The author, Richard Taesch, is a life-long music educator and guitarist who is certified by the Library of Congress as a braille music transcriber. He heads the Braille Music Division of the Southern California Conservatory of Music and chairs the guitar department. Braille music reading has traditionally been taught as a translation process from print music as the sighted musician views it. Print music is considered secondary, and included for the convenience of the sighted teacher or tutor. It is also intended that a sighted teacher, parent, or tutor with little or no knowledge of braille or conventional print music, may guide a blind student through this course.
Teacher training is also a natural application for the course.
Much testing by correspondence has been conducted, and the course has been the official curriculum at Southern California Conservatory of Music - Braille Music Division for many years. The course is divided into two Parts. The braille edition exists in 6 braille volumes. All three print volumes are integrated and used simultaneously, however, each may also be used separately depending upon individual application. The course is intended to teach the essentials of music reading regardless of the student s chosen instrument.