SILENT SOUL by Swin Huang

The education o f h ow hearing impaired people can hear music

SILENT SOUL

P L AY

S I LE N T S O U L

The education o f h ow hearing impaired people can hear music

by SWIN HUANG

SILENT SOUL GROUP 201 T h i r d S t r e e t S a n F r a n c i s co, C A 9 4103 Vo i ce : 415 -974 - 69 0 0 Fa x : 415 -227-26 0 2

w w w. s i l e n t s o u l . o r g

S I LE N T S O U L

SILENT SOUL : The educa t ion of how deaf people can hear music. Copyr ight ÂŠ 2011 by Sw in Huang Design. Manifac tured in Amer ica . All r ight s reser ved. No other par t of this book ma y be reproduced in any other form or by any elec tronic or mechanical means including informa t ion s torage and retr ieval sys tems w i thou t permission of copy r ight holder.

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What is music like when you can’t hear it? It’s a question that sounds like a philosophical debate on par with trees falling in the woods and single hands clapping, but this is not a question for rhetorical amusement, it’s something that audiophiles as well as hearing people in love with signed languages and Deaf culture have thought about in depth. What is the deaf person’s experience with an art form that is seemingly only valued by those with fully functioning cochleas?

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H e ar in g lo s s is a c on d it ion w h er e in t h e a b ilit y t o de t e c t c er t a in fr e q uen c ie s o f s o un d is c om p le t e ly or p ar t ially im p a ir e d . W h en app lie d t o h um an s, t h e t er m h e ar in g im p a ir e d is r ej e c t e d b y t h e de af c u lt ur e m o v em en t, w h er e t h e t er m s de af an d h ar d- o f h e ar in g ar e pr e f er r e d .

HEARING LOSS?

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H E AR I N G L O S S 02

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sensitivity is indicated by the quietest sound that an animal can detect, called the hearing A hearing lossHearing threshold. In the case of humans and some animals, this threshold can be accurately measured by a exists whenbehavioral audiogram. A record is made of the quietest sound that consistently prompts a response the listener. The test is carried out for sounds of different frequencies. There are also electroan animal hasfrom physiological tests that can be performed without requiring a behavioral response. d i m i n i s h e dNormal hearing thresholds within any given species are not the same for all frequencies. If different of sound are played at the same amplitude, some will be perceived as loud, and others sensitivity tofrequencies quiet or even completely inaudible. Generally, if the gain or amplitude is increased, a sound is more the soundslikely to be perceived. Ordinarily, when animals use sound to communicate, hearing in that type of is most sensitive for the frequencies produced by calls, or in the case of humans, speech. normally heardanimal All levels of the auditory system contribute to this sensitivity toward certain frequencies, from the by its species.outer earâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s physical characteristics to the nerves and tracts that convey the nerve impulses of the In humans, theauditory portion of the brain. loss exists when an animal has diminished sensitivity to the sounds normally heard by term hearingAitshearing species. In humans, the term hearing impairment is usually reserved for people who have relative to sound in the speech frequencies. The severity of a hearing loss is categorized impairment isinsensitivity according to the increase in volume that must be made above the usual level before the listener can usually reserveddetect it. In profound deafness, even the loudest sounds that can be produced by an audiometer (an for people whoinstrument used to measure hearing) may not be detected. aspect to hearing involves the perceived clarity of a sound rather than its amplitude. In have relativeAnother humans, that aspect is usually measured by tests of speech perception. These tests measure oneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s i n s e n s i t i v i t yability to understand speech, not to merely detect sound. There are very rare types of hearing to sound inimpairments which affect speech understanding alone. the speech frequencies.

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Punctures of the Eardrum. Hearing loss can be the result of a hole in the eardrum, which could be caused by either injury or disease. The eardrum is the thin membrane that separates the ear canal and the middle ear. The middle ear is connected to the throat by the eustachian tube, which relieves the pressure in the middle ear. So a hole in the eardrum causes a loss of hearing and sometimes fluids can drain from the ear. Luckily the eardrum usually heals itself,

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HEARING LOSS?

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Meningitis is an inflammation of the membrane (called the meninges) that surrounds the brain and the spinal column. Meningitis i t self doesn’ t cause deafness, bu t since the brain is so close to the ears, sometimes the inflammation of the meninges can cause the inner ear to become inflamed also, and this can result in deafness.

pressure builds up inside the ear, the eardrum is less flexible than it should be. As the ear heals,A very common cause of deafness is repeated the fluids drain out of the ear or are absorbedor long-term exposure to loud noises. This is why into the body. Some hearing may be lost duringheav y equipment operators, f iref ighters, the infection; it may or may not return whenfactory workers, and especially rock musicians the infection is healed.suffer hearing losses after years of their work. Usually a single incident of exposure to loud Otosclerosis is a common cause of hearingnoises will not cause deafness, but a repeated loss. Although in the past people have thoughtexposure to loud noises over a period of time will that it was caused by diseases such as scarletoften cause moderate to severe hearing loss. fever, measles, and ear infections, in fact these have nothing to do with its development. It is a hereditary disease in which portions of the middle ear or inner ear develop growths like bony sponges. The disease can be in the middle ear, the inner ear, or both places. When it spreads to the inner ear a sensorineural hearing impairment may develop. Once this develops, it is permanent. If it is in the stapes bone, in the middle ear, it can cause a conductive hearing loss. The amount of hearing loss depends on the amount of otosclerosis in the area.

