Braille Music Education Resources
Dr. Toby Rush
Associate Professor of Music Theory and Technology
University of Dayton
This site serves as a clearinghouse for resources I've created or come across pertaining to working with visually impaired students in music education.
If you know of a resource that can be included here, please let me know. Thank you!
Information about Braille Music
- BANA Braille Music Code: The official document which specifies the braille music notation system in complete detail.
- MusicXML: A file format for interchanging notation files between programs like Finale, Sibelius, Lime, and other scorewriting software.
- NLS Music Services: Free resources from the National Library Service, a division of the United States Library of Congress.
Hardware
- Humanware: Manufacturer of braille embossers and other hardware designed for people with visual impairments.
- HIMS: Manufacturer of notetakers like the Braille Sense.
Software
- BrailleMUSE: An online utility for translating simple MusicXML files (which can be exported from programs like Finale or MuseScore) into braille music notation. (Note: this utility, maintained by Yokohama National University in Japan, appears complicated, but allows for a great deal of customization and works well for short musical passages.)
- Braille Music Notator: This is a system, currently in development, designed to help sighted people create more effective braille scores. Rather than translating traditional music notation into braille music, Braille Music Notator makes it simple to create a score in braille "from scratch," resulting in much more efficient and elegant scores. A knowledge of braille or braille music not required to begin using the system, but the program will assist and encourage you to learn braille music as you use it.
- Braille Translation Utility: An online utility for translating text into Grade I or Grade II braille.
- Duxbury Braille Translator: Proprietary software for translating text into braille.
- Freedom Scientific: Developer of JAWS Screen Reading Software for Windows.
- GOODFEEL: Braille Music Translator designed by Dancing Dots software.
- Lime: Music notation software which works well with screen reading software.
- VoiceOver: Screen reading utility built into Mac OS X.
Online Communities
This page was last updated on February 4, 2022.