[optacon-l] Re: Yet Another Neat Optacon Story

  • From: "DIANNE B. PHELPS AND PRIMROSE" <d.bphelps@xxxxxxxxxxx>
  • To: <optacon-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
  • Date: Sat, 19 Dec 2009 16:17:04 -0800

Gail,

I agree with you about the chord symbols. Those really can be helpful and 
definitely readable with the optacon as that theory shorthand many of us 
learned gives you just about everything you need in the harmonies.

Dianne
----- Original Message ----- 
From: <Gailselfridge@xxxxxxx>
To: <optacon-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Saturday, December 19, 2009 3:27 PM
Subject: [optacon-l] Re: Yet Another Neat Optacon Story


> Dianne:
> I too have used the optacon to read music but like you I found it too
> tedious and time consuming. I just play popular music and jazz so like you 
> I've
> decided the easiest way is to use my ear, or braille music when I can get
> it.  The optacon can be used to read music, but it takes forever. The one
> thing I use  it for in this vein is to read chord symbols when I'm just 
> not
> hearing the  harmonies in a piece well enough to get what I want. With 
> chord
> symbols it  doesn't take forever and you don't have to deal with the 
> staff.
>
> Gail
>
> Saeed,
> I found your comments about wanting to read music notation with  the 
> optacon
> interesting and touching because way back in 1977 when I was  first 
> trained
> with the optacon, I, too, had that hope. It is doable, but very  very
> tedious
> and difficult at best because of the amount of space the musical  staff
> takes
> on the page. Instead of being able to scan straight across as we  would do
> with a printed line, you have to scan kind of up and down in peaks  and
> across. While I could do it and could recognize the notes and symbols,  I
> found it just too tedious and hand intensive to make good use of.
> For  music, I would look into computerized programs which are very costly
> but
> which can translate print music into Braille and reproduce it on a 
> Braille
> embosser. This is extremely costly, and I haven't done this, opting 
> instead
> to use my ear, though if you are a professional musician, it might be 
> worth
> the investigation.
> Having said all of that, it would be worth your  while to try the optacon
> just for the experience, but as a college trained  musician, I didn't make
> use of my optacon in that way.
> Dianne
> -----  Original Message -----
> From: "Saeed Mirzazadeh" <_saeedm19@xxxxxxxxxx (mailto:saeedm19@xxxxxxxxx) 
>  >
> To: <_optacon-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx (mailto:optacon-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxx) >
> Sent:  Saturday, December 19, 2009 11:01 AM
> Subject: [optacon-l] Re: Yet Another  Neat Optacon Story
>> dear friends,
>> I'm Saeed Mirzazadeh from iran.  I know Optacon for around 2 weeks and
>> i'm so eager to have one.
>>  I'm a musician and i suppose it will be very useful for reading the
>>  notes that there's not the braille versions.
>> can you help me for finding  a way to buy one?
>> also, I've understood that there are diferent type of  the Optacon. how
>> may i know about these diference?
>> kind  regards,
>> Saeed
>>
>> On 12/19/09, don bishop <_w6smb@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
> (mailto:w6smb@xxxxxxxxxxxxx) > wrote:
>>>  Yes,
>>>
>>> I've been reading fortune cookies for years.   It's also interesting to
>>> turn them over and read what's on the  back.
>>>
>>>  Don
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> On 12/19/2009 9:46 AM, Dan  and Bonnie Tonge wrote:
>>>> That is a neat story, and I have also  had times when I didn't think
>>>> there
>>>> was anything  I could read on a box or something and then picked it up
>>>> again  later and found that there was, even on just an electrical
>>>>  adaptor.
>>>> Has anyone ever read their fortune from a fortune  cookie with the
>>>> Optacon?
>>>>  I didn't think it  would work, but hey, it did.  I thought that was
>>>>  pretty
>>>> neat reading my fortune with the Optacon.  I thought  the writing would
>>>> be
>>>> too small, but there it  was.
>>>>
>>>> Dan
>>>> ----- Original Message  -----
>>>> From: "Linda Gehres"<_ljgehres@xxxxxxxxxxxx
> (mailto:ljgehres@xxxxxxxxxxx) >
>>>>  To: "Optacon List"<_optacon-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
> (mailto:optacon-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxx) >
>>>>  Sent: Saturday, December 19, 2009 8:31 AM
>>>> Subject: [optacon-l]  Yet Another Neat Optacon Story
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>  Yesterday I received a package which didn't contain any labels  that
>>>> could
>>>> be felt. I scanned  the
>>>> package on both sides perhaps too quickly with my Optacon,  finding
>>>> primarily information about sending
>>>>  packages via priority mail for a flat shipping rate but nothing as  to
>>>> the
>>>> package's sender or
>>>>  recipient. Too curious to leave it at that, I opened the box, 
>>>> thinking
>>>> that if there were a note inside,
>>>> it  would be typed if the package was for me. Alas, the note  appeared
>>>> handwritten, but I was too tired
>>>> and  frustrated to try to discern whether the note was printed or in
>>>>  cursive writing. A friend happened
>>>> to call last night, and I was  filling him in on this whole story,
>>>> griping
>>>> that  the post office had
>>>> probably, as usual, misdelivered a Christmas  package to my address.
>>>> I decided this morning when I got up to  re-examine the box, and
> finally,
>>>> I
>>>> found a zip  code which I
>>>> recognized as being that of my brother and his  family near Washington,
>>>> D.C. And the note turned  out
>>>> to be in print and in all caps! So, the wonderful and  beloved Optacon
>>>> does
>>>> it again! All it  takes
>>>> is a lot of patience  sometimes!
>>>>
>>>> Linda  Gehres
>>>>
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