[Perform-Talk] Fwd: [From the Sao Mai Center] Announcing the Braille Music Translation App for macOS

[Ella Yu]

This is exciting. Mac users, check it out.

---------- Forwarded message ---------
From: Dang Hoai Phúc
Date: Fri, May 1, 2026 at 12:16 AM
Subject: [smcb] Announcing the Braille Music Translation App for macOS

Dear Colleagues and Friends,

Sao Mai Center for the Blind is pleased to officially release SM BungSang,
the first native and free Braille music translation app for macOS. The app
converts MusicXML files into high-quality, accurately formatted Braille
scores.
[image: The app's start screen]

SM BungSang is developed based on the BANA Music Braille Code 2015
<https://www.brailleauthority.org/music-braille-code> and the New
International Manual for Braille Music Notation.
<https://saomaicenter.org/en/blog/new-international-manual-braille-music-notation-nim>
It
also incorporates additional features based on advice from experienced
Braille music transcribers.

The software supports translation for single instruments, solo with
accompaniment, as well as chamber and full orchestral scores. It offers
multiple formatting styles, including bar-over-bar, line-over-line, and
section-by-section. In addition, it provides a wide range of translation
options to help create Braille scores in different formats and layouts,
tailored to various readers’ needs and country-specific conventions.
[image: Braille music translation settings screen]

For sighted transcribers, the software includes an option to show or hide
the original print music view, making it easier to compare the Braille
score with the original notation.
[image: Displaying both Braille and print notation]

For more information and to download the DMG file, please visit the SM
BungSang homepage. <https://saomaicenter.org/en/smsoft/sm-bungsang>

If you’re looking for a Braille translation solution for Windows, you can
try our Sao Mai Braille <https://saomaicenter.org/en/smsoft/smb> software.

We’re truly grateful to the Elizabeth Eagle Bott Memorial Fund,
<https://www.rnib.org.uk/living-with-sight-loss/education-and-learning/music-education/music-awards-and-funding/>
administered
by the Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB)
<https://www.rnib.org.uk/>, for awarding us a £5,000 grant to support the
development of SM BungSang in the first quarter of 2026.

We are a small non-profit organization based in Vietnam, primarily relying
on project grants to carry out activities that support people with visual
impairments. If you find our work useful, please consider supporting us
through a donation or by referring us to potential funding opportunities
where we can apply for project grants.

We’d love to hear from you. For any inquiries, please email us at:
info at saomaicenter.org

We hope you enjoy the app, and would appreciate it if you could help spread
the word to your network.

Many thanks and best regards,

--
Dang Hoai Phúc/Executive Director
Sao Mai Center for the Blind (SMCB)
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