~*Kaelei*~

I have a question...

Have any of you played piano? The reason I ask is because I love Piano music and I always wanted to learn how to play Piano. So I just want to know if it's possible for a deaf person to play it. I know Beethoven was deaf and he played it... He's my fav musician for Piano but I want to know if there's anyone else that is deaf and that can play it.

I honestly can't read music notes, I never learned while growing up... when my class were having music class, I was taken out to do speech class. So is it hard learning music notes and then learn how to play piano?

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naisho

One small addition to Beethoven, he was an "exception" of a deaf, rather he used to be hard of hearing until he gradually became fully deaf. Because if I recall correctly, Beethoven used to be hearing as a child and was infused with music big time by his influence.

I think there are probably some deaf pianists, but something tells me you have to be "later deafened" in order to understand how to play the piano properly.. You need to know the DoReMiFaSo scale, not just that but how to emphasize on your keystrokes and the pedals while playing. It's not so much the music notes, to me when I was learning the piano (about 3-4 years of playing) a long time ago, the key was training the ears to see if it sounded "musically" correct.

I don't know how someone fully 100% deaf will be able to play it, at most it seems that hearing impaired is the key. Then yeah later on if they turn profoundly deaf they can still play because they know the concept of the notes already.

I'm sure there are some "born DEAF" out there who have done it, but they are really rare I think.

Notes can be played correctly, but how does a "born deaf" create a new piano composition is something I have no clue about.

~*Kaelei*~

Oh that's a bummer.... I was born Deaf.... I guess I'm not able to play piano.... *sighs* that's sucks.

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Bottesini

Theoretically you could. Playing piano is like typing really. You just have to hit the right keys. You don't need to hear at all to play the piano.

Although it might be more enjoyable.

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~*Kaelei*~

I type fast.... I can type without looking down on my keyboards or looking at the screen... My typing speed is 72 wpm... so I don't know if that would actually help with the piano.

I wonder.... since I have CI, would that actually help as well

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JClarke

You can have a go and see if you can play, but I am sure you can play nonetheless!

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naisho

Don't let my original post get you down. I was talking about the musical aspect of piano, understanding how to play by following your hearing.
If you can hear notes and distinguish the difference, then that's all you need to start it up, I think. If you follow or copy other's playing methods that works too.

What I was saying was I have no clue how a fully deaf pianist (who was born not being able to hear with hearing aids or doesn't have CI) can compose a music sheet without knowing how the notes work out. Because that seems to rely on hearing.

I love to play the piano too, sometimes I can't distinguish key pitch noises due to my hearing; but I found one thing that really helps.

You ever seen those virtual keyboard teachers? Where it shows you which key to press, and how long to press it down. Something like this, a song I've been trying to play on my own for some time:


They usually come on those Electric keyboards. There are some wrong notes in this video if you can hear it out, my point is that this will probably help you out immensely.


Above this is how to correctly play it, as this guy will explain how to play slowly by talking and sounds, beat/tempo, and majors.



(This is the perfect flawless product, thought you might be interested )

Jiro

hello hello helllllooooooooo! thanks Jamie for letting me know about this interesting thread! well well well Kaeli. let's see..... <reading your posts>

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Jiro

I see that you want to learn how to play piano. I don't know the history of your deafness. Are you CI/HOH? if yes - yes you can play piano. If you are deaf, I hate to say but it is nearly impossible. Yes you can press keys but the most difficult part is knowing how hard you have to press and when to use pedals. I usually do not know if I have pressed a "sour note" but most of time I know if I did because I know which keys have to be pressed.

He was born hearing and became completely deaf at age 46. When he lost his hearing (tinnitus).... it was not the end of his career. He can "hear" the music in his head which is why he's one of the world renowned composer. After he completed his masterpiece (Piano Concerto No. 5. aka the Emperor), he tried to compose it and obviously.... it didn't go too well cuz he cannot hear the errors and to correct it so he let someone to compose it for him. I still find it amazing that he was able to compose Ninth Symphony (his last performance)... IMO - I prefer Mozart. Beethoven's tune is.... too heavy for me.

I've played piano for about 9 years and I have played piano for hospital and several charity programs with huge audience. To their surprise - a "deaf" boy playing piano! .......and guess what? I still haven't been able to read music notes fluently

my personal favorite sonatinas is Friedrich Kuhlau

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Jiro

ooooo you have CI. then ABSOLUTELY YES! you can play piano! it will take a lot of work and patience but absolutely doable! Typing on keyboard may help because of hand-eye coordination and dexterity of your hands but of course... computer keyboard and piano are different. Just practice practice practice to develop muscle memory and you'll be great in no time!

I highly recommend you to get a piano teacher. It usually costs about $20-50 per hour.... preferably the one who teaches it at her/his own house.

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SkullChick

I played piano when I was 7, I remember playing half one of the symphony perfectly.
It also have the feeling to it, I remember just let it go and play with eyes closed, don't be all about numbers, think of the every steps. And I never learned to read the notes. my mom just showed me then I copied and she'll mark some notes with different color so I remember when I randomly decide to play by myself I'd need to see the color marked notes lol
My fave was and still is, yankee doodle

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MoonDrifter

I have a deaf friend who plays piano very well. I want to include his music into my animations in the future.

