"Deaf people love music just as
much as hearing people do
...they just understand it differently.
They can feel it."
--Karla Quinonez
("Deaf Nation Celebrates Life." Oakland Tribune. 2005 Nov 12)
Music and the Deaf
By Rachel Burgin
3/27/2008
Deaf people are able to enjoy and love music just as anyone else.
They do not feel that their lack of hearing handicaps them or is an
imposition. Karla Quinonez explains, "Deaf people love music just as
much as hearing people do...they just understand it differently.
They can feel it." (Ell, 2005). This is in the most literal
sense as well as emotional. The part of the brain that normally
processes sound to those who can hear is the same portion that the
brains of hearing impaired use to process vibrations of sound. Since
these different processes take place in the same area of the brain,
the experiences are equivalent in sound.
Dr. Dean Shibata, assistant professor of radiology at Washington
University, conducted a study that would expose how the brains of
deaf people processed sound in comparison to brains of those who can
hear. Both groups showed regular activity in the same area of the
brain. Unlike the hearing group, the deaf group actually registered
brain activity in a small area called the auditory cortex that does
not usually register activity caused by auditory stimulation.
Shibata says, "These findings illustrate how altered experience can
affect brain organization." (Science Daily, 2001).
New research has resulted in new ways for the non-hearing to
experience sound. Dr. Shibata maintains that it may be imperative to
expose children to music as early as possible to help stimulate the
development of the brain’s "music centers." Also, there are devices
that help with perception of sound and volume. (Petit, 2003)
With all this new development in help for the hearing impaired,
it has become apparent that the rift between those who can hear and
those who cannot is no longer an impedance. Deaf people are
capable of using other ways to explore sound as waves, patterns, and
movement in all types of mediums. (Gray).
Ell, Kellie. "Deaf Nation Celebrates Life." Oakland Tribune. 2005
Nov 12
http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4176/is_20051112/ai_n158
Gray, Eileen. "Evelyn Glennie." London Independent. 2007 March 27.
http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4158/is_20070327/ai_187
Petit, Bruno. "Music for Deaf Persons." Disability World. No 20
Sep-Oct 2003.
http://disabilityworld.org/09-10_03/arts/music.shtml
Science Daily. "Brains of Deaf People Re-wire to ’Here’ Music." 2001
Nov 28.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2001/11/011128035455.htm
Music and the Deaf Community
By Alyssa Mercado
Sunday, April 5, 2009
Deaf musicians? We have all heard of Beethoven before but why is
it that we never hear about anyone else? Well, there definitely are
more musicians who are deaf and many more in the making. Music
education has been around for 150 years or more (Brown, Denney,
1997). Music education is used for learning to play an instrument,
to use your voice for singing, for history purposes, and also for
speech training. The speech training helps the deaf recognize sound.
Another main result of music education is learning about language.
It teaches concepts like rhythm and tempo (Hash 2003).
So, how exactly do you expose music to deaf children? Most of the
time music is felt through its vibrations, such as a violin on your
shoulder or a guitar held against your body. The vibrations help
train the children to pay attention to what is going on around them.
The best frequencies for deaf musicians are lower frequencies (Hash,
2003). It is also possible for deaf children to sing songs using
sign language, which is probably used for basic music education.
The first step to teaching music to deaf students is to eliminate
every other sound being made in and out of the room. There needs to
be minimal noise being made so that they can feel, and possibly hear
with an aid, what the music feels/sounds like. It also helps for the
students to be within a close distance so they can properly read
signs language and lips.
Shane Kerwin, a graduate from Brunel University in West London,
created a device called Vibrato, that allows deaf musicians to “feel
the difference between notes, rhythms, and instrument combinations”
(CNN, 2005). It has five finger pads that connect to a speaker that
take in the vibrations and transform them into different vibrations
for each sound made. Hopefully it will become a regular device used
in music classes, as it sounds like it is an exciting breakthrough.
These days there are many music classes for deaf people. Music and
the Deaf is one group from England that was founded 20 years ago (Javin,
2009). They run charities to help teach music to deaf children
through projects. The musician graduates can then move on to another
charity project called The Deaf Youth Orchestra, where they can
participate in performances. I’m sure there are many more groups and
charities besides this one around the world to keep music a part of
the deaf community.
References:
Brown, Kristi, Denney, LeAnne. (1997, April 4). Music Use in
Elementary and Middle School Classrooms for the Deaf.
Retrieved April 2009 from www.deafed.net/PublishedDocs/sub/970723b.htm
Hash, Philip. (2003, September). Teaching Instrumental Music to Deaf
and Hard of Hearing Students. Retrieved April 2009 from http://www.stthomas.edu/rimeonline/vol1/hash1.htm
Javin, Val. (2009, January 30). Youngsters Who Love the Challenge of
Making Music. Findarticles.com. Retrieved April 2009 from http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_6784/is_2009_Jan_30/ai_n31335893/?tag=content;col1
Unknown. (2005, October 25). Speaker Helps Deaf to ‘Feel’ Music.
Cnn.com. Retrieved April 2009 from http://edition.cnn.com/2005/TECH/10/26/vibrato.speaker/
Can members of the Deaf Community Enjoy Music?
By Paige Nordberg
April 5, 2009
From Beethoven to the next American Idol, the list of musicians
goes on and on. If you listen to music, you can most likely name at
least three artists or a genre that you enjoy listening to and can
relate to, but what about those Americans who are part of the Deaf
culture, rather than hearing culture? Many wonder if deaf people can
really experience and flourish in regards to music, and the answer
is yes.
Many Deaf people enjoy music, though not necessarily through the
same means as a hearing person. In the General Music Today article,
“Teaching Students with Hearing Loss,” Darrow suggests the idea
that, “There are some deaf or hard-of-hearing students whose brains
are wired to be musicians, and consequently, they have developed
good listening skills. The ability to make discriminations about
what one hears is a function of listening” (Darrow).
