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Music
Music is not about hearing any more than language is.
As a “mental process” music can be delivered through all kinds of methods. It concerns various functions of the brain, understanding shape, imagination, articulation, feeling, colour, rhythm, touch and tempo and so on. All these are aspects of music; hearing is only one part.
Music is a human trait; it is something that everybody can relate to and associate with. As previously mentioned it links very much to language. Many of the interactions a mother has with her child are musical. Young babies and children speak, sing or gesticulate with music at the same time as developing language and social skills. In the Music Educators Journal Alice-Ann Darrow states “The hearing loss may limit the child’s musical capacities; however, hearing impairment does not vitiate music responsiveness”. (Darrow., ‘Music for the Deaf’ 1985 (Music Educators Journal Vol 17), p.33) It would therefore be incomprehensible to deprive people of access to what it essential to being a human, just because they happen to have a hearing loss.
A hearing-abled child has absorbed thousands of hours of music from television, radio or religious events both consciously and unconsciously by the time they are able to walk and speak. To their advantage, they are able to access environmental sounds, instrumental sounds, texture, timbre, colour and the range of many musical styles.
As for music ability, most people have a capacity for music which is developed during the early years of childhood through the mere exposure to nursery rhymes and musical games. This develops people of the basic structure for musicality to a significant level. Deaf children should have the same exposure to music otherwise they are starved the chance to be musical.
History
‘Music is something that deaf people cannot do’ is a common belief which many people have repeated throughout the years without reflecting upon the veracity of this statement”. It may seem impractical to introduce deaf people music due to their inability to hear, and hence, their apparent ability to appreciate or learn it.
Music has not been, and is often not considered as an academic subject suitable for deaf children as historically their literacy and reading skills are reported to be low. “In fact, the average 18 – 19 year old deaf student is reading at a level commensurate with the average 8 – 9 year old hearing student”.[1] Late diagnoses and/or inadequate “teaching strategies and approaches adopted by adults and teachers cause (s) language delay, and are nothing to do with deafness per se”.[2] This affects the deaf child’s ability to acquire speech and language spontaneously is affected.
Many of the musical activities in the nursery and school years require children to be able to hear, sing and join in with songs. Music therefore becomes excluded automatically by the educators because it demands the use of speech, language and listening abilities as well as interaction with others. However, in the past, educators have used the sound components in music to aid speech training for deaf people. For example, Hurd states that “I cannot say that we call it music, but what we are doing at the present time is to utilize musical vibration in developing the voice.”[3] The concept that music has no relevance to deaf people (imposed by hearing adults and educators) has persisted and been maintained by Deaf and hearing alike for many years. Edwards says “it is not likely that a great number of teachers who were originally trained in music, to be music teachers in public schools, for example, would find themselves in a school for the deaf. They wouldn’t even think to apply for a music teaching position in a school for the deaf.”[4] Most educators of the deaf who teach music themselves are not trained musicians. This fact is not uncommon – “some teachers often do not have the training or confidence.”[5] This diminishes the philosophy of teaching music and limits the ideas and teaching tools to deaf children.
However, television has sparked a specific interest in music today for many deaf people. This is thanks not only to the advent of subtitles, but the visual impact of fashionable boy/girl bands, the movement and drama of concert performances and “catchy” lyrics. Popular music, by definition, is for the mass market and the media exploits it in such a visual and colourful way that it attracts fans, and is made accessible to anyone rather than a specially educated minority as classical music may be.
A particular example of this is the fact that in the last five years the Deaf community created their own version of “Pop Idol”. Hundreds crammed to watch the grand finale. It was a night of extravaganza and dance, expressing love of music, sign song, pop promos and rhythm so convincing that the Chief Executive of the British Deaf Association (BDA), Jeff McWhinney, declared it “a landmark in Deaf history”.[6] Stuart Anderson, the co-organiser said “It is about using sign creatively to convey the message in the song. Remember that the song might have evolved round the music, or vice versa, so the most important thing is to sign in tune with that”.[7] The hand is the voice of Deaf people. They use it along with the rhythm and the dance of the music. This shows the emergence of musicality amongst the Deaf despite little or no music training. This event shows that they can nonetheless appreciate music as an art form.
