My attempt at Nick's deaf improvisation experiment

[furtwaengler]

Something strange happened when I was trying to make a new thread about Nick's thread and it ended up in Nick's thread. So a strange way of sharing, here is the link to the file already posted on that thread:

https://www.pianostreet.com/smf/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=64107.0;attach=13961

And for full context, here is that thread:

https://www.pianostreet.com/smf/index.php?topic=64107.0

The reason I wanted my own thread is because I've experienced that people rarely listen below the first post on any thread, and I actually want it to be heard, ha!

[ted]

There was nothing I could perceive in this piece which distinguished Dave from deaf Dave, in the same way as I could not tell whether I was listening to Nick or deaf Nick. However, I am sure, barring deliberate imitation, that I could tell Dave from Nick, deaf or not. What do these facts imply ? I am still not sure of the answer. To what degree is either able to hear what he is playing instantly with the aural equivalent of eidetic vision ? I doubt this is actually occurring, as I have read that the ability is very rare, even among musicians. I think it more likely that other mental faculties substitute for the aural input of the improvisational feedback loops. These probably vary a great deal among improvisers, but they would have to include aural memory (which isn't quite the same as actually hearing things), haptic memory, visual memory, rhythmic and phrasal memory, and tactile memory, all of which have been driven deeply into the mind over many years of playing, and in a very intertwined and individual fashion.

I would very much enjoy trying this experiment myself but I do not have the means to do so.