[Menvi-discuss] Accessible Software for Composing Music

Tue Jan 5 13:23:41 UTC 2016

Marc, Thanks for the information about MuseScore.  I am interested and will
learn about that.

David, thanks for the good summary of what's available.  My daughter is
young (11)  but very interested in composition.  She just completed a suite
of pieces for string orchestra, which she wrote in braille.  I'm not sure I
will be able to transcribe her braille into print (working on that).  She
would like to be able to produce a score that her school orchestra could
play.  I think this is going to be a long term pursuit for her.

Melissa

On Mon, Jan 4, 2016 at 1:45 PM, Marc Sabatella <marc at outsideshore.com>
wrote:

> For the record, as of the 2.0.2 release, the free and open source music
> notation program MuseScore (Windows, Mac, Linux) is still not fully
> accessible, but continues to make strides, and this is our most accessible
> release to date.  We have worked directly with people from RNIB to get a
> sense of what works well and what does not.  But I think the focus has been
> more on using MuseScore to access existing scores than to create new ones.
> Right now, the palettes still require mouse action, so score creation is
> limited to things that can be done without the palettes.  Which turns out
> to be a pretty substantial amount, but unfortunately not enough to really
> call this fully accessible.
>
> Here is something I wrote up to help people learn what is currently
> possible:
>
> https://musescore.org/en/handbook/accessibility
>
> We would welcome feedback from visually impaired people who are trying to
> create music using MuseScore.  I suppose ideally, the disucssion should
> take place on the forums at musescore.org, but I will certainly monitor
> discussions here as well.
>
>
> On Mon, Jan 4, 2016 at 9:38 AM David Goldstein - Resource Center <
> info2 at blindmusicstudent.org> wrote:
>
>> Hi Melissa,
>>
>>
>> How serious is your daughter about composing, and do you think it will be
>> a lasting interest?  I know I have seen your name on the lists before but
>> can't remember the context.
>>
>> All the solutions people have given so far are excellent, and pretty much
>> the only ones available if she wants to produce notation.  Since she uses
>> the Mac, I'm concerned that in addition to needing a way to run Windows
>> software on the Mac, she might also need to get the Jaws screen reader,
>> which would add significantly to the costs.  If she just wants the thrill
>> of producing multiple instrument tracks, you might consider something
>> simple, like Garage Band, which I understand is accessible on IOS systems
>> and probably the Mac.  If she does want to produce notation, then she will
>> have to use Lime or Sibelius and get JAWS.  I have heard that people are
>> experimenting using the free Windows screen reader NVDIA with current
>> versions of Sibelius, but I don't think it's stable enough for someone
>> without previous experience with Sibelius and access issues.
>>
>> David
>>
>> ----- Original Message -----
>> *From:* Melissa LaGrand <mjblagrand at gmail.com>
>> *To:* This is for discussing music and braille literacy
>> <menvi-discuss at menvi.org>
>>
>> *Sent:* Sunday, January 03, 2016 7:58 AM
>> *Subject:* Re: [Menvi-discuss] Accessible Software for Composing Music
>>
>> Thanks, Bill.
>>
>> We are Mac-only at this point so I would have to do the VMWare Fusion.
>>
>> Melissa
>>
>> On Sat, Jan 2, 2016 at 1:34 PM, Chris Smart <csmart8 at cogeco.ca> wrote:
>>
>>> he did not say they work with Voiceover on the Mac. He said they work
>>> inside a virtual Windows machine on the Mac, meaning you are still using
>>> Windows and the Jaws screenreader.
>>>
>>> At 10:10 PM 1/1/2016, you wrote:
>>>
>>>> Content-Type: multipart/alternative;
>>>>         boundary="----=_NextPart_000_0001_01D144D8.E281D800"
>>>> Content-Language: en-us
>>>>
>>>> Hi Bill. Has GF and Lime worked with voiceover on the iphone? Iâ€™m
>>>> asking because you said they work with voiceover on the mac. Thanks.
>>>> Leslie
>>>>
>>>> From: Menvi-discuss [mailto:menvi-discuss-bounces at menvi.org] On Behalf
>>>> Of Bill
>>>> Sent: Tuesday, December 29, 2015 8:30 AM
>>>> To: 'This is for discussing music and braille literacy'
>>>> Subject: [Menvi-discuss] Accessible Software for Composing Music
>>>>
>>>> Dear Melissa,
>>>>
>>>> In your search for accessible music software which your daughter can
>>>> use to compose, be sure to consider Lime from Dancing Dots.  I myself am
>>>> totally blind and have produced lead sheets, scores, and individual parts
>>>> in standard print notation that sighted musicians have found quite
>>>> readable.  The version of Lime that works best for people like me who use
>>>> synthetic speech and braille is called Lime Aloud.  The version of Lime
>>>> optimized for people with low vision is called Lime Lighter.
>>>>
>>>> Since Dancing Dots owns Lime and we are dedicated first and foremost to
>>>> accessibility for visually impaired musicians, Limeâ€™s accessibility will
>>>> only improve with new releases.  That is, you will not have any need to
>>>> revert to an outdated version because accessibility of features that had
>>>> been accessible in previous versions has been broken in a new release.
>>>>
>>>> Dancing Dots does offer free evaluation versions of our accessible
>>>> notation software.  Please contact me off-list using my <mailto:
>>>> info at DancingDots.com>info at DancingDots.com  address for instructions on
>>>> how to access the private download link.
>>>>
>>>> Note: Lime and GOODFEEL (the braille music component of the suite of
>>>> software) will now run under Windows10 and earlier version of Windows.
>>>> However, the access features of Lime related to the JAWS screen reader will
>>>> only work with JAWS 16 and earlier.  That is, we do not yet support JAWS
>>>> 17.  Also, some users have reported success running Lime and GoodFeel under
>>>> VMWare Fusion on a Mac computer.
>>>>
>>>> For details:
>>>> Lime Aloud: <http://www.dancingdots.com/prodesc/limealoud.htm>
>>>> www.dancingdots.com/prodesc/limealoud.htm
>>>> Lime Lighter: <
>>>> http://www.dancingdots.com/limelighter/limelightermain.htm>
>>>> www.dancingdots.com/limelighter/limelightermain.htm
>>>>
>>>> Bill
>>>>
>>>> From: Menvi-discuss [<mailto:menvi-discuss-bounces at menvi.org>mailto:
>>>> menvi-discuss-bounces at menvi.org] On Behalf Of Melissa LaGrand
>>>> Sent: Tuesday, December 29, 2015 7:02 AM
>>>> To: This is for discussing music and braille literacy
>>>> Subject: [Menvi-discuss] logic pro x
>>>>
>>>> Hello MENVI,
>>>>
>>>> Have any blind or VI people in the group worked successfully with Logic
>>>> Pro X?  We would like to find accessible software that my blind daughter
>>>> can use to compose.  From my own explorations on the web it doesn't look
>>>> terribly accessible, but I'd like to hear from the experts.
>>>>
>>>> Thanks,
>>>>
>>>> Melissa LaGrand
>>>> ---------
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>>>
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