The education system for deaf children is changing and there are now many deaf people with successful professional careers. However, the review of music education does not reflect a similar rate of progress in terms of the access to music which deaf people receive from the world of media. Deaf people have found some kind of music exposure outside the education system. In this domain they have discovered for themselves a way to access and experience music. This interest could be harnessed and developed in order to provide deaf people with knowledge and understanding of music during their school life.
Hearing losses explained
The prevailing attitude of hearing people is that music is a primarily aural experience. How, therefore, would children without the ability to hear be able to experience music and even enjoy it? Paradoxically, some deaf people can hear. Many have residual hearing, but those with none at all often have the help of electronic hearing devices, such as hearing aids or cochlear implants. All deaf people respond to the use of hearing devices in their own individual way. I shall firstly describe and outline the different types of deafness.
Hearing loss may be categorised as mild, moderate or severe, or profound. The follow descriptions refer to individuals who are unaided (that is without hearing devices).
A person with a mild loss (25 – 39dB*) would hear background noises but perhaps nothing quieter. They would be likely to understand face to face conversations but may find group discussions incomprehensible where people are speaking at once.
(*All decibel levels information is taken from http://hcd2.bupa.co.uk/fact_sheets/html/hearing_loss.html)
Someone with a moderate loss (40 – 68dB) could hear conservations without a hearing aid if it is loud and clear. Their speech may have a little impairment but would still be highly intelligible.
A person with severe loss (70dB) would be able to hear voices if they are loud and close enough to the ear. These individual might have some English linguistic skills but may need to have the support of visual cues, gestures and/or sign language to enhance communication.
It is estimated that the majority of those with hearing impairments are profoundly deaf. Persons with profound loss (95dB or more) do not have sufficient hearing to develop speech and language spontaneously and some will require special education. Voice would not be heard but the sound of a road drill or loud music from speakers could be if they are close.
The loss of auditory function could result from conductive or sensorineural damage.
A conductive hearing loss refers to damage of the outer or middle ear and may be the result of disease, accident or ear infections.
A sensorineural hearing loss is usually genetic, or cased by prenatal, birth, or postnatal factors. The range of loss varies from mild to profound deafness.
Some deaf people may have a combined conductive and sensorineural hearing loss.
Hearing devices
Many deaf school children are supplied with hearing aids, digital hearing aids or cochlear implantation, all of which amplify sounds to the ear. The hearing device is designed to pick up sounds and make them louder, but it does not restore normal hearing. With the hearing device, a severe or profound loss can be rectified in a way that it becomes almost equivalent to a moderate loss.
The provision of hearing aids is extremely important in that they are individually programmed to suit the deaf person’s level of hearing. They are preferably fitted when children are young. With gradual and progressive listening training deaf people can eventually develop an “encyclopaedia” of sounds which can be stored in their memory. For example, when they hear an ambulance in the distance, they will recognise it as such, rather than as a whistle or other sort of noise. Those with the ability to hear are able to automatically decipher and filter out unnecessary noise to hear what they want to hear. There are, however, many deaf people who fail to establish the nature of sounds until the source can be seen/identified or until they ask somebody.
When a young deaf child is newly fitted with hearing amplifiers it will take time to absorb the meaning of environmental sounds. Adult vocalisations may appear to be random, serving no meaning to the objects present or events taking place. Music activities can be used to help with auditory experiences in order to make sense of the sounds. The sounds of the loud motor, a kettle, the quacking of ducks, or a whistle in the wind cover all the elements such as the presence and absence of sound, pitches, intensities, tempo, rhythm and many more which are found in music.
Music and Sign Language
Deaf people already possess an inherent aptitude for rhythmic movement through the use of Sign Language. Indeed, with Sign Language, “the flow of hand movements and facial expressions show us the shape of ideas, just as the notes of a musical score represent the shape of sounds and silences”. (Harasim, www.uh.edu/hti/cu/2002/v02/03.html) The hearing person may extend their finger gestures through clarinet playing, extend their hand gestures by creating a drumming pattern on the bongo, or extend their arm gestures by up and downwards bowing on the strings. A conductor would use the whole of body, arms, legs and facial expressions to communicate with the orchestra. It is internalised body movement of the impulses which speak and emerge within us. Deaf people who were deprived of music education nonetheless possess and channel all their rhythmic motions through the expressive use of sign language. Expression comes in many forms, especially through body and facial gestures which are the most primitive. All this can be extended, communicated and transited through movement and instrumental playing.
