Free · Printable · Two sides of one page
A Quick Guide.
For translating music into visual language.
Before you translate the words, notice what the music is doing. This is the guide I've handed out in workshops — ten questions, two sides of one page, made to be printed and to sit beside your hands while you work.
What's on it
- Feel it, and see it — the mood, the energy, and the visual world, before you choose a single sign
- Find the intention — what the lyric is doing, not only what it says
- Rhythm and breath — tempo, accents, pauses, and how each phrase gathers, holds, and releases
- Motif, space, and arc — what returns, where your eyes send people, and where the song lands
- Your translation approach — from literal to creative, and knowing which you're choosing
- Edit — not every word needs a sign
Where should I send it?
It arrives in your inbox, so it's still there in six months when you go looking for it.
It's on its way.
Check your inbox — the cheat sheet is in there. If it hasn't arrived in a few minutes, look in promotions or spam, and if it's nowhere, tell me here and I'll send it by hand. (Or write to rosa@moreandonly.com.)
In a hurry? download it here ↓
If the questions are useful
The cheat sheet is the short version of a longer piece of work. Language Between the Beats is a self-paced course on ASL musicality — rhythm, phrasing, translation, presence, and finding your own signing voice. It carries RID CEUs.