hello everyone, please help me find the creator software that can be accessed by voiceOver. I want to make a partitur for my visible friends. sorry if my english is bad. I'm using google translate. thank you for your answer.
I've been using MuseScore. I've been using it as a low vision user with VoiceOver enabled. It's free software, so you could try it and perhaps it will work for you.
hello mister paul, first i want to introduce myself. my name is DharmaPutra from indonesia. you have said musescore can be used by voiceOver users. but how to do it? Please help.
Symphony Pro is reasonably accessible with VoiceOver for writing a score. There are a numberr of keyboard shortcuts built in for use with VO. When first in the program hit OptionsKey+K to get into the Help mode to find these hotkeys.
The developer has been reasonably receptive to feedback on making this app accessible. That being said, it is a complex app with a fairly busy UI and could take some time to get used to. Not all aspects will be accessible with VO, but many aspects are accessible and the app is improving.
Check out lilypond at http://lilypond.org
The output isn't accessible, but if you understand the source code used to generate the music you are golden.
I don't understand your question. Symphony Pro is a paid app. I believe that there are some in app purchases that unlock some features. The current version in the app store is 5, but I believe version 6 should be a bit more accessible with VoiceOver when it comes out.
If you Google for notation software you will find several open source projects with free software that can be used for some purposes depending on what your needs are.
Hello everyone, I want to ask again about making music notation for blind people. according to all of you, can garage bands be music notation software that can be used?
There's not really a good notation app for Apple devices... I mean, there are, but they have to be improved. I do use a notation software, but it's on Windows... I want to hold off on typing the name of it because I don't want to get into any trouble because this website is focused more on Apple related topics... but if you want me to post the name and website of the software, I can.
Hi!
If you’ve tried using Musescore about 2 years ago, I hope, that something in accessibility was changed, or will change in next versions... About accessibility on Windows I know, by using Musescore with NVDA, but problem with MacOS is important in my opinion... But guys, do you know something about this partnership between Avid and Berklee? Avid’s website and some texts on the blog says, that it should make the newest versions of Sibelius accessible for Windows screenreaders, but allso with MacOS and Voiceover. If some of you could check this situation, we all could know something more...
The Sibelius partnership with Berklee College of Music started in the fall of last year. At this point Sibelius is about 90% accessible on both Mac and Windows. In fact, many Sibelius users now are using it on the Mac, because it offers the most stable experience. There is a WhatsApp group you can get involved in, as well as the Sibelius Access Google group. I used to work in the assistive music technology program at Berklee, so I know the people involved in the project.
I am delighted to hear Sibelius is 90% accessible. Before I dive in to learn the app, though, can you tell me what parts of Sibelius are not accessible?
Question. Could I use this program to chart music notation? If that's what it's designed to do? Sometimes I have to do shows or gigs that require charts. I'm actually new to this sort of stuff as I never delt with charting before and I've always had to have sited help writing out charts for me, but I'd like to get to where I can actually do this sort of stuff on my own.
Their are no additional settings that you need to configure to get sibelius to work with VoiceOver. There are some additional verbosity options that you can configure in the sibelius preferences dialogue which affect how VoiceOver reads while navigating through your score. You can use sibelius for everything from making charts for a combo to scoring for full orchestra, concert band, jazz ensembles etc. When I say that the program is around 90 percent accessible, I only say that because of small bugs that Avid is actively working on to make sibelius work more smoothly with all screen readers. For instance, Avid just fixed a bug in which voiceover was falsely reporting the number of beats in a measure when selecting a group of notes to slur together. It would say something like, “selected from bar 1 beat 1, to bar 1 beat 5”, when their were only 4 beats in the measure. Another somewhat annoying bug that is still present is that VoiceOver doesn't read when you change the value in pop-up buttons in dialogues. In order to find out what choice you made, you need to press tab and then shift tab to get VoiceOver to read your selection. Avid is very proactive in addressing bugs as they are reported and they usually release an update every couple of months. The people from Berklee and Avid who are working on the project will have more specific information about what bugs are still present in the most current update. The bugs that are still present do not affect your workflow significantly.
