How Braille Sheet Music Works

October 13, 2025

Reading time: 3-5 mins.

Reading and writing music transcriptions for blind and partially sighted people. This is how Braille Sheet Music works.

Have you ever wondered how blind and partially sighted people read sheet music?

There is an alternative method of writing music created for them. It was developed by Louis Braille, the creator of the famous tactile reading system. Likewise, the braille sheet music is based on a system of tactile dots.

At My Sheet Music Transcriptions, we have collaborated with various entities and experts in the field, creating accurate digitizations to turn them into braille sheet music.

In this article, we’ll explain how this process works. Let’s go for it!

Notes and rhythm in braille sheet music

The elements of Braille’s sheet music notation system are organized in groups of six: two adjacent columns of three. The points are numbered from 1 to 6, starting at the top of the left column.

This picture below shows how it works.

Points 1, 2, 4, and 5 represent the pitches, and points 3 and 6 show the rhythm. The rest of the symbols, such as rests, keys, chord symbols and accidental notes are represented by different combinations of points too. Most of them need more than two columns.

This is the C major scale in braille sheet music:

Braille sheet music notation programs

Nowadays, quite a few software programs online can create braille sheet music. One of the most established and popular is Braille Music Editor, which still launches updates.

Some traditional music notation programs, such as MuseScore, have their own braille sheet music tool. They are a simple, user-friendly features, but definitely useful as references.

How we adapt a score to the braille system

Our first step to adapt a score to the braille system is to carefully digitize it. After that, we export the transcription using the Dolete 8 plug-in, and obtain a high-quality MusicXML 4.0 format file. This file is the file to run through a braille adaptation program.

At My Sheet Music Transcriptions, we have a team of digitizers who can accurately digitize every symbol of the score: notes, text, articulation marks, compound meters, expression details… and deliver a tailored MusicXML 4.0 file.

In recent years, entities like the Royal National Institute of Blind People, located in the United Kingdom, have trusted us to implement this process effectively, and obtain tailored musical resources.

The Royal National Institute of Blind People (London, UK)

If you have more questions, or need further advice in regard to braille sheet music transcriptions, don’t hesitate to get in touch with us via mail. We’ll be very happy to help.