01 Foreign objects, such as Q-tips or hairpins, which are pushed too far into the ear canal. 02 Some people are born deaf. Usually the cause isExplosions, which cause an abrupt and very unknown. Sometimes people will say it’s becausebig change in the air pressure, which can cause of something that happened to the motheran eardrum to tear. 03 Car wrecks, fights, and dur ing her pregnancy, bu t this is of ten justspor ting injuries. guessing. Although deafness does sometimes “run in families,” hearing impaired parents oftenDamage to the auditory nerve can also be the have hearing children and hear ing parentsresult of an injur y or a disease. Injur ies can of ten have hearing impaired children.happen in auto accidents or falls. The result of nerve damage is that the electrical signals of Ear infections are diseases which can causesounds do not get transmitted from the ear fluid or mucus to build up inside the ear. Ifto the brain.

although it can take a few weeks or months. While the eardrum is healing, it must be protected from water and from further injuries. If the eardrum doesn’t heal by itself, it may need surgery. The amount of hearing that is lost depends on the size of the hole in the eardrum and a lot of other things. Injuries which can per forate the eardrum include:

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MILD for adult s: bet ween 26 a nd 4 0 dB HL

MILD for child ren: bet ween 20 a n d 4 0 dB HL

MODER ATE: bet ween 41 a nd 55 dB HL

MODER ATELY SE V ER E: bet ween 56 a n d 70 dB HL

SE V ER E: bet ween 71 a n d 9 0 dB HL

PROFOUND: 9 0 dB HL or grea ter

HEARING LOSS?

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Q U A H

LI F I C AT I ON O F E A R I N G L O S

Hearing sensitivity varies according to the frequency of sounds. To take this into account, hearing sensitivity can be measured for a range of frequencies and plotted on an audiogram. For certain legal purposes such as insurance claims, hearing impairments are described in terms of percentages. Given that hearing impairments can vary by frequency and that audiograms are plotted with a logarithmic scale, the idea of a percentage of hearing loss is somewhat arbitrary, but where decibels of loss are converted via a recognized legal formula, it is possible to calculate a standardized “percentage of hearing loss” which is suitable for legal purposes.

Another method for quantifying hearing impairments is a speech-in-noise test. As the name implies, a speech-in-noise test will give you an indication of how well you can understand speech in a noisy env ironment. A person w ith a hearing loss will often be less able to understand speech, especially in noisy conditions. This is especially true for people who have a sensorineural loss – which is by far the most common type of hearing loss. As such, speech-in-noise tests can provide valuable information about a person’s hearing ability, and can be used to detect the presence of a sensorineural hearing loss.

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HEARING LOSS?

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M u s ic is an ar t f or m whose m e d ium is s o un d . C om m on e lem en t s o f m u s ic ar e p it c h (w h ic h g o v er n s m e lo dy an d h ar m on y ), r h y t hm (an d it s as s o c iat e d c on c ep t s t em p o, m e t er, an d ar t ic u lat ion ), dy n am ic s, an d t h e s on ic q ua lit ie s o f t im br e an d t e x t ur e .

WHAT IS MUSIC?

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WH A T I S M U S I C ?

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To many people in many cultures music is an important part of their way is music?’ has no ultimately fixed answer, because although music can of life. Greek‘What be defined in mechanistic terms as merely vibrations that are detected by the p h i l o s o p h e r sorgan of Corti and assimilated by the brain’s cortex into what we hear, that is only half the story. It is no accident that the Latin word for breath – that and ancientstill prerequisite of music – is spirits, for music invokes the spiritual in us. It is of the I n d i a nspirit and so is universal, other-worldly, nebulous and freely evolving. What a p h i l o s o p h e r swonderful gift to humanity. defined music asMusic has been an accompaniment to our life. It would be impossible for us to try and conceptualise a world without music. If you have a natural aptitude tones orderedeven and appreciation for it, then music simply draws you to it and connects. Watch baby nodding her head, clapping her hands, or bouncing in response to h o r i z o n t a l l yaa rhythm or melody. as melodies in particular contain something profoundly elemental. The singer actually and verticallySongs ‘becomes’ the instrument, or vehicle of communication and expression. Through as harmonies.the combination of voice, lyrical content and poetic structure, melody, rhythm, nuance of combined tonal qualities and phrasing within the breath, singers Common sayingsthe can transmit and translate thoughts and feelings, potentially elevating and both the singer and the listener to another realm. Music really can such as “thetransporting lead us into another dimension. harmony of the also tells stories, breaks hearts, reduces us to tears, or seduces us into spheres” andMusic falling in love, over and over and over again. Music is a universal language. “it is music toA human creation from a divine source… perhaps. Music is a mystery, a code. vehicle of spirit and soul. It is perceived through ‘hearing’ the vibration of my ears” pointAsound, the most sublime resonance – from the eardrum to the brain. Music to the notionmoves us beyond intellect to the heart-centre. I’m not a music ‘expert’. I’m music lover... A discoverer, an explorer. Music for me is pure ‘potentiality’. I can that music isaengage with it. I can commune with it. Sometimes, if I’m open to it, it takes me surprise, and I step out of myself. Music is a friend, a companion, a guide and often orderedby a teacher. A challenge, a landscape, a palette, a texture, a shape. Music is chord and pleasant tostructure, harmony or dissonance. listen to.

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WHAT IS MUSIC?