I'm serious about purchasing Sibelius, but I haven't found a2020 ver 6.0. What I have found is Sibelius Ultimate and just plain Sibelius, with either a monthly, yearly or permanent subscription (although the permanent version still requires annual payments for updates etc.). My question is, which version do you recommend? Or if you prefer, which version do you use, or which version are you most happy with? Also, is the "user Guide" accessible? Is there a blind user discussion group just for Sibelius accessibility, and if so, what is the address? What is the learning curve for someone who is quite competent using braille music notation but who has never used notation software? What is the learning curve for someone who is quite familiar with VoiceOver? I will be getting your recommended version for my iMac Pro. I use the latest Logic Pro X with the latest MacOS, and I love to compose, but to have sighted musicians perform my stuff, I need to be able to use notation software.
Hi!
Everything is not so easy, because Sibelius has really many functions, but yes, I can sey, that Sib 2020.06 is accessible. To be onest, I have to know keyboard shortcuts, for example to make easy navigation by scores and everything - I just have to know this program, but I see, that people are making a lot of work, to make it accessible. If some of you have any link to shortcuts, which are helpful for blind user, and allso link to some acces google group, i will be gratefull! Thanks for earlyer answers!
Hello, I have one question about preferences menu in Sibelius: How can I use "Current feature set"? I want to actiwate notebook - laptop shortcuts in this menu, but I have problem with it. If I try to click on touchpad or by keyboard to choose "current feature set" in keyboard shortcuts tab in preferences, I can not see this menu with "notebook, laptop shortcuts" to select it. Where is my mistake? If it is not good place for this question, please let me know some Sibelius accessibility group for Mac users...
Give Sibelius a try. It has a free version, Sibelius first. Haven't messed with it that much, however it seems to work good with voiceover. You do not have to purchace Sibelius at first. If your just starting out; go for sibelious first. That's a free version of Sibelius if your just starting out with it, you can purchace Sibelius after determining if its good for your needs.
Yes, in my opinion Sibelius works with Voiceover really good. The only problem for now is for me preferences menu... I can open main tabs by arow keys, but the menu inside one of it - keyboard shortcuts - is problematic: to turn on laptop, notebook keyboard shortcuts, i have to enter in to "current feature set" - I can not actiwate it. My mistake, I think, but dont know where.
Hello:
I know that this is an old post here, but for all musicians, sibelius is really great with Voice over on mac, am using it in all my work, and it is working perfectly.
Musescore now has very good accessibility features, i tried it one or 2 times, but it is ok, and working, do not know if it is like sibelius or not.
am here for any sibelius help
I'm completely blind, I teach piano and music theory in england.
I'm seconding MuseScore.
Until I transitioned to windows 10 and 11, I was using Sibelius 5.2 and the Sibelius Access JAWS scrits.
As others have stated in this tread, Sibelius is pro-level software with the price tag to match. and to be honest, so is JAWS... even with the Anuel, 2, 3 and 5 year subscriptions...
That being said, the quality of score it produces, as well as Articulations, Slurs, Dynamics, wind and string-spasific markings is excelent.
Avid does offer Sibelius first for free, which gives you up to 4 staves (Or voices) but compared with Musescore accessibility is limited, at best, both for reading through, and writing scores.
The SA scripts allow you access to everything but, it's only for JAWS, NVDA is practically useless.
Now comes the problem. Windows 7 and 8 are past there end-of-life sycle, and yes to everyone's questions, sicurity updates are important, so they're no longer a viable option.
Sibelius 7 and 8 do come with varying amounts of instrument sounds, the ultimate comes with 70GB (the same as Logic Pro)
Musescore has several free libraries available to download if you install everything through the MuseHub.
All my students use Musescore, some of them use it with a braile display, and some with NVA or JAWS.
I haven't tested it with VO as my Macbook was stolen, and i'm saving for a replacement...
There are some debates about the level of engraving, available, and if MuseScore really is professional-grade software, and in my experience, it is. I have never had any complaints from my sighted musicians about the quality, formatting or legibility of parts, Shortscore or full scor. I also write music for small orchestras (Baroque-early classical size) no problems there either.
Logic pro does produce scores, and it's acceptable to a point, but not for pro-level classical work. It should be fine for pop arangements or maybe even jaz, to an extent.
My appologies for the EXTRA-LONG! post, but I wanted to get all possible information across.
If anyone wants to ask anything i'll be happy to answer any and all questions.
If anyone has information about the most recent google and Whatsapp groups for both Sibelius and or Musescore or other music/related accessibility, feel free to post them. Please?
