Accessibilty for Blinds!

Pouyakhoshgoo · Post by **Pouyakhoshgoo** » Wed May 14, 2014 3:48 pm

Hey guys,
I have a friend who is a blind musician.
He had some questions about K. and im just gonna copy his message here so everyone can see and hopefully help him somehow.( reply to me and i'll send him your answers)
Here is the message:

Dear friends:
My name is Reza Laka. I've been blind since i was 6 years old.
Im thinking about buying a Korg Kronos but there is something that still holds me back: can i really use it?!
Now i've heard that there are lots of small icons and check boxes to click on on the touch screen. Since there is no way for me to see them and locate them it means that i can't use the touch screen at all.

Now my question is:
Is there any kind of computer software for korg Kronos which actually allows you to some how navigate through Kronos's pages and tabs? Something that makes you able to send orders to Kronos throught Computer?!
OR: A software that makes you able to create you stuff on the computer and then load them into kronos?! ( i wish im not making it too COMPLICATED, LOL), i mean imagine you had a software called KORG KRONOS WITH NO KEYS TO PLAY! ( as you might know there are some powerfull screen readers out there for people like me-itscalled Jaws)
If i buy the Kronos mostly im gonna use the sequencer to compose my songs. I just need to know if it really works for me!
I know its a korg forum and i really appologize for what im gonna ask now:
What do you guys think about Yamaha Motif XF? I know kronos is better but since Motif doesn't have touch screen do you think thats more suitable for me? Does it have any computer software that let's you create on the computer or control the keyboard?!

SORRY for all my boring questions. I would really appreciate if you guys help me and guide me through the right direction.
The following link is me by the way, you only see one of my pianos in this video as my other pianos and keyboards are in another room of my house.
I've got 3 digital pianos( all Yamaha), one acoustic piano( Yamaha)
korg WO/1 and a PSR s910.

IM SO LOOKING FORWARD TO HEAR FORM YOU GUYS!!!
Thanks thanks thanks
http://youtu.be/B_N0twSuiEQ

SanderXpander · Post by **SanderXpander** » Wed May 14, 2014 3:56 pm

Assuming your friend would be comfortable with remembering button combinations and navigating menus without visual feedback, the Motif would be a lot easier. Many things on the Kronos are practically impossible without using the screen. The Motif is littered with buttons.

There is a Kronos editor for PC but it basically copies the screen on the unit itself and would need a lot of mouse navigating.

Pouyakhoshgoo · Post by **Pouyakhoshgoo** » Wed May 14, 2014 4:16 pm

SanderXpander:

Thanks for you reply, you said it copies the K. Screen to the computer's monitor. Does it work with all the pages?( does it show all of the pages if you want?) I mean with the mouse ( or keyboard if possible) is it possible to change the pages and tabs of Kronos?
Do you know if there is anyway to assign all those Mouse commands to keybord commands and short cuts?!( just like when you work with othe computer softwares)

Niarf · Post by **Niarf** » Wed May 14, 2014 4:18 pm

Take a Nord ! ^^

SanderXpander · Post by **SanderXpander** » Wed May 14, 2014 4:37 pm

I'm not an expert on the editor but I'm pretty sure you can do very nearly everything except for actual sequencing and the sampling operations.

I'm sure there is keyboard mapping software for blind people but your friend would know better than I do. I have no experience with mapping mouse commands to keyboard commands. Much of working with the editor involves clicking on the screen in a specific place, I do know that. You might want to get into contact with the people from Soundquest who have developed the editor for Korg. Perhaps they can get you more specific information.

Pouyakhoshgoo · Post by **Pouyakhoshgoo** » Wed May 14, 2014 4:53 pm

Really appreciate it...

Ksynth · Post by **Ksynth** » Wed May 14, 2014 5:26 pm

There is also voice control possibility. Not sure how far that can be taken on the Kronos.

SanderXpander · Post by **SanderXpander** » Wed May 14, 2014 5:29 pm

Here is the profile of the member "SoundQuest" on this site. I believe his name is Michael, and I don't know what exactly he does at SoundQuest but he works there.

http://www.korgforums.com/forum/phpBB2/ ... le&u=41082

You can send him a PM from this screen or you could click on to their website and find more contact info. SoundQuest is a well-known name in the synth editor market, they may have had requests from blind or visually impaired people before and perhaps know more.

kenrdot · Post by **kenrdot** » Wed May 14, 2014 7:02 pm

I have a blind friend who had the same problem and i also suggested the motif series to him for the same reasons that that were already mentioned

andreidelait · Post by **andreidelait** » Wed May 14, 2014 8:21 pm

Hi all.
I already had a discussion with someone else on this forum about this.
The main problem is that the editor does not have all the features. Exactly the sequencer is poor implemented (because maybe you can use a DAW instead as far as you are conected to a computer). And also the sampling is missing entirely.
The editor cannot handle PCG files but it has its own format and this can be an issue if you want to download some sound packs or get them from a friend.
I don't know how accessible with jaws it is either. Maybe I'll give it a try but I'm not a jaws user but I know some basic things about it.
Maybe you can find the other topic and find the other guy I discussed with (wich btw he bought the kronos but I don't know how he manages with it so far) or maybe I can have a little talk with your friend to clarify some thinks.

Yuma · Post by **Yuma** » Wed May 14, 2014 10:32 pm

Click here to read an older post about the same subject. Maybe there's some more info in there as well.

Sam CA · Post by **Sam CA** » Wed May 14, 2014 10:45 pm

Unless there's a particular need for that individual to use the Kronos, I would strongly suggest an Arranger Keyboard instead.

These type of keyboards have far less menus/submenus and buttons in general. I've seen a number of blind users on YouTube using arranger keyboards, and they all seem to be doing just fine.

Pouyakhoshgoo · Post by **Pouyakhoshgoo** » Wed May 14, 2014 11:20 pm

Thank you all!! I will forward all your messages to him!
Thanks for your time!

Thalumas · Post by **Thalumas** » Thu May 15, 2014 12:18 pm

Hi

I thought I'd just add a quick reply as well even though I'm going to pretty repeat what everyone else has said.

I myself am visually impaired, blind in one eye and very poor sight in my other eye. I'm very torn about this subject because I don't regret buying my Kronos for one minute because it is amazing but I must say I haven't used half the features I could have becuase the touchscreen is just too hard to see. I've tried the editor and that goes some way to helping but I know it does not support screen readers so this is not an option for you.

Like the people above have mentioned, I also own a Yamaha Motif XS which may not be as feature rich as the Kronos but totally makes up for it in usability if you are prepared to learn a lot of key press sequences. My father who is now totally blind has a Motif ES and can use most of the features.

Hope this helps

Pouyakhoshgoo · Post by **Pouyakhoshgoo** » Thu May 15, 2014 12:31 pm

Dear friends:
I really thank you all for you replys, im gonna pass your messages to my friend.
I'll actually ask him to register and become a member in this great forum!

You guys are awesome!
THANKS A LOT AGAIN!