Over the past fifty years music has been transcribed using a variety of methods. Music transcribers who are fully sighted have transcribed on Perkins Braillers or computer from the printed score. Blind transcribers have worked with an amanuensis to produce a) scores from dictation on the slate and stylus, b) Perkins or computer with braille display output, or c) copied out scores from earlier braille editions and made alterations as necessary.

Braille music translation packages have begun to change the landscape for braille transcription internationally. Suddenly, sighted musicians at universities who know nothing about braille can produce legible braille music with the aid of translation, and blind musicians are able to download scores online to run through a braille music translation package for use in rehearsals. They log into the Vision Australia library catalogue, download the brf file onto their braille notetaker which provides options for using the electronic version, or emboss out a hard copy.

Until fairly recently, Vision Australia only produced braille music manually. That is, a blind transcriber worked with a sighted volunteer who is proficient in print music, and dictated the score. This method is still in place, and the process has been refined over the years with a shorthand terminology that makes the process more efficient. However vision Australia also employs a sighted transcriber who works both manually and electronically. Print music editing software (Sibelius and photoscore) are used to achieve good quality scanned images which convert to print music notation. These are then translated through the Dancing Dots suite of programs to convert to braille music.

This presentation will: