[musictlk] Scanning Music and Using GOODFEEL from Dancing DOts (was: Blind Pianists)

Mon Oct 2 17:11:59 CDT 2006

Hi, Beth and List Members,

Here's some general information related to scanning print music detailing
what's possible and what's not yet possible for blind musicians working
independently.  I am totally blind and use JAWS.  I have independently
scanned and transcribed into braille notation a lot of print music.  On the
other hand, I have had to seek assistance from a sighted helper on numerous
occasions to correct those inevitable scanning errors.

It's important to orient the print score properly although if you scan
something that's upside-down you can tell pretty quickly when you ask
SharpEye to play it back for you!  Yes, stickers or brailling the cover page
of your print scores helps you orient the music correctly.

Once the music is in SharpEye or in Lime, you can play it back to a variable
metronomic click and, of course, create a companion braille score using
GOODFEEL.  In Lime you can even mute or solo selected parts to facilitate
memorization.

General Information

We can scan printed music with SharpEye, listen to the computer perform it,
pass results to the Lime notation editor, add title text, etc., and then
convert to the equivalent braille music notation using GOODFEEL. We can also
play on an electronic, MIDI musical  keyboard (piano) and do the same.  A
third way is to import music notation created in another program into Lime
using the new MusicXML format.

I, as a blind musician, can navigate through a print score in the Lime
notation editor. JAWS describes each note verbally as a musical note sounds.
I can feel the related braille music notation on the braille display. We
call this new access  method to the Lime notation editor "Lime Aloud".
Sighted people view the same music in the medium of conventional staff
notation and also see the current  measure in a braille font in a separate
window on screen. The scrolling of the print and the braille notation is
synchronized so that a blind student can  easily ask a sighted teacher about
specifics of the music or vice versa.

Note: When you order GOODFEEL, you also receive a license for the Lime
notation software and the SharpEye music OCR program.  If you are a JAWS
user, be sure to give Dancing Dots your JAWS Serial Number when you order
GOODFEEL so that you can use the Lime Aloud access features with JAWS. 

Options for Input to Lime

The music to be transcribed can be entered into Lime by playing it on an
electronic musical keyboard attached to the PC via a MIDI interface or by
scanning the hardcopy sheet music using SharpEye. Lime can also import
MusicXML files exported from such popular notation programs as Finale and
Sibelius.  

Both blind and sighted musicians can use Lime to input notes with a
keyboard. A sighted assistant must learn to scan print hardcopy music,
correct any scanning errors and prepare the resulting music notation files
for automatic transcription by GOODFEEL. Although a blind user can use the
basic music scanning functions of the SharpEye Music Reader software, it is
impossible for a blind person to correct most scanning errors independently
at the current stage of development. However, such errors can typically be
corrected in a matter of seconds by an experienced sighted user.  Some
errors can be corrected independently within Lime by a blind user.  But, in
general it is important to understand that a blind musician will need the
help of a sighted assistant sooner or later when scanning printed music with
SharpEye. 

It is also important to know that the sighted user of SharpEye and Lime
should know how to read print music and how to use a Windows PC.  However,
that person need not necessarily know how to read braille or braille music. 

HARDWARE

There are three ways to input music into the Lime editor which ships with
GOODFEEL: 1: Scan with SharpEye.  2: Enter using electronic MIDI musical
keyboard usually attached via USB.  3: Import from other notation programs
like Finale or Sibelius using via MusicXML.  Once entered into Lime, that
notation can be automatically converted to equivalent music braille using
GOODFEEL.

Recommended: Canon LIDE-60 (or comparable) scanner
See our page at http://www.dancingdots.com/goodfeel.htm and follow link that
says: "Purchase your Canon LIDE scanner from Amazon."

See http://www.dancingdots.com/prodesc/MIDIEquip.htm for a number of MIDI
musical keyboards for use with the Lime notation editor that comes with
GOODFEEL.  

See www.recordare.com for plug-in software for conversion to MusicXML
(optional).
See www.DancingDots.com/goodfeel.htm
for details on GOODFEEL and to place an order online.
 See http://www.dancingdots.com/prodesc/lime
aloud.htm for details on Lime Aloud. Lime Aloud features are included with
your purchase of GOODFEEL. 

Bill

-----Original Message-----
From: musictlk-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:musictlk-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
Behalf Of Beth Taurasi
Sent: Tuesday, September 26, 2006 9:34 AM
To: NFBnet Music Talk Mailing List
Subject: Re: [musictlk] Blind Pianists

Wow!  But doesn't someone have to put the sheet music into the scanner for 
you?  Or do you put stickers on the corner?  How would you scan the music 
into the computer so Goodfeel can read the thing and transcribe it?  Sounds 
like I should brush up on my braille music so I can understand what I'm 
reading.  Also, how would you learn the music once you've transcribed it? 
Do you do it hands separately?  That's how I had to do it.  Any ideas for 
sight-reading auditions for college?
Beth
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "karen mcDonald" <karen at eioproductions.com>
To: "NFBnet Music Talk Mailing List" <musictlk at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Monday, September 25, 2006 8:40 PM
Subject: Re: [musictlk] Blind Pianists

> The last music I bought was some Scott Joplin music books.  I
> ordered them from National Braille Press.  They had one book in
> stock, but I bought the other one and they transcribed it for me.
> I also use recordings.  I have a lot of Braille music that I
> bought over 30 years ago in my college days from the American
> Printing House for the Blind.  I borrow very little music.  The
> little I have borrowed is from the music section at NLS.  I have
> the GoodFeel software from Dancing Dots and I plan to start
> scanning a lot more print music in order to convert it into
> Braille.  That will open doors for me that I can't even imagine.
> Karen McDonald
>
>> ----- Original Message -----
>>From: "Beth Taurasi" <btaurasi at bellsouth.net
>>To: "NFBnet Music Talk Mailing List" <musictlk at nfbnet.org
>>Date sent: Mon, 25 Sep 2006 20:28:23 -0400
>>Subject: Re: [musictlk] Blind Pianists
>
>>How do you obtain your music?  Do you do it by recordings or
> braille?
>>Beth
>>----- Original Message -----
>>From: "karen mcDonald" <karen at eioproductions.com
>>To: "NFBnet Music Talk Mailing List" <musictlk at nfbnet.org
>>Sent: Monday, September 25, 2006 8:19 PM
>>Subject: Re: [musictlk] Blind Pianists
>
>
>>Hi, Beth and list,
>>I am an accompanist and have been all my life.  I can read music
>>well, and I also learn equally well by ear.
>>Karen McDonald
>
>>>----- Original Message -----
>>>From: "Beth Taurasi" <btaurasi at bellsouth.net
>>>To: "Music list" <musictlk at nfbnet.org>,"National Association of
>>Blind Students Mailing List" <nabs-l at nfbnet.org
>>>Date sent: Mon, 25 Sep 2006 20:14:56 -0400
>>>Subject: [musictlk] Blind Pianists
>
>>>I would like to address this letter to both lists since there are
>>musicians on both lists.  Are there any blind pianists out there
>>and if so, can you tell me how you learn your music? Do you
>>obtain Braille material from the Music Section because I know the
>>material is limited? Do you learn the music by ear? Are any of
>>you accompanists by any chance? Please e-mail me back with a
>>response on or off list.  Doesn't matter to me.
>>>Beth
>
>
>
>
>>-----------------------------------------------------------------
> ---------------
>
>
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