Eleanor, a young girl, is sitting facing her teacher Harry, who is teaching her to read braille music

Eleanor learns to read braille music

Have you ever wondered how to teach braille music to a person with vision impairment?

To celebrate World Sight Day and National Braille Week, we are delighted to share a clip from Eleanor’s introduction to braille music.

In the video, Eleanor and music practitioner Harry sit together as Harry describes how to read music notation in braille. An image appears periodically over the video showing the difference between sheet music and how it is written in braille.

When teaching braille music to students, Harry says that ‘Braille is pattern recognition, much like the alphabet. When you start recognizing the patterns, you can build up speed in reading music.’

Music should be accessible to everyone

Access to braille music can be an obstacle to partially sighted musicians, who may miss out on the opportunity to progress in something they are passionate about. For example, music practitioners may not have the skills to help a student with vision impairment learn to read music and may not know where to start.

You can find out more about Harry’s approach to teaching student’s like Eleanor in the full-length film titled ‘Eleanor’s Story’ on our Amber Sound Touch website.

Amber Sound Touch

Are you are curious about teaching music to children with vision impairment? Amber Sound Touch is a free resource for music teachers. You can find videos of children’s stories, such as Eleanor’s Story, and downloadable resources full of tips and strategies.

Can we help?

The Amber Trust believes that every young musician with a vision impairment deserves the same opportunities as anyone else. If you know of a child who may benefit from our musical services, please don’t hesitate to get in touch.