I'm interested in learning to play piano, drums, and ocarina.

kokonut

Being able to hear the notes is one the biggest requirement in playing a musical instrument (aside from certain instruments such as drums, cymbals, xylophone, and few others) since you'll need that important feedback to play music properly. It's all about having that crucial musical feedback when playing a musical instrument. So, being able to hear is the biggest requirement. For other instruments just feeling the notes is another form of feedback just as Evelyn Glennie gets her feedback from her drums and xylophone through her body and even feet.

With technology today I wouldn't limit deaf people from playing any particular musical instrument if there's a way to get that feedback. Read here to see what I'm getting at.
http://www.windsorstar.com/health/se...782/story.html

And, oh, I've been playing the piano since I was 7. I now play ragtime, novelty rag and early jazz. Ragtime Piano!

Bottesini

You got me very interested, my hearing is about the same as you but right ear a little worse.

I did order a Yamaha keyboard with a headphone jack to be able to amplify it and will soon begin my experiment to see if I can learn to play the piano.

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kokonut

[QUOTE=Bottesini;1349669].... my hearing is about the same as you but right ear a little worse. [QUOTE]


Same as me? Based on what?

Bottesini

[quote=kokonut;1349692][QUOTE=Bottesini;1349669].... my hearing is about the same as you but right ear a little worse. The db loss you stated on your blogspot that you linked us to.

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chuck2975

Never played the piano... I cant read notes. Now...if you put numbers on the piano and put numbers in the music. I had an organ when I was a kid with numbers....the only thing I remember is Silent night...holy night.... da da daaaaa

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PowerON

I used to know how to use piano in basic lesson. Now, I forget how to use and careless about it. haha

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thesynthfreq

Hi everyone! Just read this post. A very interesting topic. I do agree that it is easier to learn to play if you are late deafend, but that doesnt mean its impossible. You could lable the keys correctly and also learn to read notes and the play it sort of how a midi file would play out. You can match the notes on the page with the notes on the keys and try it that way. Using an electronic piano/synthesizer would be helpful because you can plug in headphones which would give you some tactile feedback to your ears even if you don't hear the pitches. Also the DB level of headphones can get pretty strong but I normally use a speaker that is loud and send vibrations onto the ground or I use DAI cables that hearing aid supply stores sell for connecting an audio cable to hearing aids and use a reciever earmold made by an audiologist. The cables are attenuated so they let everything through and at very high DBs. Could damage normal hearing if not careful. A speaker gives good tactile feedback but not so good for the higher frequencies but the piano is nothing but 12 notes (CDEFGABC) repeated multiple times resulting in octaves and depending on the keyboard, 6 to 8 copies of each note. There is C1 through C8 and so on for each note, so you dont really need to "hear" every note becuase they are just copies of each other at different octaves. It is possible to play without sound if you have heard it before like me. I grew up hoh and lost more of it (88db to 110+ db) , and cant hear a thing without my Phonak Naida V UPs, which are strong hearing aids. I even practice sometimes without my hearing aids on and just feel the vibrations on the ground and through my synthesizers/keyboards and can even "hear" the songs in my mind and play it mistakes and all on my synthesizer that is not even on. Its wierd to do, but I have been playing 20 years and have an auditory record of every song I have ever written over the 20 years.
I think that the easiest and least frustrating way of learning piano would be to do it in a more visual way as possible. With key lables and notation to keep track of the notes. Learning what the different vibrations mean can also help, like if you play two notes too close together and that do not match harmonically, then you will feel this sort of "beats" as it is called in acoustics, and you will feel that the waveforms will not settle well and will feel "noisy and jittery" if the tones are in-tune with each other , like a C and a G, then the waveform (the sound the piano makes from the beginning of the note to the end of it) will feel softer and lined up.
I think it would be helpful to learn some basic music theory of chords and how they are designed and why they are structured the way they are and then study some music text about theory and that might help make sense of the way the piano works. A grand piano is about 80db but electronic keyboards and synthesizers can output sound louder than that and an amplifier speaker can be connected to set close to the player for feedback purposes and for auditory feedback if is necessary at even higher levels, up to 130DB for a decent sized power amp and even louder for big places like areanas and concert halls. It is up to the player to figure out which method will work best.
I wish you a lot of luck and encouragement! I hope that I am not too confusing in my post!
Please let me know if I can clarify anything.
Have a great day! and keep playin it loud!!

evb1200

My ex hearing girlfriend is a music teacher and I used to be one of her students. I play piano and guitar. Nothing prevent Deaf ppl to reach for the stars. We can do anything.

KristinaB

I am late deafened, but had not played the piano for at least 16 years. I was able to sit down and play from memory and knew when I hit a wrong key (fat finger syndrome?)

It is possible for a deaf person who was born deaf and has never played an instrument to learn. It takes practice and concentration.

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