How to truly listen | Evelyn Glennie
Why Music: Practice & Theory Stack Exchange recommends it
Music Stack Exchange users link it to illustrate expressive interpretation versus note-reading and as an example of a successful deaf musician working around disability.
Recommended by 2 people across 2 different months, 2017 to 2019.
What it is
A TED talk by Evelyn Glennie, a deaf percussionist, who demonstrates that listening to music involves the whole body and not just the ears. She plays and speaks about interpreting music rather than merely reading the notes on the page.
What people said
Recommends jjmusicnotes · 2017-07 · Music: Practice & Theory Stack Exchange · on “What instruments can a four-year-old with left-side paralysis begin to learn/hope to ever learn?”
She is human; the instrument is a tool for humans to be expressive. People don't fit the instruments; it's the other way around. My answer is that she should play whatever she wants to play - whatever it is, there is a way to make it work. It would indeed be a sad thing to teach a 4-year old that she's limited by her disability. For example, organs are traditionally played with both arms and feet. Telling them that you traditionally need arms and feet to play it isn't, in of itself a sad, cruel thing. However, it would be cruel to teach them that they're less-than a person because of it, that they might as well not even try. A different approach would be to use it as a jumping-off point: "Th
Recommends guest · 2019-11 · Music: Practice & Theory Stack Exchange · on “What does play with feeling mean?”
Watch the first five minutes of this demo by Evelyn Glennie of the difference between "reading the music and doing what it says" and "interpreting the music". There's not much "being expressive with her arms and swaying" involved. If you still don't "get" the difference, watch it again. The following 30 minutes are also well worth watching, of course
Cites StefanH · 2017-05 · Music: Practice & Theory Stack Exchange · on “Being deaf and still produce music, how is that possible”
The story of Evelyin is impressive too, but what I do not get: I saw this TED-Talk of her: [this video] and in year way of speaking she does not sound like a deaf person, for example Sean also speaks in a way (if you hear interviews) that seems to be typical of deaf people...
Cites jjmusicnotes · 2017-07 · Music: Practice & Theory Stack Exchange · on “What instruments can a four-year-old with left-side paralysis begin to learn/hope to ever learn?”
No, that's not cruel at all; that's how the organ is traditionally played. However, it would be cruel to teach them that they're less-than because of it. It would be *my* jumping-off point: "The organ is traditionally played this way, so for you, we're going to have to figure something out". Problems are not barriers, they are opportunities for solutions. It's quite easy, with today's technology to find videos of successful, disabled musicians. This is a link to Evelyn Glennie, a remarkable percussionist who happens to be deaf: [this video]