Hi, I’m Bryan Smart. I’ve been blind since birth, and have been creating music since my teenage years in the early 90’s.

in early 2004, I purchased a Yamaha Motif ES6 keyboard workstation to replace my maxed out, but aging, Roland XP-30. Up until that point, I’d used Roland and Alesis synths, in combination with computer-based sequencers, to create music. A friend had been using the Motif classic, and had just migrated over to the new ES. The voices/sounds of his ES were what inspired me to upgrade. I was strongly into American urban styles at the time, and the ES had the contemporary instrument voices that I could never find for my Roland gear. The ES had better Rhodes voices and better drums in particular, but it also had the new stunning Mega Voice guitars. It also allowed me to use many voices at a time in a sequence, with their effects intact.

I started using the ES as an external keyboard and sound module for Sonar, working with the great new voices that it offered through the same working method that I’d always used. However, I soon realized that, unlike other synths that I’d owned, I could actually operate the ES’s menus. The ES wasn’t able to use speech like the famous Kurzweil K series workstations, however, I realized that I could still use it after sufficient memorization. I could dependably reach any screen in the Motif interface by pressing a consistent series of keys, I could dependably navigate those screens by starting from a known location, and I could change the settings of the on-screen controls to known values. As many blind musicians know, this is rare among keyboards. Typically, keyboards will use soft keys that might re-order their function, such that there is no predictable button pattern that will always take you to the same screen. Other manufacturers, like Roland, design their screens such that the cursor will wrap off one side and on to the other, making it impossible to navigate to a known location (such as the top left of a screen). Others, like Korg, just use touch screens. Touch screens give no tactile feedback, and so are next to useless for blind people.

Knowing that it would be possible to completely operate the ES if I could just come up with a navigation strategy for each screen and commit it to memory, I set to work on documenting the ES interface. I started by using the ES Owner’s Manual as a base, and began rewriting it to include information about the orientation of the controls on the various screens. Some of this info came through trial and error. Some of it came from bits and pieces that had already been discovered by other blind Motif classic and ES owners. I assembled this information into a large HTML document that was easy to navigate with a screen reader. As I would operate the Motif, I could refer back to this document to quickly locate a particular screen and discover my notes about how to operate it. As is common with repetition, I gradually needed the document less and less as the info became committed to memory.

I started talking with other blind musicians in chat rooms and e-mail lists, and showing them what I was able to accomplish with the Motif. Soon, I was encountering many blind Motif converts, and they wanted my accessible docs for the ES. As time passed, other blind Motif owners were producing text and audio content to help others take advantage of the possibilities that are available with the Motif. Accessible PC-based software became available that further increased the level of accessibility to the Motif for blind musicians. The number of resources that was available were increasing, but it was all difficult to locate for new owners.

Today, the new Motif XS workstation is considered by many to be the best keyboard workstation in the world, particularly when it comes to accurately reproducing real instrument sounds. The Motif, in all of its forms, though, is undoubtedly the most accessible series of modern keyboards. If you’re a serious blind musician, and you have only one keyboard, it should be a Motif.

The MoAccess site is designed to provide a centralized location for archiving all information pertaining to using a Motif series keyboard by a blind person. You can find accessible web sites where you can purchase the Motif online, audio tutorials for the Motif, the accessible docs for the various Motif models, information about how to get in contact with the community of other blind Motif owners, and links to resources offered elsewhere on the web.

If you're new to the Motif (either if you're curious about what is possible, or if you just made a purchase), then you should investigate the Resources section. The resources section contains all of the info that you'll need to come up to speed with the Motif. Also, check out the News section to find out the latest happenings in the MoAccess community.

Speaking of the MoAccess community, be sure to sign up for the e-mail discussion list. Most blind Motif owners participate on this e-mail list.

Also, while the MoAccess site is free to use, it is not free for me to host and maintain. If you appreciate this resource, you can help support it, at no cost to you, by purchasing your Motif equipment and accessories from the Purchase area of this site. This site is a zZounds affiliate, and so we receive a small portion of the purchase that you make at zZounds. Even with this small amount that we receive, you'll still get the lowest available online price from zZounds, so it is a win-win situation.

If you already own a Motif, or decide to purchase your Motif locally, then consider making a donation to MoAccess through the Donation page.

Of course, your informational support is just as appreciated as your financial support, so if you have any info to contribute, please contact me through the contact form.

Thanks for visiting MoAccess!