Anything in the range 60-80 beats per minute is calm and relaxed, less than 60 is often very relaxed, introspective or even depressed. 80-100 is moderately alert and interested. 100 upwards is increasingly lively, excited or agitated To illustrate this, note that marches are in duple and, since we crave some degree of excitement time (2/4 or 4/4 ) giving that “left, ..., left, ..., left, from our enter tainment, 80-120 is quite a right, left, ...” feel. In contrast to this 3/4 time common tempo, and even 120-160 is common in seems to completely lack that left-right feel, and some energetic situations. We’re not saying that we therefore frequently associate it with circular there is an absolute correspondence between motions, like swirling waltzes, or roundabouts at heartbeat and music tempo, but there is a strong the fun-fair. Music suggesting a horse galloping degree of suggestion between the two. Music or a train ride is fast with more complicated moves in time and suggests movement, and rhythms representing 4 legs or several sets we tend to associate music unconsciously with of wheels. This later example illustrates that movements made by our bodies while talking, while tempo sets the basic pace of music, there walking, dancing, riding, etc. are many ways in which composers can alter and adjust this using different note patterns or rhythms. Syncopation is a familiar example with notes unexpectedly landing “off the beat”, which adds complexity and interest to a basic beat, often turning a simple march tempo into a jaunty swagger (see Ragtime). The rhythm of music can qualify the repetitive nature of the underlying beat by suggesting more or less frequent movement. Even though the tempo of a piece of music might be slow and relaxed, a high frequency of notes can suggest a degree of contained excitement within that relaxed state. But the combination of Tempo and Rhythm has an immediate physical impact on our perceptions.

Music tends to have a steady tempo to it, often measured in “beats per minute”. A simple observation is that most music is in the range of 50-200 beats per minute, the same as the extreme range of our heartbeats. In general too, the tempo of a piece of music roughly equates with the heartbeat associated with the corresponding physical state or emotion which the music suggests.

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WHAT IS MUSIC?

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WHAT IS MUSIC?

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We tend to find large things more threatening than smaller (part Lots of things make noises but in general bigger objects make deeper noises, whether longthings columns of air or long strings in a musical instrument, big chests, large animal footsteps, or simplyof our large objects generally banging together. Conversely, smaller instruments, short columns of air, short strings, small animals or objects make higher pitched noises. We tend to find large things moree v o l u t i o n a r y threatening than smaller things (part of our evolutionary heritage) so pitch on its own can affect howheritage) so we perceive sounds and music, providing a basic scale from “high = light, happy, carefree” to “low = pitch on its own dark, sad, ominous”. So Pitch on its own affects our perceptions. can affect how A Melody consists of a linear sequence of tones. A good melody (even if it doesn’t have words) is we perceive often one that we could hum, sing or whistle. In general we prefer melodies where the tones are reasonably close together, with a variety of nice harmonious intervals between them, and a rhythms o u n d s similar to that of speech. The notes should not be in an extreme range and shouldn’t have large and music, awkward jumps between them. The notes should also have durations which are not too short and not a too long (often in the range of 0.1 second to 2 seconds). In this way melodies are very similar toproviding sentences that our brains are designed to speak and listen to, although instrumental musical can basic scale stretch those boundaries a little. from “high = Unusual things happen when we combine tones of different pitches, called Harmony. Some light, happy, combinations go well together and some don’t. Those notes which combine well seem to be close carefree” to to what’s called the “harmonic sequence”. The harmonic sequence is the completely natural set of different notes produced by something vibrating, and is most easily demonstrated musically using“low = dark, brass instruments. The lowest notes of this series are like those produced by a “natural” (without sad, ominous” keys) instrument such as a bugle, and include octaves, fifths and thirds. These are just the notes which go well together to make “harmonious” sounds like major chords. On a stringed instrument you can demonstrate the lower notes of the harmonic series by playing the strongest “harmonics” of the strings which divide the length into fractions like halves, thirds, quarters, fifths, etc. These harmonics are always present to varying degrees within all notes, and their proportions help to give sounds their unique colour or tone. A minor chord differs from a major one by using a “minor third” interval. The minor third is further up the harmonic sequence and therefore sounds remote from the original note, which goes to make the minor chord sound darker and less natural. Other combinations of notes are even more remote on this sequence and can give rise to musical clashes or “dischords”. It is worth observing at this point that our equal-tempered method of dividing a music octave into 12 identical intervals produces some notes which are only approximately the exact values of the harmonic series, but nevertheless close enough to deceive most ears. Our long exposure to music based on these 12 notes means that they sound normal anyway.

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MUSIC FOR A SILENT WORLD

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W h at h e ar in g

MU S I C F O R A SI L E N T W OR L D

p e op le w h o w or k w it h t h e h e ar in g im p air e d p e op le t h in k o f m u s ic is n o t w h at w e h e ar in g im p air e d p e op le t h in k. W e v a lue e y e s, h an d s, m o t ion, an d r h y t hm . These t h in g s ar e t h e b a s ic e lem en t s o f daily , lan g uag e, an d ar t in de af c u lt ur e . V o ic e s,

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Mu sic is felt on a phy sica l level by everyone. Get t ing a is music like when you can’t hear it? It’s a question that sounds like bu z zing in ou rWhat a philosophical debate on par with trees falling in the woods and single hands core w henclapping, but this is not a question for rhetorical amusement, it’s something that as well as hearing people in love with signed languages and Deaf the ba ss isaudiophiles culture have thought about in depth. What is the deaf person’s experience with plucked oran art form that is seemingly only valued by those with fully functioning cochleas? feeling theThere is a notion that music is only heard and thus, can only appreciated by hearing. However, deaf people have a unique and challenging perspective to p ower of athe music that has seldom been explored outside of deaf communities. With in the drum thatdeaf and hard of hearing world, there are people not only creating music, but who love and make music a part of their lives. In this world, the various m im ic s ou rpeople shades of gray are celebrated as the spectrum of deafness, from slightly hard of life force ishearing to “stone deaf” are all part of this community. The experience of sound be different for many people who’s abilities with hearing are not clearly u n iversa l.can identified in terms that hearing people are used to. It is never an either/or experience, and definitely not something that the hearing world can understand completely. Most assume deaf people enjoy music solely by tactile sensations, but going beyond feeling vibrations, what is the experience of music like for someone who doesn’t hear or least like we do?

