3D-printed music scores to feel every note

FEEL THE MUSIC: A musical score that lets you feel the notes before you even play them.

In an invention that benefits both the blind and the very tactile among us, researchers at the University of Wisconsin have been experimenting with 3D-printed music scores.

While music scores in braille have been available for a long time, they are highly complex and often lack information that's included in traditional sheet music.

Raising the type on top of the staff and notes of traditional scores gives it a tactile quality that both benefits the visually impaired and brings a new element to musicians with normal vision.

Blind musician Dr. Yeaji Kim invented the system while earning her PhD from the UW School of Music.

She has since returned to her native South Korea but continues to direct the project by analysing samples the research team sends her by mail.

"This isn't just building a prototype for her or the School of Music," says mechanical engineering grad student William Aquite, who works with Dr. Kim on the project. "It's a true collaboration in that we're working closely with Kim to understand her design needs and to find solutions together."

Aquite says he approached Dr. Kim in order to become a member of her team because the new possibilities it represents for music education are exciting to him.

The research is ongoing. — AFP/RelaxNews