Teaching
There is a mention about my teaching in the article for the Music Teacher’s magazine, Winter 2007
Deaf Flute teacher to front consultation with deaf children
The National deaf Children’s Society (NDCS) is launching the UK’s largest ever consultation with young deaf people. The views of over 2,000 9-18 year olds will be gathered using an interactive website, focus groups, and one-to-one interviews in order to inform the future campaigns and services of the NDCS.
Fronting the campaign to encourage participation will be flautist Ruth Montgomery. She teaches both hearing and deaf students and has a distinguished performance CV, despite having been profoundly deaf since birth. ‘I wear hearing aids in both ears and that helps me to hear, and I have trained to understand the sounds around me... The tuner is a life-saver, I use them often and train myself to hear every single note. I have been playing the flute for 14 years now so I know the character of every note.’
She has been chosen as a role model for deaf teenagers in particular, as her deafness has not stopped her successfully pursuing a career many thought impossible.
‘It took me three years to get into a music college’ she says. ‘My music teacher was told not to put any high expectations on me. At one audition I was told quite bluntly that I should “go on an art course instead of music”’. Undeterred, she was eventually accepted at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama. ‘Outside examiners who assessed my performances did not know I was deaf and I graduated with a 2.1.’ She later travelled to St Petersburg, Moscow and London’s Cadogan Hall and performed the Danzi Flute concerto with orchestras such as the Royal Philharmonic, Moscow Symphony and the St Petersburg Philharmonic with Martin Brabbyns and Christopher Monks as conductors, thanks to the Music of Life foundation.’
Montgomery is able to refer to the problems she has faced and solved in her career to help her deaf pupils: ‘For an example, on my flute I used to have a tendency of dropping off sustained notes near the end... my teacher and I looked for ways of solving this matter by supporting the ends [of notes] with my diaphragm and bringing in my jaw slightly forward. They [deaf pupils] therefore rely on the physical feelings they experience, for example, for a forte note, they need to create a greater force from their diaphragm. This is obviously takes a little more time to self-monitor than relying on accurate hearing.’
‘Many deaf children find that even with hearing aids, it is incredibly difficult to understand and decipher what they are actually hearing and so often do not put in the attention required. In creating music, they are taught to develop their listening skills, paying particular attention to fine detail.
‘Deaf children are lip-readers or signers so they tend to watch to listen with their eyes. So when I am talking or listening to them we make sure we can see each other. When a grade 7 pupil plays a B major scale for an example, I will be watching their fingers as well as running the keys on my flute so that I know they are playing the correct notes. I can hear when their top notes are not coming out properly and teach them how to support the top notes too.
I am proud to be part of this NDCS consultation project, she adds... I would like to be able to show them [deaf children] that dreams are there to be achieved and to believe in themselves.’
Disliking music
Deaf children’s responses to music will vary. There are plenty of children with perfectly normal hearing who do not like or respond to music. When Rita Keiner worked with deaf children, she discovered that some developed a real antipathy to music which was nothing to do with their levels of hearing: “There seems to be an innate inner response and capacity for music that transcends even severe deafness”. (Rita Keiner., ‘Deafness – No Handicap to Music?’ (Music and the Deaf 1986), p.22) It is only by sharing and educating the deaf that an inherent talent for music may be awakened, just as happens with a hearing child.
British Sign Language finger spelling chart
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[1] 1.Paul:1998, Traxler:2000 in ‘Processes and Components of Reading’ (Oxford Handbook of Deaf Studies, Language and Education 2003), p.97
[2] (V.Webster and A.Webster, “Raising Achievement in Hearing Impaired Pupils” (Avec Designs Limited 1997) p.iv)
[3] ‘Deaf’ with a capital D refers to people who consider themselves to be members of the Deaf community and to be part of a cultural or linguistic minority. They will use British Sign Language (BSL) as their first or preferred language.
[4] Edwards., ‘Music Education for the Deaf’ (The Merriam-Eddy Company 1974), p.96
[5] Benari., “Inner Rhythm” BATOD magazine 1996, p.17
[6] Mostyn, www.ideasfactory.com/music_sound/features/mus_feature65.htm
[7] Mostyn, www.ideasfactory.com/music_sound/features/mus_feature65.htm
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