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Music is felt on a physical level by everyone. Getting a buzzing in our core when the bass is plucked or feeling the power of a drum that mimics our life force is universal. A hearing person can only try to imagine the sensations that are much more developed in a deaf person. One can try touching the ground and placing a back against walls at shows trying to see if they can tell the difference in rhythm and the type of instrument being played by the feelings that hum along the body when the music infiltrates the molecules in the walls and in ourselves as well. Earplugs are commonly used to protect hearing, but also can be used to try to get as close to heard of hearing as possible for anyone curious to what it might be like to only be able to feel music. Someone who is hearing can switch back and forth from listening and feeling, yet somehow can not have one with out the other and will almost always wind up frustrating as they will hear the music much easier than they can feel it. As someone with no problem responding to sound I often wonder what happens when music meets deaf ears attached to a hearing body?

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“The brain is incredibly adaptable. In someone who is hearing impaired, the young brain takes advantage of valuable real estate in the brain by processing v ibrations in the par t of the brain that would other w ise be used to process sound,” Shibata says. Shibata performed the research while on the faculty at the University of Rochester School of Medicine in New York. The hearing impaired students in the study came from the National Technical Institute of the Deaf at the Rochester Institute of Technology. Shibata used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to compare brain activity between 10 volunteers from the college and 11 volunteers with normal hearing. They agreed to let Shibata scan their brains while subjected to intermittent vibrations on their hands.

H e a r i n g i m p a i r e d people sense vibration inBoth groups showed brain activity in the par t of the brain that normally vibrations. But in addition, the hearing impaired students showed the part ofprocesses brain activity in a golf ball-sized area, the auditory cortex, otherwise usually active during auditory stimulation. The people with normal hearing did not the brain thatonly show such brain activity. “These findings illustrate how altered experience can other peopleaffect brain organization. It was once thought that brains were just hard-wired birth, and particular areas of the brain always did one function, no matter use for hearingatwhat else happened. It turns out that, fortunately, our genes do not directly – whichdictate the wiring of our brains. Our genes do provide a developmental strategy – helps explainall the parts of the brain will be used to maximal efficiency,” Shibata says. how hearingThe findings may explain how hearing impaired people can enjoy music and how become performers. Shibata uses an example from the National Technical i m p a i r e dsome Institute of the Deaf in Rochester, a college where musical productions are an part of the deaf culture. Audience members attending musicals are m u s i c i a n simportant provided with balloons which they can hold on their fingertips in order to “feel” can sensethe musical vibrations. music, and“Vibrational information has essentially the same features as sound information – how hearingso it makes sense that in the deaf, one modality may replace the other modality in same processing area of the brain. It’s the nature of the information, not the i m p a i r e dthe modality of the information, that seems to be important to the developing brain.” people can enjoy concerts and other musical events.

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Neurosurgeons should be aware of the findings before performing surgery on a hearing impaired patient; in particular, a surgeon should be careful while operating around a hearing impaired person’s auditory cortex, since it clearly does have a function, Shibata says. In addition, Shibata says, the research is important because it suggests that it may be helpful to expose hearing impaired children to music early in life so that their brain “music centers” may have the stimulus to develop. Similarly, tactile devices have been made to help convert speech sounds to vibrations in order to assist in communication. It might be helpful to expose young children to these devices early while their brains are still developing, rather than later, he says. The findings are compatible with Shibata’s previous research into the flexibility and adaptability of the brain in hearing impaired people. Last summer, Shibata published a paper in which he and colleagues showed that portions of the temporal lobe usually involved in auditory processing are much more active during certain visual tasks in hearing impaired people. Shibata performed his research using the same sort of MRI scanner that he uses clinically to study the brains of his patients at the University of Washington. However, with MRI scans, the machine measures blood flow in the brain, and “lights up” to show what parts of the brain are active. The MRI is still largely a research tool, but shows promise in helping to localize vital areas of the brain before surgery and is sometimes performed on patients at UW Medical Center. The RSNA, based in Oak Brook, Ill, is an association of more than 30,000 radiologists and physicists in medicine dedicated to education and research in the science of radiology.

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THE TITLE OF THIS ARTICLE COULD BE IRONIC O SOME, INCLUDING HEARING IMPAIRED PERSONS. THAT TO A FRIEND, A MUSIC TEACHER, AT ARRIVING AT A S HEARING IMPAIRED AND BEING TOLD THAT HE WAS HI MUSIC. MUSIC FOR HEARING IMPAIRED PEOPLE? H EXPLAIN THE EVOLUTION OF MUSIC FROM BACH SOMEONE WHO CANNOT HEAR THEIR WORKS? THAT CAME TO HIS MIND WAS THE CASE OF BEETH COMPOSER BEGAN TO LOSE HEARING AT THE AGE O THOUGHT OF COMMITTING SUICIDE. INSTEAD, WITH TH EAR” HE COMPOSED HIS WELL KNOWN SYMPHONIES. TO DEMONSTRATE TO STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES CAN BE ACHIEVED THROUGH WILL POWER AND PERS EVEN THIS CASE WAS NOT REALLY APPROPRIATE S EXPERIENCED SOUND FOR MANY YEARS AND HAD D THINKING AFTERWARDS. THE TEACHER HAD PROB A CONCRETE BIOGRAPHY, NOT WITH STANDING THE LA ANECDOTES. SO HE STARTED TO DO RESEARCH AND C EXPERT IN LOGOPEDICS ( SPECIALISTS IN PHONET DISORDERS) AT THE EDUCATIONAL CENTER. THAT HEARING IMPAIRED PERSONS LIKE TO DANCE A FEEL THE VIBRATIONS WITH THEIR BODIES, AND CA MUSIC FOR A SILENT WORLD

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OR A JOKE FOR IS WHAT HAPPENED SCHOOL FOR THE IRED TO TEACH HOW ARE WE TO TO THE BATTLES TO THE FIRST THING HOVEN. THIS FAMOUS OF THIRTY AND EVEN HE AID OF HIS “INNER NOT A BAD TOPIC S ABOUT WHAT SONAL EFFORT. BUT, SINCE BEETHOVEN DEVELOPED MUSICAL BLEMS GATHERING ARGE AMOUNT OF CONSULTED WITH AN TICS AND LANGUAGE THEN HE WAS TOLD AT DISCOS. THEY APTURE THE RHYTHM. 28

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S E E THE M

When one considers music and music appreciation it is rarely from the point of view of someone from the deaf community. Yet, music is a multi-sensory experience, and the fact that a person is non-hearing should not keep them from enjoying the experience as much as a hearing person. Deaf people can enjoy music on many levels, and it is quite possible to teach music appreciation to deaf students. Music can add the same enrichment, and dimension, to their lives as it does with a hearing student.