Like the hearing world, there are some members of the deaf
community that can actively and/or passively participate in music,
but then again, like the hearing world, not everyone one is cut out
for, or enjoys music. The question then becomes, how do Deaf learn
music?
Elizabeth May wrote a research article after spending about 30
minutes a week in a deaf class in Santa Monica one winter. She
states in her results that, “It is pleasurable and profitable for
deaf children to become acquainted with certain visible
manifestations of general musical culture” (May 1). She goes on to
suggest that the information must be presented in a very simple and
straight forward manner. It also must be presented in many different
ways, but there is nothing that truly prevents a deaf child from
learning, enjoying, and being able to actively participate in music
(May).
There seem to be many factors that can add or detract from a
person’s ability to enjoy music. It seems to be a lot like many
other things that a person is introduced to in their life. It is
understandable that if too much emphasis is put on something the
normal reaction is to push back against it.
The Journal of Research in Music Education article, “The Role of
Music in Deaf Culture: Implications for Music Educators,” suggests
the idea that there are a few things like cultural identification,
the similarities to hearing culture in the ways that deaf go about
participating in music, that the methods of enjoying music may
differ slightly than those of hearing people, and that many Deaf
believe that music education should be optional (Darrow, Role of
Music).
All of these things work together to suggest that there are
overall hardships to experience, participating and enjoying music in
a manner consistent or able to be understood by most hearing people.
However, despite the common misconception, the Deaf community can
experience and enjoy music.
Works Cited
Darrow, Alice-Ann. "Teaching Students with Hearing Losses." Winter
2007. Academic Search Premier. Ebsco. California State University,
Sacramento Library, Sacramento. 4 Apr. 2009 .
Darrow, Alice-Ann. "The Role of Music in Deaf Culture: Implications
for Music Educators." Spring 1993. JSTOR. California State
University, Sacrameno Library, Sacramento. 4 Apr. 2009 .
May, Elizabeth. "Music for Deaf Children." Jan. 1961. JSTOR.
California State University, Sacramento Library, Sacramento. 5 Apr.
2009 .
Music and Deaf Studies
By Alyssa Raisis
April 6, 2009
Music and Deaf Studies
As an avid musician, both in band and choir, I am curious as to
how Deaf people can hear and dance to the music. Or more curiously,
how do or can Deaf people play musical instruments and sing songs? I
already know that Beethoven became deaf and still composed his 9th
symphony. And I know from watching the movie Mr. Holland’s Opus that
deaf people can appreciate music through the floor vibrations and
from watching flashing lights that correspond to parts of the music.
I also know that kids who want to dance can, but the bass just has
to be turned up really really loud so that enough of the vibrations
can be felt through the floor in order to feel the rhythm. But what
I didn’t know was that different parts of your brain are affected.
I found out that the brains of Deaf people adapt so that the part
where hearing takes place turns into feeling the vibrations of
music. So Deaf people can sense or feel music the same way hearing
people can hear the music. In a study at the University of Rochester
School of Medicine, “Both groups [Deaf and hearing] showed brain
activity in the part of the brain that normally processes
vibrations. But in addition, the deaf students showed brain activity
in a golf ball-sized area, the auditory cortex, otherwise usually
only active during auditory stimulation. The people with normal
hearing did not show such brain activity.” (University of
Washington, 2001). I also found out that holding onto a balloon, one
can also feel the musical vibrations in the air. How cool is that?
Beethoven is the most well known deaf musician and composer to
have ever lived. He had Tinnitus, which is a ringing of the ears,
and caused him to eventually go deaf. He kept on playing the piano
and composing pieces by using a special rob that he would bite onto
to feel the vibrations of the different notes. He also sawed off the
legs of his piano and while sitting on the ground, pounded out the
notes to better hear the notes and feel the vibrations. (BBC News,
2005).
Just like the hearing rod that Beethoven used to continue to feel
his music, Deaf people will now be able to feel at their fingertips.
“Vibrato will mean deaf children can join in with music classes in a
way that would previously have been impossible.” (BBC News, 2005).
Basically with the hook up of a computer, Vibrato will be able to
allow Deaf children to compose music because through their
fingertips connected to the device, they can feel not only the
different notes, but also different instruments and rhythms. But
it’s still in the process of being fine tuned.
I also happened upon an article about a group of both Deaf actors
and hearing actors for the musical The Adventures of Huckleberry
Finn. It says that all the actors sign throughout the show, and that
for the Deaf actors who have singing or speaking parts, hearing
actors say it for them. “For example, Huck (Tyrone Giordano) is deaf
but his voice is that of Scott Waara…When a final signed chorus of
"Waiting for the Light to Shine" is performed in total silence, the
hearing audience gets a small taste of what it is like to be unable
to hear in a world full of chattering people moving to an invisible
beat.” (Weinstein, 2002). Reading this article was interesting, I
liked that it said the musical moved smoothly and that the signing
became part of the music and added punctuation, but what I really
wanted to know more about was how they moved to an “invisible beat.”
References:
Weistein, Karen. (15 December 2002). Big River- The Adventures of
Huckleberry Finn (adapted from Mark Twain). CultureVulture.net.
MagPortal.com. Retrieved 5 April 2009 from
<http://www.culturevulture.net/Theater/BigRiver.htm>.
University Of Washington (2001, November 28). Brains Of Deaf
People Rewire To "Hear" Music. Science Daily. Retrieved April 5,
2009, from <<http://www.sciencedaily.com>.
BBC News. (26 October 2005). Speaker allows deaf people to feel
music. BBC News.com. Retrieved 5 April, 2009 from <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/london/4377428.stm>.