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“We Avoid PDFs”: Improving Notation Access for Blind and Visually Impaired Musicians

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Information for a Better World: Normality, Virtuality, Physicality, Inclusivity (iConference 2023)

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Abstract

While music notation can be represented across modalities, it is typically only available visually (in standard print) resulting in access barriers for Blind and Visually Impaired (BVI) musicians. Automated conversion tools and common formats such as MusicXML have enabled new workflows where a print score is transcribed (copied) and made into large print and/or braille music. However, many musicians are unable to acquire music in a format legible to them as transcriptions require time, expertise, and specialized software to produce. Drawing upon the experiences and suggestions of 11 adult BVI musicians with varying vision ability and musical backgrounds, we outline a path to improving access to music notation. To this end, we describe opportunities for utilizing automation and crowd workers, make recommendations for customizing music in print, braille, and audio, and identify open challenges and research directions for creating, storing, and sharing music across formats.

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Acknowledgement

We thank Alex (Yixuan) Xu, Fabiha Ahmed, and Lisa Ye for their contributions and the NYU Ability Project for its support.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. New York University, New York, NY, 10014, USA

    William Payne & Amy Hurst

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  1. William Payne
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  2. Amy Hurst
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Correspondence to William Payne .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. iSchool Organization, Berlin, Germany

    Isaac Sserwanga

  2. Victoria University of Wellington, Wellington, New Zealand

    Anne Goulding

  3. University of Missouri, Chicago, IL, USA

    Heather Moulaison-Sandy

  4. University of South Australia, Adelaide, SA, Australia

    Jia Tina Du

  5. University of Porto, Porto, Portugal

    António Lucas Soares

  6. Monash University, Clayton, VIC, Australia

    Viviane Hessami

  7. University of Tennessee at Knoxville, Knoxville, TN, USA

    Rebecca D. Frank

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Payne, W., Hurst, A. (2023). “We Avoid PDFs”: Improving Notation Access for Blind and Visually Impaired Musicians. In: Sserwanga, I., et al. Information for a Better World: Normality, Virtuality, Physicality, Inclusivity. iConference 2023. Lecture Notes in Computer Science, vol 13972. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-28032-0_44

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-28032-0_44

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-031-28031-3

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-031-28032-0

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