Mu sic is feltConsider all of the senses that are affected when you listen to music. You can on a phy sica lfeel the beat of the bass, for example. If you are listening on a computer often you have a program that is creating color and design form the music as it plays. At level bywill a concert you can see the excitement of the other patrons, and the beauty of the e v e r y o n e .music hall. Each one of these things contributes to the overall enjoyment of music, Get t ing aand yet when asked what sense music affects they generally reply, â&#x20AC;&#x153;hearingâ&#x20AC;?. people experience vibration in an area of the brain that is used for hearing bu z zing in ou rDeaf in people who are not deaf. This is why deaf musicians can sense the music. Since core w henthese vibrations are processed in the same area of the brain that sounds are the ba ss isscientists believe that the deaf are able to experience sound in a unique way. plucked orAt the National Technical Institute of the Deaf in Rochester, New York, audience are given balloons when attending musicals. They hold these with feeling themembers their fingertips in order to feel the vibrations of the music. As more studies are on exactly how non-hearing people experience music, it will become p ower of acompleted an important part of their education and experience. drum that m im ic s ou r life force is u n iversa l.

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Why would we insist on translating song lyrics with American Sign Language? This translation process may give Deaf person an access to music, but this does not provide an ultimate musical experience through ASL. Why cannot we create something with ASL, in a poetic/ dramatic/cinematic form, and complement this with music? One excellent example that can be accurately reflects to ASL music is Gallaudet’s famous Bison Song. See the video how two people express themselves with ASL poetic song and following drum beats simultaneously.

American Sign Language is a natural language as proved to the satisfaction of the linguistic community by William Stokoe, and contains phonology, morphology, semantics, syntax and pragmatics just like spoken languages. It is a manual language or visual language, meaning that the information is expressed not with combinations of sounds but with combinations of hand shapes, palm orientations, movements of the hands, arms and body, location in relation to the body, and facial expressions. While spoken languages are produced by the vocal cords only, and can thus be easily written in How can ASL and Music be compatible? It may linear patterns, ASL uses the hands, head and be, or sometimes it is not compatible. First, three body, with constantly changing movements and things to remember: 01 Music has their own orientations. Like other natural sign languages, elements that is universal. Everyone (Deaf and it is “three dimensional” in this sense. Music Hearing people) can understand through hearing is an ar t form consisting of sound and silence AND feeling music. 02 Lyrics are the spoken expressed through time. Elements of sound words of the song, and song lyric conveys its as used in music are pitch (including melody power through music and sound. Lyrical images and harmony), rhythm (including tempo and and descriptive phrases need to connect with meter), structure, and sonic qualities of timbre, the ear, as well as the brain. These lyrics does articulation, dynamics, and texture. not connect with the EYE of the viewer. 03 ASL Poetry comes with ASL rhymes and meter are commonly accepted in the Deaf community today. According to Clayton Valli, an ASL rhyme is formed through the repetition of particular hand shapes, movement paths of signs, or nonmanual signals (i.e. facial expressions).

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BASS

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of us assume deaf people can’t register sound, let alone enjoy Rachmaninoff. Wrong. Most of usMost A conceptual device from German designer Frederik Podzuweit taps into the deaf’s ability to feel assume deafmusic. Music for Deaf People is a collar that converts auditory input into vibrations, triggering same sound-processing brain regions in those with full hearing. So instead of listening through people can’tthe your ears, you effectively listen through your skin. The collar has a special membrane substance, responds to electricity, dispatching the vibrations of whatever you’re playing--be it Sinatra or register sound,which Sepultura--to your neck, shoulders, and collarbone. Adjustable, it fits snugly around your neck so let alone enjoyyou could theoretically wear it jogging or at the gym--never mind that it looks like something Rach ma ninoff.straight out of a Stormtrooper’s closet. Wrong. ATo the uninitiated, it might seem like a nonstarter, a pointless gadget resigned to the annals of airT-shirts and ShamWow! Why would deaf people want to “hear” music? The answer, of c o n c e p t u a lconditioned course, is for the same reason everyone else does: Music is one of life’s enduring pleasures. device from G e r m a n d e s i g n e r F r e d e r i k Podzuweit taps into the hearing i m p a i r e d people’s ability to feel music.

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There’s a lot of fascinating research into how deaf people experience music. Researchers at Ryerson University designed a chair that transmits musical v ibrations along the back, turning sound into a sor t of multi-sensor y cheesecake. One person described it like this: “The first time I used the chair, I was blown away by the amount of information I could get about music from the vibrations. For the first time in my life, I could feel sad or happy because of how the music vibrations felt on my skin. I never felt those kinds of feelings before when music was played.” Music for Deaf People collar It’s even possible, in certain cases, that deaf people experience music more powerfully because they can’t hear; as Oliver Sacks tells it in Musicophilia, the auditory cortex might become extra-sensitive when hearing slips. Beethoven, you’ll recall, was completely deaf when he composed his dazzling Symphony No. 9. The main drawback we see in Music for Deaf People is that the collar seems terribly uncomfortable. On hot days, a big hunk of plastic is the last thing you want around your neck. Would the concept work just as well around your wrist or your bicep? If anyone has any ideas, we’re all, um, ears.

