MENVI).  I am a member of MENVI myself.
See www.menvi.org for details on how to join.  There's no cost to join and I
recommend that you, your student and her teacher join.  

Another excellent resource is offered by our customer and friend Mr. David
Goldstein of the Music and Arts Center for the Humanities of Bridgeport,
Connecticut.  See www.BlindMusicStudent.org for more information.

See http://www.dancingdots.com/main/DDotsrefguide.htm for a list of our most
popular resources for blind musicians and their teachers.  As your student
develops her skills, she'll have an increasing need to obtain braille music
materials quickly.  Consider our GOODFEEL Braille Music Translator which
allows a sighted musician who does not necessarily know braille to
automatically transcribe print music notation into the equivalent braille
music notation.  Go to www.DancingDots.com and follow the "GOODFEEL" link
for more information.  Blind musicians can also use the Lime notation editor
that comes with GOODFEEL with our JAWS-based access solution called Lime
Aloud to create print music scores for sighted musicians to read.  

Feel free to reply here or to contact me directly at my info@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
address.

Regards from Valley Forge, PA,
Bill McCann
Founder and President of Dancing Dots since 1992

-----Original Message-----
From: musictlk-bounces@xxxxxxxxxx [mailto:musictlk-bounces@xxxxxxxxxx] On
Behalf Of Linda Mentink
Sent: Thursday, April 05, 2007 11:38 PM
To: NFBnet Music Talk Mailing List
Subject: Re: [musictlk] Fw: music braille and piano question

Mike, she sent it to this list, too, and yes, I'm reading and responding.
Grin.
At 10:21 PM 4/5/2007, you wrote:
>The following post is on the Teachers of the Visually Impaired list --
>teachvib@xxxxxxxxxx -- so someone might wish to answer there. I do not
>teach but, rather, play so the only question I could really answer would
>be (1) very much in the affirmative.
>
>Linda Mentink, are you reading this?
>
>Mike Freeman
>
>----- Original Message -----
>From: lana
>To: napub@xxxxxxxxxx ; brl@xxxxxxx ; teachvib@xxxxxxxxxx
>Cc: swko
>Sent: Thursday, April 05, 2007 4:41 PM
>Subject: [teachvib] music braille and piano question
>
>
>My name is Lana and I am the district para for visually impaired
>students.  One of the parents of the children I work with is wanting her
>child to learn to play the piano.  I helped her find a piano teacher
>that is willing to try.  The teacher has LOTS of questions that I am
>hoping someone can answer.
>
>   1) Does the student need to learn the braille notes as a sighted
>student would? She says the student has a very good ear?!?!
>   2) Is there a book about teaching a visually impaired student to play
>the piano?
>   3) Is there someone out there that has learned piano or has taught
>someone who is visually impaired that would be willing to give pointers
>to all of us?
>
>   Any help will be greatly appreciated.
>
>
>Lana
>
>
>---------------------------------
>8:00? 8:25? 8:40?  Find a flick in no time
>  with theYahoo! Search movie showtime shortcut.
>
>
>---------------------------------------------------------------------------
-----
>
>
>_______________________________________________
>teachvib mailing list
>teachvib@xxxxxxxxxx
>http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/teachvib
>
>
>_______________________________________________
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>musictlk@xxxxxxxxxx
>http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/musictlk



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