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HUGE Thank You to notion for giving music back to a player

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HUGE Thank You to notion for giving music back to a player

Postby gdball » Wed Jun 04, 2014 11:52 pm

I want to thank the Motion developers and Presonus for the blessing this product has been to our family, and to the special needs of my father in law. I don't know if the way we use it is exactly what you had in mind, and so I also wanted to explain a couple of simple ways you might help even more people should you have the opportunity.

Briefly, playing trumpet is what this semi-retired professional level player gets up for, playing in an average of five bands at any one time. So losing most of his sight was like taking his life and friends away on top of the disease itself. We were determined to find away for him to play, but HAD to find a way for him to keep up with a rapidly changing repertoire.

Over the years I've used most of the major music composition software, and I'd purchased Notion for my IPad Air. But it wasn't until I dropped my IPad and decided to replace it with a Windows Tablet that I discovered that the Windows version of Notion was a whole other beast. It was one of the few times I've been grateful for an expensive accident. When I saw the Maestro playback control features could be mapped to a MIDI controller....

For anyone else facing similar challenges, first we zoomed up the screen until we proved there was eventually a size he could read. Then we bought him the biggest practical all-in-one computer/ touchscreen and mounted it on a heavy duty rolling stand meant for a small mixing board. Then we attached a small drum pad type controller so he could tap the conductors tempo to let it scroll as he played, jump to rehearsal marks, etc. The whole package with Notion is not much bigger that a normal concert stand, the all-in-one runs for a couple of hours on battery alone and it WORKS. I cannot tell you how much this means to the life of one man.

We are happy as is, but if you have the chance in future release I have some comments that might help others. First it would be helpful if continuous scrolling was a preference that could be saved, since menus with small fonts are problematical and usually require him to seek help, and continuous scrolling is a definite necessity at this zoom level. Second it would be helpful if the Maestro mode icon was more visibly obvious when it was engaged, instead of just changing to a slightly different gray color. File names we can deal with by creating big desktop icons for them, and I wouldn't expect everything to be easy for the visually limited player. But doing what you can to hide/simplify/DE clutter the screen in maestro mode would help him and others find just what they need for that mode of use.

Respectfully,
Greg
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Re: HUGE Thank You to notion for giving music back to a play

Postby Surfwhammy » Fri Jun 06, 2014 12:50 am

Inspiring story, Greg! :)

As you have discovered, the desktop version (NOTION 4) has more features and functionality than the iPad version, and this is the case in both the Microsoft and Apple universes . . .

THOUGHTS

I encourage you to explore the various Accessibility options and features of Windows, since some of them are provided specifically for people with vision challenges . . .

There are different strategies for increasing the contrast among objects (visibility); magnifying objects; snapping to buttons and other controls; enhanced scrolling; spoken word interactions; screen reading options; audible notifications; and so forth . . .

This is the link to the Microsoft website for a detailed overview of Accessibility in Windows 8, where for reference Microsoft has a dedicated research and development group for accessibility across the entire Microsoft product line, as is the case with Apple in the Mac OS X and iOS universes:

Accessibility in Windows 8 (Microsoft Accessibility)

If you are using a different version of WIndows, there are similar detailed overviews at the Microsoft Accessibility website for them . . .

Microsoft Accessibility

For reference, this is the link to the Apple Accessibility website, which provides accessibility information for Apple customers . . .

Apple Accessibility

With a bit of reading and experimenting, I think you will be able to find solutions for the scrolling and menu font issues you mentioned . . .

Another possibility is that some of the functionality of NOTION 4 can be controlled with a MIDI keyboard, and as you know there are mini-MIDI keyboards. On the Mac, NTempo can be controlled with a mini-MIDI keyboard, where you will find the MIDI key mapping for NTempo on page 3 of the PDF file that appears when you click on the "Shortcuts" menu item of the NOTION 4 "Help" menu. There should be similar functionality and information for the Windows version . . .

Lots of FUN! :D

P. S. When doing experiments with accessibility features, it is important to remember how to turn them OFF with hotkeys or shortcut combinations, because some of them can be a bit more dramatic that one might expect . . .
The Surf Whammys

Sinkhorn's Dilemma: Every paradox has at least one non-trivial solution!
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