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A conductive hearing impairment is an impairment resulting from dysfunction in any of the me chanisms that normally conduct sound waves through the out er ear, the eardrum or the bones of the middle ear. A sensorineural hea ring impairment is one resulting from dysfunction in the inner ear, especially the cochlea where sound vibrations are conver ted I Not neural signals, or in any part of the brain that subsequently pro Ceases these signals. The vast majority of human sensorineural hearing loss is associated with abnormalities in the hair cells of the organ of Corti in the cochlea. This dysfunction may be present from birth due to genetic or developmen tal abnormalities, or arise through trauma or disease during the life

A conductive hearing impairment is an impairment resulting from dysfunction in any

MUSIC FOR A SILENT WORLD

ctive hearing impairment is an impairment sulting from dysfunction in any of the me s that normally conduct sound waves through the out e eardrum or the bones of the middle ear. A sensorineural hea airment is one resulting from dysfunction ner ear, especially the cochlea where sound

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Evelyn Glennie’s music challenges the listener to ask where music comes from: Is it more than simply a translation from score to instrument to audience? How can a musician who has almost no hearing play with such sensitivity and compassion? The Grammy-winning percussionist and composer became almost completely deaf by the age of 12, but her hearing loss brought her a deeper understanding of and connection to the music she loves. She’s the subjec t of the documen ta r y Touch the Sound, which explores this unconventional and intriguing approach to percussion.

Along with her vibrant solo career, Glennie has collaborated with musicians ranging from classical orchestras to Björk. Her career has taken her to hundreds of concert stages around the 0albums, winning a Grammy for her recording of Bartók’s Sonata for Two Pianos and Percussion, and another for her 2002 collaboration with Bela Fleck. Her passion for music and musical literacy brought her to establish, in collaboration with fellow musicians Julian Lloyd Weber and Sir James Galway, the Music Education Consortium, which successfully lobbied for an investment of 332 million pounds in music education and musical resources in Britain.

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“When I was 5, I received my first drum set, and Iwanted to be a drummer,” Forbes tells Liane “Rapping is just something I do, because Hansen, host of NPR’s Weekend Edition Sunday. you don’t wanna hear me sing, ” he says. Forbes “I always knew I wanted a career in music, but I says fellow hip-hop musician Eminem is a also had firsthand experience in seeing how hard supporter and fan of his work. “Eminem was the it is to succeed as a musician.” first person I ever showed my music video to, and when he saw it, he was at a loss for words, His mother plays the piano and his father ”Forbes says. “He was shocked that hearing performs in a country-rock band. Although he impaired people liked music.” raps in his songs, Forbes says he considers himself more of a musician. In addition to rhyming Forbes helped start an organization called the and playing the drums, he plays guitar and Deaf Professional Arts Network, or D-PAN. The writes his own music. goal of D-PAN, which has performed versions of songs by John Mayer and Christina Aguilera, is to make music accessible to the deaf and hardof-hearing community. Since the start of D-PAN, the group has created four music videos and will begin work on the next one soon. Forbes says D-PAN plans to shoot 100 videos in the next five years to help interpret pop songs for the deaf and hearing-impaired.

“Def” has been a part of hip-hop lexicon since the early 1980s, but for Sean Forbes, it means something different. The 28-year-old from suburban Detroit has been deaf since he was a baby but says that hasn’t stopped him from making music. He recently released a new single called “I’m Deaf,” and is busy recording more songs for an upcoming album. Forbes says music has always been part of his life.

