SBIR-STTR Award

Braille, music, multimedia, CD-ROM, midi the standard reference books for teaching how to read Braille music and transcribe printed music into Braille music are currently available only in hard copy print and Braille editions. A typical printed page contains descriptive test, musical examples in standard music notation, and the corresponding Braille music notation. As with most hard copy reference materials, the books are bulky (about 200 printed pages each, even more for Braille), hard to keep up-to-date, and difficult to search through, especially for blind readers. We propose to develop the first collection of multimedia Braille music reference materials on CD-ROM for use by both sighted and blind readers. In addition to providing faster and more effective text searching capabilities,, the CD-ROM and accompanying software will allow midi playback of the musical examples, scrolling and zooming in/out when viewing the standard music notation examples, and annotated descriptions of each Braille music sign in the Braille music examples.Results:Phase I will develop prototype CD-ROM control software and a prototype multimedia CD-ROM disk containing the latest draft of the new international manual of Braille music notation. This prototype will be tested for usability and accessibility by both blind and sighted musicians and Braille music transcribers. Phase II development will result in a multimedia CD-ROM Braille music reference disk containing the final draft of the new international manual of Braille music notation, the dictionary of Braille music signs, 2nd edition, and additional music Braille instructional and reference materials and examples. We expect this disk to become the standard reference resource for music Braille transcribers, blink musicians and music students, and educational institutions and libraries in the U.S. And internationals markets.

The standard reference books for teaching how to readbraille music and transcribe printed music into braille music arecurrently available only in hardcopy print and braille editions.A typical printed page contains descriptive text, music examplesin standard music notation, and the corresponding braillenotation. As with most hardcopy reference materials, the booksare bulky, hard to keep up-to-date, and difficult to searchthrough, especially for blind readers.We propose to develop a multimedia CD-ROM collection of thestandard braille music instructional and reference materials thatcan be used by both sighted and blind readers. Designed to run onmultimedia PC-compatible computers under Windows, the CD-ROM willallow users to view and search through textual material, view themusic examples in both music notation and braille notation, andlisten to MIDI audio playback of the music examples. Annotatedbraille descriptions will provide an easy way to look up themeanings of braille music symbols and assist blind readers usingscreen access programs.

Anticipated Results:
Phase II development will result in acomplete multimedia CD-ROM collection, ready forcommercialization, of the following standard braille musicinstructional and reference materials: New International Manualof Braille Music Notation, How to Read Braille Music, Dictionaryof Braille Music Signs (2nd edition), and Introduction to BrailleMusic Transcription. We expect this disc to become a valuableresource for music braille transcribers, blind musicians andmusic students, and educational institutions and libraries in theU.S. and internationals markets.