when one becomes deaf in mid-age

[crazy for ivan moravec]

if a good pianist was not born deaf and unfortunately becomes deaf in his middle years (like 30 for example), would he be as good as he was?

[BoliverAllmon]

depends on the pianist. I think I could do half way decent. When I play I hum the songs in my head and that brings out certain musical ideas in my playing. I also tend to play according to feel not necessarily sound. I learned what it "feels" like to make it sound good. I think the quality would go down though.

boliver

[chopiabin]

Well, I mean, theoretically your technical skill shouldn't degenerate because of deafness (age is  different story). I guess I can see how interpretive and memorizing skills could deteriorate, but perhaps you could make up for those other ways??

[BoliverAllmon]

maybe so. It would be an interesting endeavor. one I don't feel like taking though.

[bearzinthehood]

What like...completely deaf?  You wouldn't be able to play if you were completely deaf....

[BoliverAllmon]

deaf doesn't prevent yourself from depressing keys.

[thalbergmad]

Sometimes when a sense is lost, the others increase.

I see no reason why a pianists struck with deafness would lose ability

[bearzinthehood]

Piano playing about receiving feedback from your ears and applying it to your hands.  It's silly to think that a deaf person could be playing at a high level musically.  Not even Beethoven was able to maintain his virtuosity after his deafness.

deaf doesn't prevent yourself from depressing keys.

Typing is about pressing keys.  Playing the piano is much more than that.

[BoliverAllmon]

it is weird to me that Beethoven wasn't able to continue to play. I mean he had perfect pitch and I would assume impecable timing. Therefore he should of been able to play something still.

[thierry13]

deaf doesn't prevent yourself from depressing keys.

If you think piano playing is depressing keys ....

[leahcim]

it is weird to me that Beethoven wasn't able to continue to play. I mean he had perfect pitch and I would assume impecable timing. Therefore he should of been able to play something still.

The documentary on the BBC the other day suggested that he'd played and was hammering forte notes and playing quiet passages so quiet that notes weren't sounding.

A dramatisation, I don't know how factual it was -  but it was roughly the effect you get when you speak to someone with headphones on [or they sing when they are wearing them] and they either shout over the music or over-compensate if they try not too.

[prometheus]

If you can't hear yourself how can you use your intellect to make sure your music sounds properly. You will have no idea how exactly it will sound. Or worse, you may even stop hearing the sounds mentally and have no idea what harmonies and melodies are in the piece. But I guess the piano is the best instrument for a deaf musician because it is such an easy instrument.

Personally, I much rather go blind.

[dorfmouse]

Read about - or better still listen to - Evelyn Glennie, virtuoso percussionist, who became profoundly deaf by the age of 12. She plays a huge variety of both pitched and unpitched percussion both solo and with world renowned orchestras. I've occasionally seen her on TV and her performances are stunning.
Just reading about her accomplishments is exhausting!

[thierry13]

But I guess the piano is the best instrument for a deaf musician because it is such an easy instrument.

Yeah right.

[zheer]

A deaf pianist is like a blind painter.

[BoliverAllmon]

I agree that the quality would go down, but I would think that you can still play something.

[prometheus]

Yeah, sure. Piano and percussion instuments can be played because they are so easy. But things like singing or playing violin, where it is really hard to get a good tone and to stay in pitch, that would be impossible.

Only a few people can get a good tone out of a violin. Same with singers.

[spitz]

Um.... Beethoven went completly deaf somewhere in his mid-age, 30's I think, and he actually got better after his hearing loss.
1. He knew what every note sound like by that
2. He cut the legs off his piano so he could feel the vibrations in the music
So yes when one become deaf in mid-age they can continue playing because you dont really need to hear the music just feel the music

[pianolady4]

Piano so easy? I assume you must be talking about pitch--you don't have to make sure your notes are in tune, just that you are playing the right notes--the piano techinician takes care of whether they are in tune.  That's the only way I can see that the piano is an easy instrument. The multitasking needed to play the piano well is anything but easy. (Playing the piano badly is fairly easy, though.) I didn't realize how complex the piano is until I started teaching an adult or two with absolutely no background in music (no school chorus or church congregational singing, even) and came to recognize the large number of steps involved in learning piano performance.  When you learn as a child, you are at a point in life where you expect things to take a while; when you are an adult learner, you almost always have some kind of musical experience in your background, even if it's kindergarten music class.  But take it from step one when you are 40 is a challenge!

re:deafness--I think that one of the things that determines whether you play well if you go deaf is whether you have a good feel for the size of intervals on the keyboard and are accustomed to relying on that sense of distance, or whether you cheat a lot asmany of us do, and look at your hands a lot. I think people who look at their hands a lot are less confident as pianists,  and loss of hearing will effect them more than those who rely on touch to know where they are on the piano keyboard.

Re; singing and staying in tune: singers are taught to rely on how they are using their voice and their body to produce sound, not on how they sound, to determine whether they are creating a good sound. Not the same as violin. At least that's how I was taught--not to rely on what I was hearing to know I was singing well.

[bearzinthehood]

You know what, if you think you can play the piano deaf, try playing a piece that you've never played before or heard before on a silenced digital keyboard.  Try recording it that way, see what it sounds like.

Yes, obviously if you just went deaf yesterday, you could probably still play what you already know at a very mediocre level.  Try imagining playing it 10 years from now though, the best you could do is hit the right notes...