Learn to read, sing and play melodies written in braille music found in the Lesson Exercises from An Introduction to Music for the Blind Student, Part I, by Richard Taesch. In this ten-hour online course, you will learn all of the concepts and signs presented in all four phases of Part I of Taesch’s course.
Learning Objectives:
- Learn the differences between notating music in print and in braille.
- Imagine what Louis Braille was thinking when he designed his system for the blind to read music.
- Learn the braille music notation for the seven notes of the scale written as eighth, quarter, half and whole notes (quaver, crotchet, minim and semibreve) and related rests.
- Understand the function for the octave sign and rules for when to use it.
- Recognize the following braille music signs, concepts and usage: melodic intervals, names for the seven degrees of the scale as solfeggio syllables, letters and numbers, key and time signatures, bar lines (single, double and backward repeat), dotted notes and rests, measure numbers, repeat signs, piano fingering, major and minor tonality, accidentals, slurs, ties, pick-up measures, full and part-measure braille repeats.
Recommended Prerequisites
Braille Readers: proficiency in at least uncontracted literary braille.
Sighted Students: helpful but not absolutely required to have a basic understanding of print music notation. All exercises are presented in staff notation and corresponding braille font.
You’ll need to connect to Zoom for class meetings. Ideal but not required: low or high-tech way to write braille and use of a piano or musical keyboard.
Call us to discuss your need for training and to ask anything about the course.
Scheduling and Class Size
Courses will be scheduled on a rolling basis. A minimum of three students required. Every effort will be made to schedule to suit the needs of all students. Sessions will be two hours in length.
Cost: $499. Includes your choice of print or braille version of Lesson Exercises, Part I.
