Sound Without Sight podcast

In this episode, we explore the making of the BBC Radio 3 documentary, “Joining the Dots - 200 years of Braille Music”. We welcome Kevin Satizabal, the producer of the documentary, and Matthew Wadsworth, its presenter.Kevin and Matthew share insights into:How they got into their roles.The inspiration behind the documentary.Its recording and editing process, and the gear they used.They also share some clips and answer questions from our community. This podcast was recorded live, as part of the Sound Without Sight Monthly Meet-up for October 2025. 

In this episode, we welcome Andre Louis, who composes a full track for our next season of podcasts in around an hour, using Logic Pro and Native Instruments Komplete Kontrol with a screen reader. Andre refers to the session as 'musical cheffing' and he takes suggestions for ingredients from attendees! He also answers questions from attendees throughout the session. This podcast was recorded live, as part of the Sound Without Sight Monthly Meet-up for July 2025. We hope you enjoy! 

This episode demonstrates accessibility tips and tricks in MuseScore Studio. We cover how to access all the functions that might be useful to low vision and neurodivergent musicians, including:Customising the size and colours of the user interface, Applying Modified Stave Notation styles to scores, to create larger and clearer music, Saving your own style template according to your requirements and applying it to all your scores,Using the continuous view mode to read your music in one long scrolling line. And using plugins to colour notes and apply figurenotes formatting. We also cover screen reader and keyboard navigation, and braille music functionality. This session was recorded live as part of our Monthly Meet-up Session for June 2025.I’m joined by Software Developer and Community Ambassador for MuseScore, Peter Jonas. You can also access a video version and notes.

This episode features a studio tour and Q&A with producer, engineer, and technology trainer, Byron Harden.Byron speaks about:His music career and his complex journey with sight loss.How he developed ‘I See Music’ - a vocational training provider specifically aimed at blind producers and audio engineers, based out of his own accessible studio.The expansion of I See Music to work with tutors and students all over the world.And future aspirations to create apprenticeships within the music and audio industries. We join Byron at the front door of On the Moon - his studio and training facility in Illinois.We hope you enjoy. Edited by Samantha Jane Smith and Jay Pocknell

So you’ve written something cool and you have a great sounding master … what next? How do you get your music out into the world and what are the different ways you can earn money from your recordings?This episode features a panel discussion about releasing and monetising music! Prolific musician Andre Louis shares his experiences of using music distribution services to get his music onto streaming platforms, as well as releasing through a record label. Sync agent and music rights administrator Eliana Sanchez-Magner presents an introduction to music royalties and sync - the industry term for placing music in film and TV. Eli also shares her thoughts on how she would pitch some of Andre’s tracks to production companies. Linn Davies joins me to co-host the discussion.

This bonus episode features an interview with young composer and performer Precious Akindele. Precious shares her experiences of studying at the prestigious BRIT School in the UK, as well as tips for succeeding in the application and audition process. We hope this episode will be especially valuable for young people who are considering studying music at college and beyond.

In this episode, we share the recoding from one of our first ever Monthly Meet-up Sessions, in which welcomed Ben Price as the headline guest. Ben is a prominent advocate for accessibility, in the music industry and an established Artist Manager. His company, Harbourside Management, focuses on working with disabled artists. Ben shares his thoughts on a range of topics, including:How he adapted his career in response his own journey with sight loss.The role of an Artist Manager, and what he looks for in aspiring artists to work with.And tips for disclosing disability within the music industry.

This episode features presentation and Q&A hosted by James Risdon! James is a professional recorder player and a founder member of Paraorchestra. He is also the Access Lead at ABRSM, and previously worked as the Music Officer at RNIB. As part of the celebration of 200 years of braille, James takes a holistic look at how braille music fits into the practices of a modern-day classical musician.He covers a range of topics, including:• Sources of braille music around the world.• Ways of getting music transcribed into braille.• Tips for making braille music files as useful as possible.You can access the handout here: https://soundwithoutsight.org/presentation-joining-the-dots-braille-music-in-the-21st-century/