Beethoven composing music when he was deaf??

[munkeebum]

Does anyone know how Beethoven managed to compose music even after he became totally deaf?

[andy-hughes]

Beethoven could still 'hear' the music in his head, so he knew how it would sound when played, even though he couldn't hear it himself. Many composers know exactly how they want their finished work to sound, they simply work towards getting it played like they hear it - a prime example is Brian Wilson from The Beach Boys, who has always heard completed songs, including with arrangements, and simply found the musicians and tehcnology to realise them for the rest of us.

[funkymoped]

wouldnt it be possabe to pick up the vibrations from the sound ? im sure iv`e seen something on t.v. where a deaf person put their hand up to a speaker to "feel" the sound.

[SaxyJag]

To some extent, yes, he would have picked up the vibrations through either his hands or feet, plus, of course, he would have been able to 'hear' the music inside. Evelyn Glennie, the percussionist, always plays in bare feet, because that's how she feels the music.

Remember, too, that deafness isn't necessarily a total absence of sound. It often means the person can only hear (or cannot hear) certain frequencies. My hubby is one of the most precise sound engineers I know (and that's not just my opinion), yet he has terrible tinnitus and often can't hear people speak in a quiet room.

[SaxyJag]

An interesting addendum to my last post, I used to work with a young man with very severe learning disabilities. He was also blind and deaf and understandably volatile. Thinking he might have some residual hearing, I would play music to him during our therapy sessions. The jazz and rock that I thought might appeal to this twenty something only served to agitate him further, so one day I played him my favourite Beethoven. The change was amazing, and that lad sat quietly next to the speaker for the best part of an hour listening to that CD.

[Ward-Minter]

andy-hughes ironic you should mention brian wilson. Are you aware he is also partially deaf?

[Tweed]

Beethoven didn't compose much while he was deaf. Most of his work had already been written by then.

[andy-hughes]

Ward-Minter - yes I am, but I don't think that's necesarily a factor, I think a lot of composers work that way.

funkymoped and Saxyjag - I omitted to mention that when beethoven realised he was going deaf, he sawed the legs off his paino, and used the wooden floor as a sounding board by lying with his ear on the floor as he picked out notes and chords.

[munkeebum]

thanks very much for the info, it's been really helpful