In 2006 my mother Mary set up ‘Rhythmtots’, a weekly music group for young children in her area. I became involved in helping out and by the time my sons Harry and Benjamin arrived respectively, it became a special time for bonding with my boys through music. Mary’s classes attract tiny babies, big babies, toddlers, pre-schoolers,…
Blog
With artist Rubbena Aurangzeb-Tariq
Rubbena Aurangzeb-Tariq is a Deaf British born Muslim artist based in London. As a graduate from the prestigious St Martins College studying Fine Art and Goldsmiths University in London, she has been exhibiting her work since 1992 in America, Sweden, Paris, Canada, and the UK but to name a few places.
My visual performance experiment
At my performance opportunity last month I wanted to show the audiences my relationship with music; how British Sign Language (BSL) can influence my thoughts for interpreting music. There’s colour, speed, direction, dynamics, emotions and so on already in BSL that automatically influences the way I sound on the flute.
My recent recital
This music was composed by the guitarist himself, Roger Montgomery together with flute. The music of ‘El Caballo’ (2009) is a wonderfully descriptive piece that takes you on a journey through different landscapes, as if you were riding on a horse.
Music in Motion
Last month I was involved with a few others on a research and development project (R&D) in London led by Japanese musician Nao Masuda. It was an experimental process that looked into ways of visually describing rhythm and notations through the use of Sign Language and physical movement.
Unlearning Sound Etiquette
I was thrilled when I received an email earlier this year informing me that I’d been selected to be part of the Deaf Explorers project supported by Arts Council UK and Deaf Cultural Centre in Birmingham. I am one of six along with other professional deaf artists. Other artists were in the field of poetry, theatre,…
Making the grade
“How do you play the flute?” “Can you hear the music?” “Do you feel the beat?” “Is it vibrations?” These are the most common questions I get when they realise that I am a musician with hearing loss. Since there are so many influences and factors, to help me write it up I shall focus on…
My childhood: Music and Deafness
My music education began at home. My parents are both very musical – back in the 1980s when I was tiny my father was a primary school teacher and gave guitar lessons privately at home but a few years before he married my mother he toured around Germany with a band called ‘The Snappers’ as…