May 25, 2026
From the Editor
Welcome to the May edition of BayLines Express. We hope you were able to attend our annual spring convention, whether in-person at the Marriott or virtually via Zoom. No matter how you participated, we hope you enjoyed it. As stated in this month’s board report, we have a new slate of officers, and we are also getting closer and closer to ACB’s National Convention which will start off with a virtual week mid-July before transitioning to hybrid programming in St. Louis, MO for the last full week of the month. I will be there in person as ACB staff and hope to see some of you there! Hopefully, as spring moves into summer, we’ll also have nicer weather on the horizon.
Don’t forget about our blog! You can read member spotlight articles and all past member-submitted articles to BayLines Express by going to https://acbofma.org/blog. Blog posts are ordered newest to oldest, and there are several of them per page. Each individual post’s title is a link that will take you to the full body of text.
If you would like to contribute information or comment on ways to improve BayLines Express, please contact Dianna Leonard at newsletter@acbofma.org. And if you have an idea for a monthly article and would like to contribute your writing, please contact Myra Ross at newsletter@acbofma.org. The newsletter mailbox is shared between Myra and Dianna.
News from the Board
This year’s Spring Convention, held at the Burlington Marriott on May 16, was a big success. There were about 60 in-person attendees and about 30 remote participants. The day was jam-packed with many interesting sessions. In-person attendees had ample time to socialize after the day’s work during a cocktail hour and dinner.
Once again, congratulations to our new slate of Board officers: President Sharon Strzalkowski, First VP Jennifer Harnish, Second VP Myra Ross, Secretary Jerry Berrier, and Treasurer David Kingsbury.
Three resolutions were passed by the membership related to guide dog refusals by ride share companies; autonomous vehicles; and accessible in-person balloting.
Convention organizers will meet on June 1 to discuss what we got right and what needs improvement for future conventions.
Sharon has decided to make two committee chairperson changes. Myra Ross will become the new Transportation Committee chair and David Kingsbury will become the new Communications chair. In addition, Jerry Berrier has decided to resign as Advocacy Committee co-chair but will continue as a committee member. Nona Haroyan will be the sole chairperson. We all thank Jerry for his service as co-chair, but know that he will remain busy as Board Secretary.
The Social Committee is organizing a strawberry picking event at Ward’s Berry Farm in Sharon in the second half of June. We can’t give an exact date at this moment because the timing depends on the weather. The spring has been very dry and will have an effect on timing.
The Board decided at its last meeting on May 11 to appoint Sharon Strzalkowski and Mary Haroyan as our ACB Convention delegate and alternate, respectively. Jennifer Harnish will serve as our representative to the ACB Nominations Committee. ACB Convention registration begins on May 28, so stay tuned.
The next Board meeting will take place on Sunday, June 14.
Events Calendar
The next meeting of Blind and Visually Impaired User Group (VIBUG) will take place on Saturday, June 13, 2026 at 1:00pm via Zoom. Further information and how to join is listed at https://vibug.org/.
The next Perkins Library Without Walls will meet in June of 2026. To RSVP or listen to the upcoming LWW schedule, call the voice mailbox system at (617) 972-7852.
The next Third Thursday with the BSCB will take place on June 18 at 8:00 PM via Zoom. Join us as we hear from Tatum Pritchard. Please be sure to subscribe to our Announce List at bscb-announce+subscribe@acblists.org to stay up to date.
Below are landing page links for the MCB Rehabilitation Council (RC), and the MCB Statutory Advisory Board (SAB). You may want to bookmark them and check them often for time-sensitive entries. They contain details of upcoming events and meetings, recordings of recent meetings, and other relevant information.
RC landing page: https://www.mass.gov/orgs/mcb-rehabilitation-council
SAB landing page: https://www.mass.gov/orgs/mcb-statutory-advisory-board
Red Sox Information
The following information was provided to assist baseball fans at Fenway Park.
“For any questions regarding accessibility at Fenway Park, please contact the Accessible Services team. They can provide more information about the services we offer, including the Exceptional Fan Program, as well as assist with purchasing accessible seating.
Business Hours: Monday-Friday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Phone: 617-226-6197
Email: accessibleservices@redsox.com
In-Game Availability:
- Live Chat
- In Person at any Fan Information Booth”
“The Exceptional Fan Program was designed to enhance the fan experience for individuals with disabilities and accessibility needs. This optional program is free of charge and available to pre-book through the Accessible Services Team or in-game at the Gate D Fan Services Booth.”
“Assisted Listening Devices are available to fans who may have hearing or visual impairments. The ALDs can be picked up prior to and during the game at all Fan Information booths located at Gates B, D, and E. Should fans encounter any issues with the devices, they are encouraged to utilize the Live Chat function of the MLB Ballpark app to report any problems or receive assistance.
Fans can also listen on their own smart phones by connecting to the Fenway Park Wi-Fi and downloading the Listen EVERYWHERE app. The IP address is 172.22.150.150. Once the IP is set, the app will default to the Listen EVERYWHERE screen and two services should be listed (Public Address and WEEI). Select which service you would like to listen to.”
Finally, the rules for Service Animals have been relaxed. They still have to enter through Gate D, but they can exit and re-enter any gate to relieve themselves.
News from the Web
We shared something like this a while back, but it’s still relevant! Apple will launch new accessibility features later this year, and this article from AppleVis breaks down what can be expected.
Blind Tennis, which I discovered at the 2025 ACB Convention in Dallas (and got to play a few rounds in a demo) isn’t as well known as other adaptive sports, but this article from the US Tennis Association is bringing more awareness to it.
