How can musicians who are blind make use of computers to notate, read and record music?
Printable Version There are several computer options that can be used by musicians who are blind to notate, read, and record music. Examples are provided in the following paragraphs; however, mention of a product does not imply endorsement. Musicians who are blind can use a program called Sibelius Speaking in combination with JAWS screenreader and the Sibelius music program to notate music. Sibelius Speaking is a script that allows JAWS to interface with the Sibelius music notation program. A musician who is blind can use a Braille music translator program like Goodfeel to transcribe music from Sibelius or other music notation programs into Braille. To record audio and Musical Instrument Digital Interface (MIDI) files, a person who is blind can use JAWS screenreader with Caketalking scripts to use the multi-track digital audio workstation Sonar. With these programs a musician who is blind can edit MIDI files, add effects to them, and create the final output to make an audio CD.