Regards,
Melissa.
Does anyone have any more information, as of this post date, about current Sibelius accessibility with both VO and windows screen readers? what about the Mobile version for iOS? because iOS accessibility is quite offten a different kettle of fish to the Mac version of the app...
Sibelius Ultimate 2024 continues to work extremely well with everything I need except one thing, which is when I paused playback, I would like to be able to quickly and easily move the cursor to the point where I paused so I can make a change to the score. Unfortunately, so far as I am aware, there is no single key command to use for this purpose.
I'm using a Mac Studio 2022 running MacOS Ventura and sibelius Ultimate 2024.6.1. I start at the beginning of a piece, let it play, press space bar to pause, and then tab to move the editing cursor to the place where I paused, but when I press tab, the editing cursor only moves one increment forward from bar 1 beat 1.
Any helpful hints? Being able to move the editing cursor t the place where I pause would be very, very helpful.
Am using sibelius but not the latest version,
just sibelius 2022, it is working great.
i hared about Musescore accessibility, but did not try it,
so, sibelius for me is the best
Comments
MuseScore
I've been using MuseScore. I've been using it as a low vision user with VoiceOver enabled. It's free software, so you could try it and perhaps it will work for you.
hello mister paul, first i
hello mister paul, first i want to introduce myself. my name is DharmaPutra from indonesia. you have said musescore can be used by voiceOver users. but how to do it? Please help.
notation software accessible for apple user to 2018
At present, there is no software available to make music scores? for Voice Over
Try Syphony Pro
Symphony Pro is reasonably accessible with VoiceOver for writing a score. There are a numberr of keyboard shortcuts built in for use with VO. When first in the program hit OptionsKey+K to get into the Help mode to find these hotkeys.
The developer has been reasonably receptive to feedback on making this app accessible. That being said, it is a complex app with a fairly busy UI and could take some time to get used to. Not all aspects will be accessible with VO, but many aspects are accessible and the app is improving.
If you try it out let us know how it goes.
--Pete
Check out lilypond at http:/
Check out lilypond at http://lilypond.org
The output isn't accessible, but if you understand the source code used to generate the music you are golden.
simphony pro?
hello peter, what do you mean is simhony pro for iPhone? if yes, I have difficulty finding a shortcut on the keyboart.
Re: #6 Symphony Pro?
hello peter...
does the vitur apps have to be opened by subscribing?
Re: #8
Dharmaputra,
I don't understand your question. Symphony Pro is a paid app. I believe that there are some in app purchases that unlock some features. The current version in the app store is 5, but I believe version 6 should be a bit more accessible with VoiceOver when it comes out.
If you Google for notation software you will find several open source projects with free software that can be used for some purposes depending on what your needs are.
--Pete
hello all
Hello everyone, I want to ask again about making music notation for blind people. according to all of you, can garage bands be music notation software that can be used?
About MuseScore
Hi Mr. Dharmaputra. Here is a link about accessibility for VoiceOver with MuseScore. I'm glad Paul can use it. The web page says VoiceOver accessibility is under construction.
https://musescore.org/en/handbook/3/accessibility#introduction
I've tried using that program
I've tried using that program... I didn't really like it that much.
Notation apps
There's not really a good notation app for Apple devices... I mean, there are, but they have to be improved. I do use a notation software, but it's on Windows... I want to hold off on typing the name of it because I don't want to get into any trouble because this website is focused more on Apple related topics... but if you want me to post the name and website of the software, I can.
Sibelius and some partnership with Berklee...
Hi!
If you’ve tried using Musescore about 2 years ago, I hope, that something in accessibility was changed, or will change in next versions... About accessibility on Windows I know, by using Musescore with NVDA, but problem with MacOS is important in my opinion... But guys, do you know something about this partnership between Avid and Berklee? Avid’s website and some texts on the blog says, that it should make the newest versions of Sibelius accessible for Windows screenreaders, but allso with MacOS and Voiceover. If some of you could check this situation, we all could know something more...
Sibelius accessibility.
Hi everyone,
The Sibelius partnership with Berklee College of Music started in the fall of last year. At this point Sibelius is about 90% accessible on both Mac and Windows. In fact, many Sibelius users now are using it on the Mac, because it offers the most stable experience. There is a WhatsApp group you can get involved in, as well as the Sibelius Access Google group. I used to work in the assistive music technology program at Berklee, so I know the people involved in the project.
