Music

We can offer advice on producing and learning music notation in accessible formats, including Modified Stave Notation (large print) and braille music. We also have suggestions for learning to play music by ear or memorising music. Our Music Transcription Service also offers help in producing music in accessible formats (see below).

We have recently produced a guide to using software to display music scores in large print. For screen reader users interested in creating or navigating music scores using notation software, there are a number of short tutorials for using MuseScore with a screen reader.

You can read more about Modified Stave Notation, braille music, and other formats in the following overview of accessible formats for music notation.

Our music library provides braille music scores free to blind and partially sighted people in the UK. More than 2,000 scores are available for piano, organ, and voice as well as a variety of other instruments. There are also tutor books for beginners in braille music and books on the history and theory of music.

RNIB Bookshare, our education collection, also hosts some music titles in PDF format, which may be useful for partially sighted people in education.

Modified Stave Notation (large print) can be requested directly from our Music Transcription Service.

For more information on accessing music scores and books via RNIB, please read our guide to requesting accessible music from RNIB.

RNIB’s Transcription Service can convert your print music notation into Modified Stave Notation (large print) or braille.

Our highly skilled team of transcribers have individually amassed over 20 years’ experience in turning the most complex scores into accessible outputs. We work with individual customers as well as examining boards, schools, universities, and commercial organisations to provide music for exams, study, performances, or leisure. We can also offer a modification service for examinations.

Our service is ISO 9001, 22301 and 27001 accredited. For more information about the service, see our page about RNIB’s Modified Stave Notation and braille music transcribers.

To enquire, please email: [email protected].

For more information about the process and formats available, please read our guide to requesting accessible music from RNIB.

Large print manuscript paper

RNIB's Transcription team have created the following printable templates for large print manuscript paper. The team can also tailor a template to your needs, altering size, adding elements such as clefs and bar lines as required. Please contact: [email protected].

• Manuscript template (A3)
• Manuscript template (A4)

Our music awards and funding page has details of awards and sources of funding for blind and partially sighted children and adults wishing to further their musical career or study.

In collaboration with RNIB’s employment team, we support blind and partially sighted musicians working or wishing to work in the music business through advice and information. As well as accessing RNIB’s general employment resources, you may wish to read the following guide to employment support for blind and partially sighted musicians.

The Music Team’s current priorities are:

1. Equitable access to music scores in accessible formats.
2. Equitable access to Music Education, including the new network of Music Hubs in England (from September 2024).
3. Equitable access to musical instruments and music-making hardware and software.
4. Increasing representation of blind and partially sighted musicians in the music industry, connecting the community of blind and partially sighted musicians, and the raising awareness of the support and solutions available.
5. Providing specialist knowledge and advice to other teams within RNIB to ensure that music-related enquiries are supported efficiently.

Accessible Formats in Music Education project

RNIB’s Music Team recently led a consultation with England’s Music Education sector, funded by Arts Council England, to identify and develop strategies to improve the materials available to learners who require musical scores in alternative formats. We look forward to publishing the report soon.

Accessible Music Publishing

We are proud to be collaborating with the DAISY Consortium to improve the availability of ‘born accessible’ digital music scores. We are working together with a group of mainstream music publishers to ensure that all musicians can quickly and effectively read their scores in their preferred reading format, whether braille, Modified Stave Notation, or digitally in notation tools and dedicated apps. For more information, visit the DAISY website.

Sound Without Sight project

We are happy to be supporting the development of the Sound Without Sight project to create a Knowledge Hub that will become the “one front door” for information related to music and accessibility. The hub will collate existing resources and allow users to contribute to fill in knowledge gaps. The project also hopes to develop an active user community, showcasing blind and partially sighted musicians, their workflows, and the solutions that they have found throughout their work. Through regular online Meet-up events and forums, we hope that the project will foster a supportive environment that will enable blind and partially sighted musicians to learn from their peers and develop confidently, whether that be during education, into employment, or for leisure.

Accessible formats for music notation

• Modified Stave Notation (large print music).
• Braille music.
• Talking scores.

Music support offered by RNIB

• RNIB’s Modified Stave Notation and braille music transcribers.
• Music Advisory Service and Transcription Service.
• Music library at RNIB and RNIBlibrary.com.
• Music Central on RNIB Bookshare.
• RNIB Braille Music Certificate.

Other RNIB music resources and support

• Braille music tutor books and reference materials.
• Music awards and funding.
• Gardner’s Trust Braille Music Literacy Awards.
• Guide to requesting accessible music from RNIB.
• Articles on memorising music.
• RNIB guide to Spotify, a popular music and podcast streaming service.