Braille music tutor books and reference materials
Find out more about braille music tutorial books and courses for both sighted and blind and partially sighted learners. We also have reference material on learning how to transcribe braille music below.
Learning braille music – for sighted learners
RNIB's Music Team has written a free introductory Braille Music Course, which includes ten lessons with exercises. This is suitable for sighted people who have some knowledge of literary braille and an understanding of stave notation. It is aimed at classroom assistants, music teachers and instrumental teachers supporting blind pupils.
The course is designed to cover the single-line notation required by students studying general music in schools up to and including A-level standard (Highers in Scotland). In doing this, it will also be suitable for supporting instrumental teachers working with melody instruments to about Grade 5 standard. It does not cover multi-stave notation, such as keyboard music, in detail.
We welcome your feedback and would love to hear from anyone who has used the course to support a blind musician using braille music. Please contact RNIB Helpline:
- Email: [email protected]
- Telephone: 0303 123 9999
We also offer a paid Braille Music Certificate. This consists of a year of self-study, with tutor-marked assessments and an exam at the end and is one of the most well recognised certificate courses in music for blind and partially sighted people.
Learning braille music - for blind learners
Braille Music for Beginners by Joan Partridge
A piano tutor for beginner pianists which teaches the piano and the braille music code in parallel, taking the student to about Grade 2 standard.
Product code: 25282903 (print) or 25282902 (Braille).
Price: £9.25
- UEB Braille Music for Beginners (print notes)
- UEB Braille music for beginners: for the piano (braille notes)
A Guide to Braille Music Notation by Edward Watson
Updated in 2009, this guide uses mainly keyboard examples and is suitable for obtaining a general knowledge of the code to A-level standard. There are plenty of examples but no exercises.
Product code: TC20278 (print) or TC20279 (Braille).
Price: £10.50
- A guide to braille music notation (print edition)
- A guide to braille music notation (braille edition)
A Course in Braille Music by Maeve Smith
This course is suitable for beginners of all ages wishing to learn braille music. It is keyboard orientated but not a piano course, and will introduce most of the notation needed up to AS level with plenty of exercises. Available from St. Josephs Centre for the Visually Impaired Publications Ltd.
Focus on Music by Lisette Wesseling
This is published by Musicians in Focus and is available from Technovision.
Who's Afraid of Braille Music? by Richard Taesch and William R. McCann
Available from Dancing Dots.
Discovering Music Theory by Simon Rushby
Books for ABRSM grades 1-5 are available to order from Golden Chord.
Braille music reference materials
The “New International Manual of Braille Music Notation” (revised in 1996) compiled by Bettye Krollick, published by SVB, Amsterdam, 1997, ISBN: 90 - 9009269 - 2, is a full guide to the current braille music code for reference purposes. It covers general, instrumental and vocal music. It contains illustrated examples, a useful index of signs and the order of their use. An accessible electronic version can be downloaded below. It is recommended that you have a braille font installed on your computer to read the braille examples.
Books for learning how to transcribe braille music from RNIB
Both of these books are available to order from the RNIB Helpline on 0303 123 9999 or [email protected].
Braille Music Training Manual, RNIB
Compiled and Edited by Jane Ware.
RNIB: Peterborough (2002)
ISBN: 1 85878 5553
Product Code: TC 21039
Braille Music Layout Manual, RNIB
Compiled and Edited by Jane Ware
RNIB: Peterborough (2002)
ISBN: 1 85878 5561
Product code: TC 21038