Blind/Low Vision Workshop teaches techniques to better serve athletes
The 2026 Met Gala, which happened at the beginning of May, prioritized accessibility and put it at the forefront of the event. Read the article below to learn more.
Finally, the 2026 Met Gala Made Accessibility the Headline—Not the Afterthought
Blind Sight: How to practice piano when you can’t see sheet music
By Simon Miner
Recently, I spoke with a piano teacher who gives online lessons. She has noticed an increase in blind and low-vision students enrolling in her classes and wants to better understand how to support them. As a sighted teacher, she was curious about the strategies that helped me learn piano with limited vision.
Our conversation stayed with me long after it ended. Much of traditional piano instruction assumes a student can easily see sheet music from a bench. For me, that was never true. I could read music only by holding it inches from my face, and as pieces became more advanced, the notes grew smaller and more crowded. Eventually, it became impossible to play and read comfortably at the same time.
Over the years, I developed alternative ways of learning music, some intentional, some born out of necessity. I want to share some techniques, thoughts, and experiences to encourage blind musicians and help teachers think more creatively about how students learn.
My journey at the piano
I began piano lessons at age five and continued studying through college, apart from a brief rebellious stretch in my early teens. Alongside my computer science degree, I earned a music minor and spent years playing in recitals, church services, talent shows, and community events.
As an adult, music has remained deeply woven into my life. I’ve served as a church music director and worship leader, played for weddings and funerals, and released multiple albums of original piano-driven music. During the pandemic, my wife and I hosted online gatherings where I shared reflective hymn improvisations to help bring people comfort during uncertain days.
Music has become more than a hobby for me. It has been a way of navigating blindness, expressing faith, and connecting with others.
Along the way, several techniques proved especially important.
Memorizing music
Even though I cannot comfortably read sheet music while seated at the piano, I still rely on it heavily.
My process has always involved studying small sections at a time. I hold the music close to my face, examine a few measures, then set it down and attempt to play them from memory. Once those phrases settle into my hands, I move on to the next section. Over time, the entire piece comes together like assembling a puzzle.
This process can be slow and painstaking, especially when learning technically difficult music. Certain passages require repeated trips back to the page to confirm notes, dynamics, and articulation markings. I have tremendous admiration for pianists who can sight-read fluently because that has never been my experience.
I remember learning the first movement of Beethoven’s Sonata Pathétique in high school entirely this way. It took months of careful memorization. At the time, I had never actually heard a recording of the piece, so I didn’t fully understand how it was supposed to sound. Years later, after finally hearing a professional performance, I realized I had bulldozed through sections with far less grace and nuance than I imagined.
That experience taught me an important lesson: memorization can help you learn the mechanics of a piece, but musical understanding requires more than correct notes. It requires listening, interpretation, and feel.
Playing by ear and improvisation
While memorization gave me structure, playing by ear gave me freedom.
Growing up, my best friend’s father worked as a radio DJ and regularly brought home recordings of Top 40 countdowns. When I heard songs I liked, I would go home and try to figure them out on the piano from memory. At first, I focused on melodies and basic chord progressions, but eventually I began filling in missing parts with my own harmonies and embellishments.
I also became obsessed with video game music from the Nintendo Entertainment System era. Those soundtracks were catchy, dramatic, and surprisingly sophisticated. I would spend hours learning themes by ear and then improvising variations on them. Somewhere along the line, improvisation became just as exciting to me as faithfully reproducing written music.
My piano teacher, however, was less enthusiastic about this development.
At one point I grew so frustrated with scales and technical exercises that I quit lessons altogether. In an attempt to soften the disappointment, I proudly played my elaborate arrangement of the final level theme from Kid Icarus for my teacher. She was not especially moved by the performance.
Still, those years taught me valuable skills. Improvisation strengthened my ear, deepened my understanding of harmony, and made me less afraid of mistakes. If I lost my place while performing, I learned how to recover gracefully and keep moving.
Learning in church
One of the most important parts of my musical education happened in church.
My family attended a lively congregation where services were spontaneous and energetic. The worship team rarely rehearsed beforehand. On Sunday mornings, the song leader would simply begin singing, often in an unpredictable key and tempo, and the musicians had to jump in immediately.
At first, keeping up felt impossible.
But week after week, I started recognizing familiar chord patterns, transitions, and rhythmic ideas. I learned how to quickly identify keys, anticipate harmonic changes, and follow the emotional movement of a song in real time.
The church organist became an especially important influence on me. She instinctively knew where the music was heading and could support the congregation with rich harmonies and confident accompaniment. Sitting beside her taught me how to listen actively and react musically instead of relying on written notation.
There was something thrilling about the unpredictability of it all. Every service felt slightly different. The music breathed and shifted in the moment.
At the same time, those experiences also revealed the importance of balance. Spontaneity is valuable, but so are preparation and structure. Over time, I realized I needed both.
Putting it all together
Eventually, I discovered that my strongest growth happened when I combined all these approaches.
Memorization gave me the framework of a piece. Playing by ear helped me understand its style and emotion. Improvisation gave me confidence and flexibility.
When I started learning songs I already loved listening to, everything accelerated. Pieces by artists like Richard Marx and Michael W. Smith suddenly became much easier to absorb because I already understood how they should sound and feel.
That combination of reading, listening, memorizing, and experimenting became my pathway into music.
Blindness forced me to approach piano differently, but not inadequately. My visual limitations pushed me toward deeper listening, stronger memory, and greater creativity.
There is no single correct way to learn to play piano. For blind musicians especially, progress often comes through adaptation, persistence, and discovering alternative routes to the same destination. Those winding paths can lead somewhere unexpectedly beautiful.
BSCB Contact Information
Phone: (773) 572-6312
BSCB website: https://acbofma.org
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ACBOfMA/