Accessibility of Graphic Scores: Design and Exploration of Tactile Supports for Blind People

In this paper, we present the outcome of a musical workshop on accessibility of graphic scores for blind people, held in Brescia, Italy with the support of Unione Italiana dei Ciechi e degli Ipovedenti ETS - APS. Through a series of meetings and side-by-side study sessions, four blind musicians were involved in a collective musical experiment, culminating in a final concert based on three pieces from the historical repertoire. During these meetings, a series of semi-structured interviews with the participants allowed us to collect a series of guidelines and suggestions regarding the design and creation of tactile scores and to discuss performance strategies, in order to facilitate accessibility of this peculiar repertoire to visually impaired people.