As part of her doctoral dissertation at the University of Wisconsin, a pianist named Yeaji Kim has come up with a complete 3D musical score that can be used by blind students.
Yeaji Kim has played piano almost her entire life. But, she's never seen a musical score, because she was born blind.
Growing up in South Korea, she learned from braille scores, but often felt alienated in piano class.
"I just borrowed one of my friend's book and then I opened this book and then as if I am playing, like I am sight reading like other kids," Kim said.
But Kim soon learned that braille scores aren't as complete as regular musical scores.
"When we rehearsed they talk about, 'Oh there's some hairpin here.' What's a hairpin? A hairpin on my head not score. I didn't know what that is. I don't have hairpin. And they explained it to me. It was shameful for me," she said.
So, she came up with an idea as part of her doctoral dissertation at the University of Wisconsin - to create a complete 3D score for blind students that can be used by anyone.
"When young children are learning piano, if they aren't able to see they are denied access to a lot of the materials. There currently aren't many braille scores in existence for studying music, particularly piano. And this system would revolutionize that," Professor Jessica Johnson at Wisconsin University said.
Kim has tried a few different variations: one was made out of plastic, another with a 3D pen. Now, she's researching how to put it on paper, and trying to raise money to produce it.
She hopes the invention will open the door for children with visual disabilities, who dream of reading music.