Braille Byzantine musical notation

I was recently directed to a website called "Braille Byzantine Music Notation." Quite an interesting website.

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Sample of Braille Byzantine Music

The braille version of Byzantine Music notation was devised by Father Dositheos (Paraskeviades). Father Dositheos was born in Asia Minor in 1912. At the age of five, he lost his vision due to meningitis. In 1922 he joined the House of the Blind in Kallithea, Athens, where he learned braille. Since he was musically gifted and extremely bright, he also learned Western European staff notation in braille. After graduating from the School of the Blind in 1928, he devoted himself to learning Byzantine music.

At that time, however, there was no way of writing Byzantine music notation (i.e., the "New Method" of the "Three Teachers") in braille. To solve this problem, with the help of the protopsaltis Stavros Stavridis he devised the system of writing Byzantine notation in braille presented below. He then transcribed thousands of pages and many books of Byzantine music into braille using this notation. Furthermore, he also became the protopsaltis at the parish of St. Stephen in New Ionia in Athens. Afterwards, in 1931, he went to Katounakia on the Holy Mountain and became a monk, where he had the time to study the masters of Byzantine music. In 1939, he left the Holy Mountain in order to teach his system of Braille Byzantine notation to others.

Father Dositheos (Paraskeviades)

While Father Dositheos was on the Holy Mountain, however, another blind chanter (Demetrios Chysaphidis) with the help of professor Constantine Papademetriou transcribed hymns of Byzantine music into European staff notation in braille and began teaching this to the blind. Since blind chanters had become acquainted with this music notation first, fifty years would pass before they would begin using the notational system of Father Dositheos. They eventually realized that staff notation has several inherent drawbacks in comparison with Byzantine notation and that it prevented them from chanting together with sighted chanters using Byzantine notation.

More can be found here.