Sibelius accessibility with Voiceover...
Hi trumpetking! So it means, that Sibelius is working good with Voiceover... But are there some really difficould settigs, to turn accessibility on?
So, what parts of Sibelius are not accessible?
I am delighted to hear Sibelius is 90% accessible. Before I dive in to learn the app, though, can you tell me what parts of Sibelius are not accessible?
Thanks,
Bruce
MuseScore.
Question. Could I use this program to chart music notation? If that's what it's designed to do? Sometimes I have to do shows or gigs that require charts. I'm actually new to this sort of stuff as I never delt with charting before and I've always had to have sited help writing out charts for me, but I'd like to get to where I can actually do this sort of stuff on my own.
Sibelius.
Hi again everyone,
Their are no additional settings that you need to configure to get sibelius to work with VoiceOver. There are some additional verbosity options that you can configure in the sibelius preferences dialogue which affect how VoiceOver reads while navigating through your score. You can use sibelius for everything from making charts for a combo to scoring for full orchestra, concert band, jazz ensembles etc. When I say that the program is around 90 percent accessible, I only say that because of small bugs that Avid is actively working on to make sibelius work more smoothly with all screen readers. For instance, Avid just fixed a bug in which voiceover was falsely reporting the number of beats in a measure when selecting a group of notes to slur together. It would say something like, “selected from bar 1 beat 1, to bar 1 beat 5”, when their were only 4 beats in the measure. Another somewhat annoying bug that is still present is that VoiceOver doesn't read when you change the value in pop-up buttons in dialogues. In order to find out what choice you made, you need to press tab and then shift tab to get VoiceOver to read your selection. Avid is very proactive in addressing bugs as they are reported and they usually release an update every couple of months. The people from Berklee and Avid who are working on the project will have more specific information about what bugs are still present in the most current update. The bugs that are still present do not affect your workflow significantly.
Question only for sure...
Hi,
I want to ask only for sure, in whih version of Sibelius accessibility is the best? Only the nevest version, or older to?
Sibelius.
Hi Patryk,
Sibelius 2020.6 is the latest version which has the most up-to-date accessibility enhancements.
Exactly which Sibelius?
Hi thetrumpetking,
I'm serious about purchasing Sibelius, but I haven't found a2020 ver 6.0. What I have found is Sibelius Ultimate and just plain Sibelius, with either a monthly, yearly or permanent subscription (although the permanent version still requires annual payments for updates etc.). My question is, which version do you recommend? Or if you prefer, which version do you use, or which version are you most happy with? Also, is the "user Guide" accessible? Is there a blind user discussion group just for Sibelius accessibility, and if so, what is the address? What is the learning curve for someone who is quite competent using braille music notation but who has never used notation software? What is the learning curve for someone who is quite familiar with VoiceOver? I will be getting your recommended version for my iMac Pro. I use the latest Logic Pro X with the latest MacOS, and I love to compose, but to have sighted musicians perform my stuff, I need to be able to use notation software.
Thank you in advance for your reply.
Best wishes,
Bruce
sibelius accessible?
I used to use Sibelius version 8. I tried the demo version to see if it could be read by Voice Over. but, it can't be read at all.
Sibelius accessibility
Hi!
Everything is not so easy, because Sibelius has really many functions, but yes, I can sey, that Sib 2020.06 is accessible. To be onest, I have to know keyboard shortcuts, for example to make easy navigation by scores and everything - I just have to know this program, but I see, that people are making a lot of work, to make it accessible. If some of you have any link to shortcuts, which are helpful for blind user, and allso link to some acces google group, i will be gratefull! Thanks for earlyer answers!
Sibelius - preferences menu
Hello, I have one question about preferences menu in Sibelius: How can I use "Current feature set"? I want to actiwate notebook - laptop shortcuts in this menu, but I have problem with it. If I try to click on touchpad or by keyboard to choose "current feature set" in keyboard shortcuts tab in preferences, I can not see this menu with "notebook, laptop shortcuts" to select it. Where is my mistake? If it is not good place for this question, please let me know some Sibelius accessibility group for Mac users...