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W h a t i s t h e d e a f p e r s o n t f o r m t h a t i s s e e m i n g l y o n l y v a l p e r i e n c e w i t h a n a r t f o r m t h a t t h o s e w i t h f u l l y f u n c t i o n i n g c o c h l e e m i n g l y o n l y v a l u e d b y t h o s e w i e r e i s a n o t i o n t h a t m u s i c i s o l l y f u n c t i o n i n g c o c h l e a s ? T h e r e a r d a n d t h u s , c a n o n l y a p p r e c i a t e d n o t i o n t h a t m u s i c i s o n l y h e a h e h e a r i n g . H o w e v e r , d e a f p e o p l e h n d t h u s , c a n o n l y a p p r e c i a t e d b y t u n i q u e a n d c h a l l e n g i n g p e r s p e c t e a r i n g . H o w e v e r , d e a f p e o p l e h a v e o m u s i c t h a t h a s s e l d o m b e e n e x p l o n i q u e a n d c h a l l e n g i n g p e r s p e c t i v e u t s i d e o f d e a f c o m m u n i t i e s . W i t h i n u s i c t h a t h a s s e l d o m b e e n e x p l o r e a f a n d h a r d o f h e a r i n g w o r l d , t h u t s i d e o f d e a f c o m m u n i t i e s . W i t h r e p e o p l e n o t o n l y c r e a t i n g m u s i c , h e d e a f a n d h a r d o f h e a r i n g w o r l e o p l e w h o l o v e a n d m a k e m u s i c a p a r t h e r e a r e p e o p l e n o t o n l y c r e a t i h e i r l i v e s . I n t h i s w o r l d , t h e v a r i u s i c , b u t p e o p l e w h o l o v e a n d m a h a d e s o f g r a y a r e c e l e b r a t e d a s u s i c a p a r t o f t h e i r l i v e s . I n t h p e c t r u m o f d e a f n e s s , f r o m s l i g h t l y h o r l d , t h e v a r i o u s s h a d e s o f g r f h e a r i n g t o “ s t o n e d e a f ” a r e a l l p a r t r e c e l e b r a t e d a s t h e s p e c t r u m h i s c o m m u n i t y . T h e e x p e r i e n c e o f s o e a f n e s s , f r o m s l i g h t l y h a r d o f h e a r i a n b e d i f f e r e n t f o r m a n y p e o p l e w h o “ s t o n e d e a f ” a r e a l l p a r t o f t h b i l i t i e s w i t h h e a r i n g a r e n o t c l e a o m m u n i t y . T h e e x p e r i e n c e o f s o u d e n t i f i e d i n t e r m s t h a t h e a r i n g p e o a n b e d i f f e r e n t f o r m a n y p e o p l e w h o r e u s e d t o . i t i s n e v e r a n e i t h e r b i l i t i e s w i t h h e a r i n g a r e n o t c l e a r x p e r i e n c e , a n d d e f i n i t e l y n o t s o m e t h d e n t i f i e d i n t e r m s t h a t h e a r i h a t t h e h e a r i n g w o r l d c a n u n d e r s t e o p l e a r e u s e d t o . i t i s n e v e r o m p l e t e l y . M o s t a s s u m e d e a f p e o p l e e n i t h e r / o r e x p e r i e n c e , a n d d e f i n i t e u s i c s o l e l y b y t a c t i l e s e n s a t i o n s , o t s o m e t h i n g t h a t t h e h e a r i n g w o r o i n g b e y o n d f e e l i n g v i b r a t i o n s , w h a t a n u n d e r s t a n d c o m p l e t e l y . M o h e e x p e r i e n c e o f m u s i c l i k e f o r s o m e s s u m e d e a f p e o p l e e n j o y m u s i c s o l e h o d o e s n ’ t h e a r o r l e a s t l e a s t l i k e y t a c t i l e s e n s a t i o n s , b u t g o i o ? M u s i c i s f e l t o n a p h y s i c a l l e v e l e y o n d f e e l i n g v i b r a t i o n s , w h a t i s t v e r y o n e . G e t t i n g a b u z z i n g i n o u r c x p e r i e n c e o f m u s i c l i k e f o r s o m e o h e n t h e b a s s i s p l u c k e d o r f e e l i n g h o d o e s n ’ t h e a r o r l e a s t l e a s t l i o w e r o f a d r u m t h a t m i m i c s o u r l i f e f o e d o ? M u s i c i s f e l t o n a p h y s i c s u n i v e r s a l . A h e a r i n g p e r s o n c a n o e v e l b y e v e r y o n e . G e t t i n g a b u z z i r y t o i m a g i n e t h e s e n s a t i o n s t h a t n o u r c o r e w h e n t h e b a s s i s p l u c k u c h m o r e d e v e l o p e d i n a d e a f p e r s o n . r f e e l i n g t h e p o w e r o f a d r u m t h a n t r y t o u c h i n g t h e g r o u n d a n d p l a c i n i m i c s o u r l i f e f o r c e i s u n i v e r s a l . a c k a g a i n s t w a l l s a t s h o w s t r y i n g t o e a r i n g p e r s o n c a n o n l y t r y t o i m a g i f t h e y c a n t e l l t h e d i f f e r e n c e i n r h y h e s e n s a t i o n s t h a t a r e m u c h m o n d t h e t y p e o f i n s t r u m e n t b e i n g p l a e v e l o p e d i n a d e a f p e r s o n . O n e c y t h e f e e l i n g s t h a t h u m a l o n g t h e b r y t o u c h i n g t h e g r o u n d a n d p l a c i n g h e n t h e m u s i c i n f i l t r a t e s t h e m o l e c u a c k a g a i n s t w a l l s a t s h o w s t r y i n g n i n t h e w a l l s a n d i n o u r s e l v e s a s w e e e i f t h e y c a n t e l l t h e d i f f e r e n c e a r p l u g s a r e c o m m o n l y u s e d t o p r o t h y t h m a n d t h e t y p e o f i n s t r u m e n t b e i e a r i n g , b u t a l s o c a n b e u s e d t o t r y t o l a y e d b y t h e f e e l i n g s t h a t h u m a l o s c l o s e t o h e a r d o f h e a r i n g a s p o s s i h e b o d y w h e n t h e m u s i c i n f i l t r a t o r a n y o n e c u r i o u s t o w h a t i t m i g h t b e l h e m o l e c u l e s i n i n t h e w a l l s a o o n l y b e a b l e t o f e e l m u s i c . S o m e n o u r s e l v e s a s w e l l . 