1 - just saw Peter Gabriel perform with a 56 piece orchestra. About 60% of the orchestra was wearing headsets, the rest weren’t. Any guesses as to why some had 'em and others didn’t? Seemed almost randomly spread throughout the orchestra, like it was pure personal preference. Not sure the pros and cons though.
2 - saw Paul McCartney at the Hwd Bowl a month ago, and there was a section for apparently deaf people. In front of the section, there were 2 women who alternated doing sign language of the song lyrics.
Hunh?
Not trying to be rude, but… well, lots of questions.
– why? Are the musical vibrations enough for deaf people to enjoy a concert? The visuals were decent, but far from amazing. Just 6 guys playing instruments for a few hours.
– How do you get those seats? Can a deaf friend of mine get tix and give them to me? They were AMAZING seats, very close to the stage if just a little off to the side. Sure, it’s kinda sleazy for me to get those tix, but I guarantee I’d enjoy the concert more than someone who can’t hear it. :eek:
– why did the McCartney show have a section for deaf people, but most others shows I’ve seen in recent memory haven’t? In fact, I can’t think of any others rock concerts I’ve been to with a sign language interpreter. Is this remotely a common practice? Honestly trying to understand it, all snarky comments aside.
Our chorus usually performs with a sign language interpreter, sometimes two. Our concerts are much more than just a bunch of guys standing there singing; there’s choreography and amazing lighting effects that even a totally deaf person would enjoy. But there are also many hearing-impaired people who can to some degree hear the music, but need help deciphering the lyrics.
I can cover the headphones thing: different people need different levels of hearing to match up with a group. Some people play so naturally they don’t need to hear themselves, while others constantly adjust themselves. And some people automatically blend with others, and, again, some people need to hear the others to adjust.
Plus, there are just some instruments that are easier to play one way or the other. Oh, and sometimes headphones have clicktracks, which is a track giving you beats to tell you exactly how fast to play, kind of like conductor, but audio instead of visual. For some musicians, that’s all they need to stay in step with everyone else.
McCartney’s fan base is still mostly the older/Beatles loving crowd. A lot of them may be deaf now, but that doesn’t mean they always have been. I also know several deaf people, including born deaf, who love music and dancing.
Also, much like the evening I spent with Julie Andrews last night, what you don’t hear (in her case, having lost most of her range due to botched surgery) isn’t as important for everyone as just being there and seeing the person live.
I once saw a concert by the group “Sweet Honey in the Rock” at Carnegie Hall and they also had a deaf section. There were some visuals and a signer. I presume some of the listerners had some hearing. They applauded by holding their hands above their heads and shaking them.
Evelyn Glennie is amazing. She is totally deaf. I have seen two concerts she performed at with the Montreal Symphony Orchestra. She performs barefoot with maybe a dozen percussion instruments including some, such as a vibraphone, that play musical notes. She leaps back and forth among the instruments like an athlete. I also heard her interviewed on radio and she apparently lip reads perfectly and, aside from a strong Scottish accent, speaks perfectly. (Generally, the speech of people who go deaf gradually deteriorates without feedback.) When the interviewer asks if she would have her hearing restored if it were possible, she replied that no, her entire professional persona was tied up in her deafness. Amazing woman. Especially the story of how she trained herself to hear (not “hear”, as I first wrote) music through her bones.
For years the Grateful Dead (who were pretty loud in concert) had a section for the deaf, with a woman sign-language interpreter signing the lyrics to the section as the song was being played, and many of the deaf audience members would hold a large balloon, which they would sometimes press to their cheeks, which would apparently allow them to feel the vibrations of the music.