Sibelius
Give Sibelius a try. It has a free version, Sibelius first. Haven't messed with it that much, however it seems to work good with voiceover. You do not have to purchace Sibelius at first. If your just starting out; go for sibelious first. That's a free version of Sibelius if your just starting out with it, you can purchace Sibelius after determining if its good for your needs.
Preferences...
Yes, in my opinion Sibelius works with Voiceover really good. The only problem for now is for me preferences menu... I can open main tabs by arow keys, but the menu inside one of it - keyboard shortcuts - is problematic: to turn on laptop, notebook keyboard shortcuts, i have to enter in to "current feature set" - I can not actiwate it. My mistake, I think, but dont know where.
sibelius is perfect
Hello:
I know that this is an old post here, but for all musicians, sibelius is really great with Voice over on mac, am using it in all my work, and it is working perfectly.
Musescore now has very good accessibility features, i tried it one or 2 times, but it is ok, and working, do not know if it is like sibelius or not.
am here for any sibelius help
Ramy's right
I agree with Ramy about Sibelius. I use it every day. Also, I believe both muse score and sibelius have blind user discussion groups.
Sibelius and general accessibility comments
I'm completely blind, I teach piano and music theory in england.
I'm seconding MuseScore.
Until I transitioned to windows 10 and 11, I was using Sibelius 5.2 and the Sibelius Access JAWS scrits.
As others have stated in this tread, Sibelius is pro-level software with the price tag to match. and to be honest, so is JAWS... even with the Anuel, 2, 3 and 5 year subscriptions...
That being said, the quality of score it produces, as well as Articulations, Slurs, Dynamics, wind and string-spasific markings is excelent.
Avid does offer Sibelius first for free, which gives you up to 4 staves (Or voices) but compared with Musescore accessibility is limited, at best, both for reading through, and writing scores.
The SA scripts allow you access to everything but, it's only for JAWS, NVDA is practically useless.
Now comes the problem. Windows 7 and 8 are past there end-of-life sycle, and yes to everyone's questions, sicurity updates are important, so they're no longer a viable option.
Sibelius 7 and 8 do come with varying amounts of instrument sounds, the ultimate comes with 70GB (the same as Logic Pro)
Musescore has several free libraries available to download if you install everything through the MuseHub.
All my students use Musescore, some of them use it with a braile display, and some with NVA or JAWS.
I haven't tested it with VO as my Macbook was stolen, and i'm saving for a replacement...
There are some debates about the level of engraving, available, and if MuseScore really is professional-grade software, and in my experience, it is. I have never had any complaints from my sighted musicians about the quality, formatting or legibility of parts, Shortscore or full scor. I also write music for small orchestras (Baroque-early classical size) no problems there either.
Logic pro does produce scores, and it's acceptable to a point, but not for pro-level classical work. It should be fine for pop arangements or maybe even jaz, to an extent.
My appologies for the EXTRA-LONG! post, but I wanted to get all possible information across.
If anyone wants to ask anything i'll be happy to answer any and all questions.
If anyone has information about the most recent google and Whatsapp groups for both Sibelius and or Musescore or other music/related accessibility, feel free to post them. Please?
Regards,
Melissa.
2024
Does anyone have any more information, as of this post date, about current Sibelius accessibility with both VO and windows screen readers? what about the Mobile version for iOS? because iOS accessibility is quite offten a different kettle of fish to the Mac version of the app...
Sibelius 2024
Sibelius Ultimate 2024 continues to work extremely well with everything I need except one thing, which is when I paused playback, I would like to be able to quickly and easily move the cursor to the point where I paused so I can make a change to the score. Unfortunately, so far as I am aware, there is no single key command to use for this purpose.
Stop and tab.
Just stop with space and press tab. You'll be near the last note you heard on that staff.
Chi Kim
Sorry. Your suggestion didn't work.
I'm using a Mac Studio 2022 running MacOS Ventura and sibelius Ultimate 2024.6.1. I start at the beginning of a piece, let it play, press space bar to pause, and then tab to move the editing cursor to the place where I paused, but when I press tab, the editing cursor only moves one increment forward from bar 1 beat 1.
Any helpful hints? Being able to move the editing cursor t the place where I pause would be very, very helpful.
did not try anything except sibelius
Am using sibelius but not the latest version,
just sibelius 2022, it is working great.
i hared about Musescore accessibility, but did not try it,
so, sibelius for me is the best