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W i g n e d l a n g u a g e s a n d D e a f c u l t u s t h e d e a f p e r s o n ’ s e x p e r i e n c e w i t h a v e t h o u g h t a b o u t i n d e p t h . W h r t f o r m t h a t i s s e e m i n g l y o n l y v a l u e d s t h e d e a f p e r s o n ’ s e x p e r i e n h o s e w i t h f u l l y f u n c t i o n i n g c o c h l e i t h a n a r t f o r m t h a t i s s e e m i n g h e r e i s a n o t i o n t h a t m u s i c i s o n l y v a l u e d b y t h o s e w i t h f u l e a r d a n d t h u s , c a n o n l y a p p r e c i a t e d u n c t i o n i n g c o c h l e a s ? T h e r e i s h e h e a r i n g . H o w e v e r , d e a f p e o p l e h o t i o n t h a t m u s i c i s o n l y h e a r d a u n i q u e a n d c h a l l e n g i n g p e r s p e c t h u s , c a n o n l y a p p r e c i a t e d b y t o m u s i c t h a t h a s s e l d o m b e e n e x p l o e a r i n g . H o w e v e r , d e a f p e o p l e h a v e u t s i d e o f d e a f c o m m u n i t i e s . W i t h i n n i q u e a n d c h a l l e n g i n g p e r s p e c t i v e e a f a n d h a r d o f h e a r i n g w o r l d , t h u s i c t h a t h a s s e l d o m b e e n e x p l o r r e p e o p l e n o t o n l y c r e a t i n g m u s i c , u t s i d e o f d e a f c o m m u n i t i e s . W i t h e o p l e w h o l o v e a n d m a k e m u s i c a p a r t h e d e a f a n d h a r d o f h e a r i n g w o r l h e i r l i v e s . I n t h i s w o r l d , t h e v a r i h e r e a r e p e o p l e n o t o n l y c r e a t i h a d e s o f g r a y a r e c e l e b r a t e d a s u s i c , b u t p e o p l e w h o l o v e a n d m a p e c t r u m o f d e a f n e s s , f r o m s l i g h t l y h u s i c a p a r t o f t h e i r l i v e s . I n t h f h e a r i n g t o “ s t o n e d e a f ” a r e a l l p a r t o r l d , t h e v a r i o u s s h a d e s o f g r h i s c o m m u n i t y . T h e e x p e r i e n c e o f s o r e c e l e b r a t e d a s t h e s p e c t r u m a n b e d i f f e r e n t f o r m a n y p e o p l e w h e a f n e s s , f r o m s l i g h t l y h a r d b i l i t i e s w i t h h e a r i n g a r e n o t c l e a e a r i n g t o “ s t o n e d e a f ” a r e a l l p a d e n t i f i e d i n t e r m s t h a t h e a r i n g p e o f t h i s c o m m u n i t y . T h e e x p e r i e n r e u s e d t o . i t i s n e v e r a n e i t h e r f s o u n d c a n b e d i f f e r e n t f o r m a x p e r i e n c e , a n d d e f i n i t e l y n o t s o m e t h e o p l e w h o ’ s a b i l i t i e s w i t h h e a r i h a t t h e h e a r i n g w o r l d c a n u n d e r s t r e n o t c l e a r l y i d e n t i f i e d i n t e r o m p l e t e l y . M o s t a s s u m e d e a f p e o p l e e n h a t h e a r i n g p e o p l e a r e u s e d t o . u s i c s o l e l y b y t a c t i l e s e n s a t i o n s , s n e v e r a n e i t h e r / o r e x p e r i e n c o i n g b e y o n d f e e l i n g v i b r a t i o n s , w h a t n d d e f i n i t e l y n o t s o m e t h i n g t h h e e x p e r i e n c e o f m u s i c l i k e f o r s o m e h e h e a r i n g w o r l d c a n u n d e r s t a h o d o e s n ’ t h e a r o r l e a s t l e a s t l i k e o m p l e t e l y . M o s t a s s u m e d e a f p e o p o ? M u s i c i s f e l t o n a p h y s i c a l l e v e l n j o y m u s i c s o l e l y b y t a c t i v e r y o n e . G e t t i n g a b u z z i n g i n o u r c e n s a t i o n s , b u t g o i n g b e y o n d f e e l i h e n t h e b a s s i s p l u c k e d o r f e e l i n g i b r a t i o n s , w h a t i s t h e e x p e r i e n c e o w e r o f a d r u m t h a t m i m i c s o u r l u s i c l i k e f o r s o m e o n e w h o d o e s n o r c e i s u n i v e r s a l . A h e a r i n g p e r e a r o r l e a s t l e a s t l i k e w e d a n o n l y t r y t o i m a g i n e t h e s e n s a t i u s i c i s f e l t o n a p h y s i c a l l e v h a t a r e m u c h m o r e d e v e l o p e d i n a d y e v e r y o n e . G e t t i n g a b u z z i n g e r s o n . O n e c a n t r y t o u c h i n g t h e g r o u r c o r e w h e n t h e b a s s i s p l u c k n d p l a c i n g a b a c k a g a i n s t w a l l s r f e e l i n g t h e p o w e r o f a d r u m t h h o w s t r y i n g t o s e e i f t h e y c a n t e l l i m i c s o u r l i f e f o r c e i s u n i v e r s a i f f e r e n c e i n r h y t h m a n d t h e t y p e h e a r i n g p e r s o n c a n o n l y t r y n s t r u m e n t b e i n g p l a y e d b y t h e f e e l i m a g i n e t h e s e n s a t i o n s t h a t a r e m u h a t h u m a l o n g t h e b o d y w h e n t h e m u o r e d e v e l o p e d i n a d e a f p e r s o n f i l t r a t e s t h e m o l e c u l e s i n i n t h e w a n e c a n t r y t o u c h i n g t h e g r o u n d a n d i n o u r s e l v e s a s w e l l . E a r p l u g s l a c i n g a b a c k a g a i n s t w a l l s a t s h o o m m o n l y u s e d t o p r o t e c t h e a r i n g , r y i n g t o s e e i f t h e y c a n t e l l t l s o c a n b e u s e d t o t r y t o g e t a s c l i f f e r e n c e i n r h y t h m a n d t h e t y o h e a r d o f h e a r i n g a s p o s s i b l e f i n s t r u m e n t b e i n g p l a y e d b y t n y o n e c u r i o u s t o w h a t i t m i g h t b e l e e l i n g s t h a t h u m a l o n g t h e b o d y w h o o n l y b e a b l e t o f e e l m u s i c . S o m e h e m u s i c i n f i l t r a t e s t h e m o l e c u l h o i s h e a r i n g c a n s w i t c h b a c k a n d f o n i n t h e w a l l s a n d i n o u r s e l v e s r o m l i s t e n i n a n d f e e l i n g , y e t s o m e e l l . E a r p l a m m o n u s r n a t e

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SILENT SOUL GROUP 201 T h i r d S t r e e t S a n F r a n c i s co, C A 9 4103 Vo i ce : 415 -974 - 69 0 0 Fa x : 415 -227-26 0 2

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