Resources for Musicians with Special Needs

The following list, though not complete, includes major producers of musical materials and sources of pertinent information.

• Music Section, Library of Congress, National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped - www.loc.gov/nls
  • The Music Section includes an extensive collection of braille and large-print music scores and books about music. Also available are instructional recordings on cassette tape and compact disk. Many of the braille books and scores have been computerized so that they can be downloaded in "web braille" format.
• National Braille Association - www.nationalbraille.org
• American Printing House for the Blind - www.aph.org
• National Braille Press - www.nbp.org
• Recording for the Blind and Dyslexic - www.rfbd.org
• National Resource Center for Blind Musicians - www.blindmusicstudent.org
• Music Education Network for the Visually Impaired - www.menvi.org
• Dancing Dots - www.dancingdots.com
  • Dancing Dots has developed the Goodfeel software, which converts scanned ink-print musical scores into braille. Dancing Dots also sells software which enables blind musicians to produce ink-print scores of their own compositions.
• Opus Technologies- www.opustec.com
  • Opus Technologies sells instructional materials in braille, ink-print, and computerized formats. Other products include popular music in braille and a computer program for converting ink- print scores into braille.

If you need earplugs or other specialized protective devices to safeguard your hearing during musical performance, please consult a knowledgeable specialist such as an audiologist or a sound engineer. A search of www.google.com will take you to a multitude of pertinent web sites. One of the recommended brands is Peltor (www.peltor.se), a Swedish company with American distributors.

Last updated 5/25/06
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