Music... For Those Who Will Never Hear It

So many people enjoy orchestral music, but often we take this art for granted.  Is it possible for the deaf to enjoy orchestral music as much as the hearing?  

Early attempts at solving this issue include projecting visualizations onto large screens so the deaf may see the music.  But, there are other ways the deaf may enjoy the symphony.

One way is just to be in the same room as the hearing while a concert performance is going on.  Imagine walking into a room just after a heated argument has taken place.  You can feel the ethereal energy left behind.  In the same manner, those without hearing can feel the energy of what a performance is like whether or not they experience the performance.

More concrete ways have been developed by certain orchestras.  The BBC National Orchestra of Wales has created a unique technological solution:  a soundbox.  This box projects music and sound waves that are input through microphones.  Deaf (or hearing) listeners may put their hands or other body parts on the box and experience the music through sympathetic vibrations.  Another symphony orchestra in Cardiff invites deaf listeners to sit in on rehearsals with the musicians and place fingers on instruments while played in order to experience the feeling of the instruments' sonorities.

Organizations such as Music and the Deaf support this type of work and regularly commission projects to include the deaf in musical endeavors.  Unfortunately, most of the breakthroughs in including the deaf community have been in Europe.  Perhaps soon North America will catch up.

Better playing through chemistry?

While most people are aware of the issues surrounding performance-enhancing drugs in sports, this issue is lesser-known but just as prevalent in other industries, including orchestral music.  The use of performance-enhancing drugs by musicians is not new, but often not known or talked about by the general public.  Musicians might take a beta-blocker such as propranolol or Inderol for stage anxiety.  Before this medication, many musicians alcohol or valium in order to cope with stage fright.

Unfortunately, about 70 percent of musicians take these medications without proper medical supervision, obtaining them instead from their friends and colleagues.  Some criticize the practice of taking drugs in order to perform because it may deaden their performance or that they feel that ethically if they are unable to do their job without the use of drugs then they should not be involved in the field.

While definitely an issue worth considering and talking about, I find it amazing that almost nobody is aware of these issues that are not classical musicians.