Kathleen
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I would probably put the shift before the B quarter in the second part of measure 7, since that is where the shift happens, and not on the G before it.
I've never actually seen arrows by themselves indicating high and low positions. When I encounter the "hi2" or "lo2" fingering, I add a dot 1 after the finger number for hi and dots 12 after the finger number for lo.
But if the arrow appear by themselves, we can't add the fingering. I would use a word sign "up" or "down" before the note with an arrow.
Transcriber's notes are your friends in these books!
Hi Anna,
Yes, Bowing signs are included in repeats.
And I consulted with a cellist for whom I transcribe and she says it is perfectly acceptable to use a repeat when the second occurrence has no bowing indicators when the original passage did. So think of it the same way as fingerings.
Hope that helps!
That looks to be highlighting the half step between the A and the B flat. Be sure to check the surrounding text to clarify that.
When these occur, if they do indeed represent half steps, I will frequently use a word sign letter h (and/or w for the whole steps). I include a TN saying that the letter h in the music line represents the upside-down v (or wedge or however you want to call it) connecting the notes of the half step.
Hello Lucas!
This is how I have shown the shift indication in the past, yes. Be sure to add a TN before the first time it appears, as dots 41 also represent the glissando.
Those are tricky indeed -
I generally braille them as a list, such as
"D string, third position:
G 1, A 2, B-flat low 3, C 4
G 1, A2, B high 3, C 4"
The student will hopefully have a teacher to help in finding the correct placement of the third position on the viola.
Hi Robert,
If you are Brailling two vocal lines, or the voices change in any way, you need to identify them, as you've done here. I say better air on the side of being perfectly clear with which part is singing what than hoping the reader will understand.
Quick note about the music heading - use the dropped G parentheses instead of the UEB parentheses. (Section 1.3)
Also, you do not need to enclose the text in word-sign indicators when you're treating it as a music heading. If you're putting "a bit quicker" in the music line, you'll need the indicators, but not when it's centered as a heading. Add a period after it, even though none appears in print, if you keep it as a centered heading.
Hope this helps!
I would have to say that asking a cellist would be the way to go if you are uncertain. If you'd like to send me an image of the passage in question, I can ask my cellist friends if you don't know who to contact.
Are you doing full score choral with all parts? Or is this for a single singer and you don't know if they're singing the top or the bottom?
If it's full score, I'd break them out into two separate lines.
If it's a line-by-line for a single part and you don't know which to do or you're specifically asked to do both, I would use in-accords to show the separate parts. If the singer is asked to sing the bottom line, it's a 100 times easier to skip over an in-accord part and read the notes she's supposed to sing rather than figure out intervals for each note.
This is how I do things like that: (looks like we are working on the same book...)
,'#D4 ;2,,"T IS A MET] 9 : "! >E #D B1TS P] M1SURE & ! QU>T] NOTE RCVS #A B1T4
,,:OLE ,,NOTES RCV #D B1TS "<C.TS"> 9 ,'#D4 ;2"T4
,,:OLE ,,RE/S 9DICATE A FULL M1SURE ( SIL;E4
,'>/L #D4 "& ''''''''' L M
COUNT3 #A&#B&#C&#D& #A&#B&#C&#D&
Good morning, Robert!
Please don't omit these! These are very important for the musician and definitely need to be included.
If you will email me, I can send you a clarinet fingering chart (I too am currently working on a clarinet method book).
And this is how I describe the conducting pattern for 4/4 (of course, in a transcriber's note):
Begin with the arm extended in front of the body at shoulder height. On beat 1, arm comes straight down. On beat 2, arm crosses the body to the left. On beat 3, arm crosses back to the right. On beat 4, arm returns to starting position.
Adjust the wording for 3/4 and cut time when those show up.
Hi there!
How to Read Braille Music is available through National Braille Press:
https://www.nbp.org/ic/nbp/MUSIC.html?from_search=1
It's a great resource for just starting out.
Also check out Dancing Dots for Who's Afraid of Braille Music:
https://www.dancingdots.com/prodesc/whosafraid.htm
And be sure to download the Music Braille Code 2015:
https://www.brailleauthority.org/music-braille-code
You can also download the Introduction to Braille Music course book here:
https://nfb.org/programs-services/braille-certification/music-braille-transcribing
Hope that helps! Good luck and amazing that you are going to learn braille music for your student!
Hi Robert!
This is indeed a tricky situation. We actually don't need to braille the horizontal lines in either case, as the figures connected by the lines are associated with different notes. They aren't lines of continuation (for which we use the dot 1s) nor are the figures one either side of the line associated with the same note (for which we would use the hyphen).
In both examples, the print horizontal line is just showing that the 4 resolves down to the sharp 3rd. It's not a line of continuation. So remove the two dot 1s and just keep the second numeric indicator.
In the second example - assuming it's the "answer" to the first one - the same holds. The horizontal line just shows the resolution. Remove the hyphen and just use a second numeric indicator and place the 3 directly below the 2nd oct E.
And here's a pdf showing the second example you attached - with the functional chord symbols and the key signature before the initial chord.
Of course, transcriber's notes are abundant in these textbooks, so don't be afraid to explain how you're setting things up!
Great question, Robert.
I tend to rearrange things like this and make them clearer for the reader. The way print has it laid out on a single music staff with labels above and below is really not useful in braille. I tend to make these things lists with the chord first, followed by the appropriate information. There is a fair amount of code switching involved, but I think the reader is more able to get what they need if you do it this way.
(Remember that in theory textbooks and analysis situations, intervals should be read upward.)
Example 1-5 I would set up as follows:
(cell 1) music code indicator and the chord (intervals upward)
(next line cell 3) Root/quality chord symbols: music code indic and chord symbol
(next line cell 3) Quality: major
(next line cell 3) Intervals: maj 3, per 5
(cell 1) music code ind. chord
etc. (see attached pdf for simbraille)
Often, what's printed on a single staff in the textbook really doesn't need to be organized into measures and all horizontal as straight music. It can be easier to understand if presented differently much of the time.
